The Road Not Taken

THE ROAD NOT TAKEN:

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I –
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

~ Robert Frost ~

This well known poem has been one that I repeatedly pull out of my repertoire of literary works at important moments in my life. It is a piece of writing that beautifully illustrates the power of decision and the importance of walking the correct path.

I have chosen my road wisely this time; so often I felt like that first route – the one that I always wandered along before this most recent journey – was cyclic in nature. In years past I have repeatedly walked down the same path… and always ended up right back at the beginning. Perhaps more accurately, I have travelled, circled, and ended each trek further back than I was at my original starting position.

But this adventure will not end in the same manner. This time, I have finally learned that that all too familiar road will never get me out of the woods. This time, I needed to make a different choice.

So I did. I walked boldly down the second route, confident that I was on a pilgrimage that would change my life. Happily, I take comfort in the author’s immortal words and I too know, “how way leads on to way,” and thus doubt, “if I should ever come back.” I can’t. How could I ever again justify strolling along a trail that I know will lead me further and further from my destination?

This path will end at some point; my weight loss goal will be met. Yet, with the spirit of this work I carry forward knowing that there will be many other routes to choose from afterwards - many connecting roads, forking trails, and even fallen logs that may occasionally block my way until I find an alternative avenue. I will trip over roots and rejoice in the flat, easy portions of the trails. I shall continue my expedition in other ways; I will maintain my loss and live my life with the healthy adaptations that I am learning now. The sights I see on this leg of my journey will undoubtedly effect the rest of it.

And eventually – when I am successfully maintaining the improvements in health that I am gaining now and celebrating the memory of when I got to my goal weight – I will know with unwavering certainty that when I stared down two distinctly different roads that “ I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference.”

FOOD & BEVERAGES:
- 11 glasses of water throughout the day
- 1 peach
- 1 wrap on a soft tortilla shell with sliced deli turkey, grated cheese, cranberries, green leaf lettuce, fat free Miracle Whip, and mustard
- 2 1/2 cups of Caesar salad with light dressing, croutons, and 1/2 cup of baby shrimp
- 3/4 cup fat free peach yogurt with 1 cup cinnamon pecan cereal

EXERCISE:
- 1 hour and 10 minutes of walking completed in 2 outings (40 minutes long and 30 minutes long)
- 30 minutes on the recumbent bike
- 1 set of 5 minutes of weight lifting with 5 lbs per arm
- 7 sets of 30 stomach crunches (3 straight, 2 right, and 2 left)
- 3 sets of 10 knee push ups