While I’m getting closer to beating my low every day, that’s only one of a number of goals I have. I’ve learned that having a variety of health-related goals means that I struggle less, mentally. For decades, any time I went on a diet, I rarely used more than weight as an indicator of success. I became easily frustrated when the scale didn’t show what I hoped for, especially if I felt I had been working hard.

Even when I added in measuring, that often didn’t bear results; I was large enough that getting an accurate reading for measurements was difficult, so the only time I really saw success in measurements was when I lost enough to change them significantly.

But then, any time I focused on those two methods, I was on a diet. I may have been working hard, but it was the wrong kind of work, and the wrong focus on success indicators. It was far too easy for me to be overwhelmed and I would inevitably give up. It felt like a lot of work for very little payoff.

This week, though, I’ve been finding success in a different goal: endurance walking. I’ve written here, before, about my progress, but if you’re new to this blog — a quick recap.

I had to start walking in very small increments; because of carrying an immense amount of weight for decades, I damaged both knees and was barely able to walk. Seven years ago, I used a cane for small walks, like getting around the house and at the grocery store, and wore an offloader brace to keep one of my knees aligned. Anything over a brief trip had to be done in a travel wheelchair.

So for me to say that this week, I managed not one but two walks that were the equivalents of a 5K, it’s a huge thing. With nearly 200 pounds gone and two new knees, it’s been a LOT of incremental increases in the distances I could walk; at first, my short jaunts were around the back yard with a cane. Eventually, as I lost weight, I was able to walk without the cane. Before I had my knees replaced, I could walk 2 miles, but it was also excruciating and I paid for it. On Tuesday, I squashed my normal 10K daily step goal with a final step count of 17,527; just over 7 miles of walking, and I started that day off with a 5K. I fully expected to pay for it the next day, but no; I have had no muscle soreness at all, and repeated another 5K yesterday.

And now, because I can get in the majority of my steps in one walk, it frees up the rest of my day for different activities. I get the work done early, and anything else is just icing on the metaphorical cake. Do the cakewalk; get the prize! But in this case, I don’t win cake; I get the satisfaction of knowing I’m doing exactly what I set out to do.

One of my goals has been to increase my endurance to a point where, when we finally do get to return to traveling, camping, and other activities, I can walk for as much and as far as I want without concern. So while I may not be back to my low weight just yet, I’m getting closer all the time, and I’ve surpassed other goals while working on that one.

But then, I am long past considering this a diet. It’s simply how I live, now; and as I watch my health markers improve, I adjust. Honestly, it feels like a very adult thing to do.