From the ashes.....

It’s here once again – Lent began a few days ago, and for me, that means another ‘forced’ opportunity to do myself some good.

Let me explain.  Lent is the period between Ash Wednesday and Easter in Christian religions, including Roman Catholicism, of which I am a member.  It has multiple meanings in the calendar today, but for me, it presents a time both for self-reflection and a chance to do good things, both for myself and for others (although sadly, that last bit is sometimes the first one lost).

For the past few years, those good things for myself have revolved around healthier living, mainly in my diet and habits.  In the past, I have given up soda and caffeine, or dedicated myself to exercise, or to weight loss.  This year, it’s the last one again, and I’m hoping to beat the success of last year.

In 2014, I focused on my diet during Lent, and cut out a number of foods which had become habits, and were not the most healthy choices I could make.  These included Almonds, peanut butter, cookies, ice cream, and a few others which I didn’t need to survive.  It worked.  I dropped 8 pounds in six weeks, looked better, ran faster, and felt better than I had in a few years.  Definitely worth the effort.

Alas, the gains I made were transitory, and reversed themselves in the fall, when a new job occupied far too much of my temporal and emotional assets – it took a lot of my time and stressed me out.  Workouts and eating right became secondary priorities for me, and the scale reflected this.  Add to that a post-marathon binge, the holiday season, and another ‘relaxation’ after my first 50K race, and I found myself at almost THE EXACT SAME WEIGHT I was a year ago.  *heavy sigh*

I’m fond of saying ‘this time will be different’ but frankly, I know better.  Managing my diet and exercise during Lent this year is a necessary task, and one that I am trying to follow through, but it’s not going to change my life permanently; circumstances have too much of an influence on me to allow for that.  What I do hope for is to gain back in six weeks what I lost in the last six months.  That’s a tall order, and the effects (actual weight, faster running times) won’t come back in that short a time.  I can set the foundation, and get a headstart on what I want to build for the next few months. 

Lent begins with Ash Wednesday, a time of remembering who we are (From ashes we came, and to ashes we will return) and it ends with Easter.  That’s a time for renewal and rebirth.  And once again this year, I look forward to that.