Up hill both ways, but not in the snow

My legs are all tingly from a lot of walking, and I could probably fall asleep right now (at 7:15pm). I walked about 6 miles today, with at least 3 miles uphill. The weather was perfect! It feels great, but I am tired. I also went to the gym after work Thursday and yesterday and had Pilates earlier. I guess I've been making up for lack of exercise at the beginning of the week. It's also really helped me relax, especially my workout yesterday. The workday was very long and stressful, like the rest of the week, and all I wanted to do when I got out was go to the gym. It was kind of a strange feeling as I've never been like a gym rat or anything, but I just knew it would help me work off all the built up stress and annoyance. Pushing myself for 45 minutes on the Elliptical did a lot to get out the aggression that built up from being nice to people with their stupid questions instead of saying " just file the fucking report" or "how many fucking times do I have to fucking explain this?". The fact that the gym is free and in my office building makes it that much more attractive. There is not time to decide I should just go home since I just walk down 4 flights of stairs.

It's interesting the way healthy behaviors in one area of life can creep into others. I definitely think my desire to get to the gym is connected to the fact that I have been eating really well. In the last 2 weeks, I only ate out 3 times. I think that is crazy and amazing. It makes me really proud of myself for sticking to what I want to change this year. Also, I'm surprised at my resourcefulness when it comes to cooking. For example, I decided to make Hoppin' John Salad for dinner the other night, but realized that I had bought pork flavored black eyed peas (yes, pork). Of course, I didn't want to eat them since I'm trying hard to at least at home stick to vegan (and they are pork flavored). I decided to just use some garbanzo beans instead. I know it seems so basic to just replace one ingredient with a comparable one, but for me it was a bit of a revelation. I can see my former self being frustrated and not bothering. Another example, yesterday I didn't want to go to the grocery store and couldn't decide what to do for dinner. After looking in my fridge for a minute, I decided on a salad. I cooked and cut up a veggie burger patty added it to some spinach, threw in some dried cranberries and drizzled the homemade dressing I made for my salad last week. It was delicious and simple. And I put it together all on my own in like 2 minutes. Again, it's something most people could do without thinking about it or patting themselves on their backs, but it's still something new for me.

In other exciting news, the waist in my jeans is feeling loose. I think they are mostly just stretched out, but any seeming result adds to my motivation. Though at this moment, motivation to leave my house is very low.