Yes, I kinda do understand but I thought it had to do with "getting it all together". You Fran, sound like you've found your groove and are stickin' with it.
I know that a lot of us think we start a programme and do "everything right" from the beginning, but I doubt it. I'm always finding things I misread or misunderstood or thought I could do without ....
OR ... we give up too early
OR ... we're seriously kidding ourselves about how 'on plan' we are
OR ... we're looking for outstanding results waaaay too early
When I have had moments like yours, they usually coincide with having got my act together for a while, honestly (food exercise the whole shebang), sticking with it for an extended period, good record keeping with documented results ... and then the mirror.
An overall sense of having done good work and getting the appropriate results.
Which I guess is pretty much what you said
What strikes me most from Fran's post is that there is a LIFE mixed in. Although she was busy with other things, her programme was always happening in there somewhere. While she was busy with other things, it was still working.
Let me try an analogy at 5:30 in the morning
In the fabric of my life there are continous threads ... my husband, my kids, my faith, home keeping ... There are intermitent threads .... financial struggles, work, extended family obligations... There are short strands ... emergencies, temporary upsets, illness ...
Some threads are thicker and stronger than the rest. Some are of variable importance depending on timing etc. Some are obvious. Some are evenly interwoven.
I look at Meg and Mel (for instance) and see that the thread of fitness in the fabric of their lives is strong, continuous, and evenly interwoven.
I just ran out of brilliance ... sorry ... ya know what I mean? That'd be why Fran had a happy surprise when she looked in the mirror. Good results from a thread that's gently interwoven ... not awkwardly embroidered on top.