Suwanee Creek Greenway

There aren’t too many good photos of the Suwanee Creek Greenway (or so says Google Image Search), so I can only paint you a picture with my words. Oh goody.

The approach to the Greenway, at least from our apartment, isn’t too spectacular: just a hike along a wide strip of asphalt up and down the hills leading up to Buford Highway. Kind of unpleasant, really, especially when there’s an abundance of trucks that take that road and putt-putt-vrooom out toxic gases. If you’re not looking at the six-lane road, you can always peek over the overpass, where the railroad tracks churn out toward Old Town in a refreshing stretch. They could have been there forever for all I know, the way it’s made peace with the woods and Suwanee Creek.

Even when you get to the Greenway entrance, you probably wouldn’t find it remarkable. It’s kind of got a sterile, over-traveled, Parks-and-Rec feel when a lot of people use it. But somehow, in the two times I’ve gone, I’ve often had it all to myself.

When I have it all to myself, it’s so peaceful. The light filters in through the just-dense-enough trees, the path winds a little, there are occasional wooden footbridges crossing over marshy creek land.

Maybe you don’t know me, but I never run. Not ever. Somehow, though, the blend of my singular presence in such a tranquil place, where the breeze blew just enough to be refreshing, with my iPod playing my favorite film instrumentals… I don’t know, I just took off. And this is going to sound plenty lame, but I felt as though my soul were running. That I could just dart about like a deer.

[Side note: There actually were deer on my Greenway trip earlier today. One had crossed over the path just a few yards ahead of me to join her mate in the thicker woods to my left. Maybe some of you get sick of deer, but a city slicker like me was starry-eyed, let me tell you.]

Anyway, as I steadied into a walk-then-run-then-walk-then-run-again routine, I kept taking it all in and thought to myself, You know, I should totally blog about this when I get back.

So that’s what I’m doing. I just had to share the tranquility, serenity, and green-ity that I experienced, and also to share with the world that, believe it or not, I actually ran today.

I just hope there are nature paths in Heaven.

 

That’s it. Nothing but water and Ex-Lax until the prom.

I really want to lose 10 pounds. There. I said it.

And you know what? I feel so guilty about thinking it. I’m much better off than I’ve ever been. I’ve weighed less than I ever have, even (yes) better than I was at Disney. So why do I care? By all accounts, it doesn’t make sense.

Maybe it’s because, all my life, I’ve never felt quite content with the way I look. I kept thinking that my appearance was all part of a journey. And it kind of has been up until now. I went on Weight Watchers 3 years ago, lost about 40 pounds, and kept much of it off. I let some of that weight come back when I moved to Florida (figuring, hey I’m skinny minnie and can have McDonald’s three times a week and I’ll just burn it off at the parks), and by summer 2009, I’d gained about 15-20 pounds. So I went back on Weight Watchers, just to motivate myself again, lost my gained-back weight, and then went back to the tried and true method of regulating my caloric intake and exercising more, ditching the soda, etc.

All of that has brought me to May of 2010. Since then, I’ve (sort of) maintained a steady weight. The problem is… I’ve maintained it. I’ve lost a pound, gained it back, lost a few, gained a few – it’s been a 2-to-3 pound window. And, for the life of me, I can’t get past it. I’ve tried mixing up my exercise routine, eating different kinds of foods… I’ve even let myself “cheat” for a few days, thinking that maybe my metabolism would get confused and start burning things faster when I started “dieting” again. (Incidentally, I don’t like dieting. It’s too instant-gratification, and the only common denominator among all forms of dieting is that it’s a quick fix that doesn’t last, i.e., “oh em gee, I lost 5 pounds in 2 days by eating nothing but peanuts and Nesquik.”)

And hey – I know that at some point, one has to stop trying to lose weight and just has to try and maintain weight. I just don’t feel like I’m there yet. Maybe it’s because I know I can push myself just a little bit harder to get that number on the scale a little further down.

Maybe a good start would be to put down the half sleeve of graham crackers.

 

The glories of mini-goals.

So last week, I set a goal: For that entire week, I was not to go near fast food. That meant no greasy hamburgers, no runs for the border, no goldeny-delicious fries, no crispy chicken nuggets…

And you know what? I kept that goal.

So I found myself wanting to try a new dietary goal this week: During this work week (and most of yesterday), I am not going to eat meat.

Not that I’m doing it for morality’s sake. Au contraire, folks. (You should know by now that I’m a selfish thing, although knowing my veggie burger saved a cow or something would be kinda gratifying.) I’m doing it to see if replacing meat-protein with healthier alternatives (soy protein) will help me shed a bit extra weight. For instance, I bought some Morningstar veggie burgers and veggie buffalo wings, and that veggie burger was darn good. Spruced it all up with spring mix lettuce and onion and a little cheddar… Well, anyway, time will tell – or at least the scale will tell, come Friday when I step on and hope for the best.

Confession: I do weigh myself once a week. I’m allllmost where I want to be, physically, but there’s just a few more things I need to tweak. And not in the Regina George “I really want to lose three pounds” way.