New Years resolutions working? I'm feeling a bit faster!

Jthanmyfitnesspal

I'm getting just a little bit faster in all my activities this month. I do multi-sport (swim, ride, run). Late fall is my slow season, but I get motivated again in January.

I also gained some weight last year. I had a lot of stress and distractions. I'm cutting back on all my vices this month (Dry January, deserts, etc.) and the weight is starting to come off. But, I haven't really lost much yet (<3%). It will take until April to get to my weight back to what it was on in February of last year.

Yet, in all my exercise activities I feel stronger. Swimming and spinning are not particularly weight sensitive, but I'm faster in both. I'm a bit faster in jogging (although still slow compared with many others). Man, it's an incentive to keep doing what I'm doing.

Anyone else getting a little boost from their New Years resolutions?

Jthanmyfitnesspal

I guess everyone hates this news! It's like saying that red wine doesn't really promote heart health.

AnnPT77

Well . . . I thought about commenting on your post earlier to congratulate you, because I'm sincerely glad you're seeing great results from your efforts. But I couldn't figure out how to put it.

For myself (not necessarily for others), I'm not a New Year's Resolution fan. I try to be self-honest, and recognize when I'm truly ready to make a change in my life, and when I'm just going through the motions (or worse, giving lip service). The date-driven attempts lead to discouragement, for me, essentially because I know I don't mean it. It feels arbitrary.

But everyone's different, and that's part of what makes life (and MFP) interesting, truly.

I've had that great feeling you're describing, of putting in the work and getting faster. I was surprised, with weight loss, to see how my boat speed (for similar effort) got faster, when I reached around 2/3 my prior weight. (But my rowing machine pace didn't much change, because that's not as bodyweight influenced!) There have also been times when good coaching and persistent practice led to improvement.

It feels really, really good to see that fitness progress, to feel the fruits of patient effort. I'm happy for you that that's happening for you.

It sounds like that success is making you feel empowered for more accomplishments, which is another thing I've noticed myself: That the fruits of one patient change in habits can spark curiosity about other possibilities, and effort in those additional directions.

I wish you well consolidating your improvements, building on them to create more goodness . . . even though I freely admit I didn't make a single New Year's Resolution myself.

(There are habit changes I'm working on, but they weren't date driven, and they have zero to do with health, fitness, or weight loss, so I won't belabor details).

Keep up the great work, and keep posting about the improvements that result: That can definitely inspire others whose enthusiasm may be flagging a bit along the way to stick with it!