It's the Duration that Counts

A few months ago, I had plateaued on my weight loss. No matter how fast I tried to run, I wasn’t losing any weight. I was unhappy and at the point of eating a dozen chocolate donuts - the kind that is filled with delicious creamy filling and oozing with trillions of calories.

But being the stubborn girl I am, I went skirmishing through my basement in search of a weight lose/fitness book, and found one.

There on the shelf was my faithful yellow reference guide of exercise, Loose your Butt, Belly and Beagle all at the Same Time (not the real name).

Anyways, I thumbed through the pages until I got to the chapter on running, which I do a little of each morning (unless I stayed up late the night before and fall asleep on the couch after reading with my kiddos).

I read that it wasn’t how fast someone runs that helps control and lose weight; it’s the duration and distance they cover.

The duration?

I continued to read how it has been studied and proven that if you (me) run at the same speed over a longer duration, you (again, me) can continue to lose weight.

Really? I had been killing myself, getting to that speedy-speed each day, drenched in sweat and hyperventilating? You mean I can do it by just taking a steady pace and just….run?

So I took it to the test. I started to slow down my pace and run the duration of my time. And guess what?

It worked.

I found myself less winded and not dreading the treadmill run as much as I had in the past. Plus I have lost ten pounds. TEN POUNDS! (Plus I cut out my five chocolate candy bars a day- I miss those things).

Writing is the same way for me. I find myself trying to get things done at super speed instead of slowing down and enjoying the duration. Sometimes I skip days and feel like I have to catch up. All that does is burn me out and I find myself not writing at all.

What I have found is if I keep a steady pace of writing a little every day, soon I have thousands of words on a page (and a hilarious twist at the end of my book).

The duration, not the speed. Who knew? I guess I have to learn little by little each day. Thanks Loose your Butt, Belly, and Beagle all at the Same Time, book. Now if I can just figure out where that little dog went.