It’s Spring break and my whole family is home. It’s great, but I’m completely off my regular schedule. I haven’t gone out to walk in over a week and it’s been about the same for ChaLEAN Extreme. I was about halfway through Push Circuit Week 2 so I’m going to just start that one over…soon. I’ve been pretty consistent for a while now so why have I suddenly turned back into a couch potato? Good question.
I think it finally started to bother me that no one had joined the walking group. I was going to bed early, giving up time with my husband at night, to get out and walk at 8:15. Why 8:15? I thought (actually I know) there are a lot of moms who take their kids down to the bus stop and don’t run off to work afterward. I figured they’d like to go walking soon after the bus leaves since they’re up and outside anyway. Guess I was wrong. That’s fine, but I no longer see the point of sacrificing time with my husband if no one is going to join me.
I miss walking so I’ll start going again soon. I also miss working out. With the boys home (including my husband) and only one TV there haven’t been too many opportunities to push play. It’s amazing how quickly we lose what we don’t use. Even though I weigh about the same, I feel fluffy. Kind of like a big blob. When I was working out regularly I felt strong and, well, not fluffy. It is a good reminder why I started working out to begin with. It is possible to lose weight by simply cutting back calories, but that’s really only part of the equation. To be healthy and fit (a much more important goal than simply being lighter) you have to change your lifestyle…permanently. It’s a matter of eating healthy food, building muscle and increasing cardio endurance. You can lose weight eating nothing but candy as long as you consume less than you burn, but you’ll probably end up worse off from a total health standpoint than if you hadn’t lost the weight at all.
That being said, I’m going to go make some Shakeology. I love knowing that I’m getting all that good-for-you stuff like wheat grass, spinach, spirulina, etc. while drinking a shake that tastes like I’m being bad. 🙂 If you want more info about it, there’s a link on my facebook page. I’d love to make it easier by linking it here, but this blog site doesn’t allow those kind of links. Oh well. 😉
Maybe I’ll get out and walk today. We’ll see. Maybe I’ll start my food journal again today. We’ll see. Maybe I’ll workout today. We’ll see. Not exactly the drive and determination I’d want to hear from the people I’m coaching for sure. I think I need to spend some time whipping my brain back in shape so I can have the right attitude toward my life and doing what I need to do. I’ll let you know how it goes.
mlchung 
I love your post! You’ve hit the nail on the head. What causes us to get comfortable out of our routine when circumstances change like you mentioned. Why do we buy into it so quickly? Is there something missing or present that seems to make it easy to “fall of the wagon”?
I can certainly understand about the walking group. Maybe a sign that you just want some company while you walk would attract someone. I’m with you, if you’re already up why not go for a walk before you tackle the days chores? Is there any kind of 5K walk coming up for a charity? Maybe a few would be willing to “train” for it. I know it’s only about 3 miles but it might get someone motivated to get out and join you. Sometimes the phrase of “getting fit” sounds like work even though you know it isn’t.
How about getting the kids and your husband to walk with you? You need the company, they have energy and I’m sure Simon could use the mental break as well. It’s the least they can do since their presence at home while great is a distraction to your routine.
I missed my Shakeology yesterday as well as missed having it to drink. will make sure that doesn’t happen again!
I’ve been thinking about that quite a bit lately, as it is waaaaay too easy to fall back into old habits. I really think the way we are raised has such a huge impact on how we treat ourselves as adults. We naturally do what feels “normal” and unfortunately sitting around doing nothing and eating unhealthy food is what feels normal to me. It takes major effort to do otherwise and while I can clearly see and feel the benefit of doing things the right way I’m not sure if it will ever be so automatic that there isn’t some aspect of willpower involved. Maybe, but it hasn’t happened yet. I think that’s why it’s so important to have a group of friends that have similar goals so you can keep each other from getting too far off track.
I’ve tried taking the kids walking with me, but they’re just not into it and they mess around a lot so I don’t really feel like I’m getting actual exercise. I’ve resigned myself to enjoying time with them outdoors by doing things like playing basketball. My husband does NOT like to walk and even if he did he has no time once he’s in his regular schedule. The 5K training is a great idea. I’ll have to check into it. Last year, we did the Komen 5K, but it was at the end of summer. I’m sure there’s something coming up, though.
Isn’t it amazing how quickly you can tell a difference when you don’t have your shake for the day? I just feel like my body isn’t operating at full capacity. I try to not ever skip it, but every once in a while I will to remind myself what it’s like not having it. I’ve found it’s easy to take it for granted after a while.
After reading your post of Eli’s responses to walking i can see where my suggestion was good but not doable for you. Someday he won’t be such a brat (lovable brat) and the two of you will have a good laugh. right now you and I can enjoy it.
I took after the couch potato parent; Dad watched TV and his only exercise was golf so I did the same. Another big thing is that the needlework, knitting, crocheting and reading are the activities I enjoy best. The creative part of my soul can express itself in these forms and reading has always been a passion. Hence the job in the bookstore for almost 9 years.
Once I’m out and about I enjoy it even though I can’t go very far (way out of shape). It’s the getting outside to do it that is my stumbling block. The next one is a lack of commitment to keep doing it no matter what. I have so many UFO (unfinished objects) project that can attest to that unfortunate trait.
This is the first year that I have noticed 5K walks here in Nashville other than the Komen which I do every year now. Perhaps some kind of city calendar of events might have that kind of info. My friend is doing the Music City Half Marathon again this year. That’s the part of the Music city Marathon that is for walkers. I wish I had half of her dedication of working out that she has. You can half the other half and then we would both be in shape. 🙂
Unfortunately dragging it out of bed when not employed is very difficult for me. Gloomy, gray, cold and/or rainy weather are just a few of my favorite reasons to stay warm in bed. Add to that fact that the friends I have all work. So that leaves it up to me to motivate myself; not a good thing. 😦 My spiritual director has suggested that I consider walking as a “job of self care” and not a chore. It would help my mental state as I battle depression and have for many many years. I’m also supposed to find other activities that can be considered a “job of self care” since I am very motivated to have a schedule when I’m employed. I think I should make that a time I spend w/ the Lord in silence appreciating the world around me and try to open up (quiet my unruly ADD mind) to hear Him. I’m still looking for my purpose/calling, my what to you want to be when you grow up self knowledge and then do something worthwhile with the rest of my life. sigh It seems such a tall order some days and very frustrating. I just want that “AHA” moment that will set me on my course because I’m sure the passion to pursue would arise in me (PLEASE God let that be so!)
Well it’s time to get a move on; take the rest of the meds, eat breakfast and plan the day and go forth.
Ha ha. I’m trying to teach my kids that life is only boring if you allow it to be. I think it falls into the same category as happiness. We can be happy if we choose to be. It’s easy to underestimate the power of our minds…to make our lives better or worse. Do you know why I can honestly say I love working out (even if I don’t always stick with it as consistently as I’d like to)? It’s simply because I’ve told myself over and over that I love it. There have been many times that the workouts were hard and I was tempted to tell myself I hated it, but I could clearly see that by doing that I was causing myself to fail. I chose instead to think of it as fun and it completely changed my attitude toward exercise. I chose to think of it as “me” time instead of something I was supposed to do, but didn’t really want to. I learned that from Chalene Johnson, the trainer who created Turbo Jam, TurboFire and ChaLEAN Extreme. She is an amazing motivator and I owe all my success to her. Seriously.
I had a thought about your love of reading. While fiction is fun and a great escape, personal development books have helped me make my real life better. One that I especially love is The Confident Woman by Joyce Meyer and the next one I’m going to read is Eat That Frog by Brian Tracy (highly recommended by Chalene). It’s about learning to live without procrastinating. I bet if you read one of those or something similar for 10 minutes a day you’d start to get some inspiration and motivation. Doing the 10 minutes of personal developement is one of the things they tell all Beachbody coaches to do because it makes such a difference in how we view our lives and where we fit in.
I also think you should schedule a time to go walking (or doing the Shakeology workout starting with the 30 min one). Think of it as an appointment that you have to keep. Then log it into the Team Beachbody website calendar. It’s free and it’s gives a lot of satisfaction to see the colors change on the calendar. Plus, there’s all kinds of tips and tools for getting healthy and every time you log in a workout/walk you can enter to win cash and prizes from Beachbody. You can go to my profile to get started. http://www.teambeachbody.com/doingitrightnow You just have to click on Join Team Beachbody and choose the free membership. 🙂 You can also add buddies who will help you get and stay motivated. It’s a whole community of people trying to live healthier lives.
Romance, mystery and sci-fi are my escape reading topics; otherwise I read to learn about something. That can include a variety of non-fiction areas. I did a lot of shelving in self help and learned to pick and chose the better ones. I’m now working my way through spirituality books. Our minister’s wife enjoys watching Joyce Meyer in the middle of the night when she can’t sleep. I think I remember Brian Tracy from the Business section in the book store.
I’ve decide its time to take some control back. Because of my last kidney function test I have had to change diabetes medicine. I don’t think it works as well as the metformin plus it’s very expensive. But right now I have no choice but take it until I can get a second opinion later this month. Through friends I have found 2 clinics to get health care and a lab where I can get blood tests done.
I’m going to weigh myself each Friday morning so that I don’t lose control over the weekend. I’m going to put on the pedometer that I have and work towards walking 10,000 steps each day. I went to WebMD and plugged in a bunch of info and have an idea of what I need to do to lose about a pound and a half each week. I’ll check your site and see about making it and you my moral support. 🙂 Oh, and I’ll also be keeping a food journal and blood sugar levels to know for sure whether or not this medicine is working as well. Since my first A1c of 13.5 I have managed to keep that number below 7, the recommended number for type 2 diabetes. I dropped my number if half right after I was diagnosed – gone were french fries and extra large sodas. I do wonder though if it hadn’t been for diabetes would I have ever lost the first 40 pounds I needed to get rid of or would I still weigh in the neighborhood of 240-245? I outweighed my 6’4″ husband! Now I don’t because he has put on too much weight himself.
I guess it’s time to regularly use my Mother’s Day gift of an iPod nano from the kids. I don’t have the gorgeous photographic scenery that you do; so I guess music will the next best thing. good thing I have very eclectic music tastes or I could get rather bored. maybe a book on cd would work; I have a portable cd player. I could “read” and walk!
Well, it’s time for pot of tea to warm me up (temps dropped again!) and help me relax so I sleep well.
Sounds like you’ve got a lot of good changes going on there! That’s exciting! I know you will get quickly get to 10,000 steps a day if you do it regularly and push yourself a little farther each time. 🙂 Music is great for walking, but I really like the idea of listening to books. Multi-tasking! While I wouldn’t wish health issues on anyone I do think it can be a blessing as long as it’s a wake-up call. As for the Team Beachbody site, there are lots of great tools there, too. I really like the support from buddies and the message boards, too. I could be in there all day if I let myself. 😉 I think my favorite thing, though, is the all the videos of people’s success stories. It’s so motivating and inspiring. Love it!
Oh, and I know what you mean about outweighing your husband. Granted, mine isn’t quite the same height as yours, but I’ve still got him beat by over 100lbs. I think ultimately I just want to weigh less then him. lol Maybe I should start feeding him more so I can get there faster. 😉