30 minutes before my alarm went off this morning I was awake. The dog licking my face may have helped that step. 30 minutes later I walked into my gym and set up my mat for a morning hatha yoga class that I've been saying I was going to go to for the past three years. It's included in the cost of my monthly membership. Yeah, that's right practically "free" yoga is offered four days a week, but I have managed to go a total of one time in three years at the gym and never in the morning. I have of course driven 15-30 minutes and paid $18 for a class, but the free one next door... well I guess it was just too convenient.
Well, I liked it and just might drag myself back onto my mat for Monday morning's class. Because wow, I am so not bendy. And any flexibility I had previously developed has evaporated.
I think I need a little lion's breath to get me through the rest of today. But let's be clear I am not yet prepared to make friends with morning.
Showing posts with label exercise. Show all posts
Showing posts with label exercise. Show all posts
Friday, July 15, 2011
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Can't Type Eating
So it turns out my efforts to break up with McDonalds have be futile. And I can actually trace my weight gain to about the time my resistance started waning and then just flat out gave in. After eeking out my first 10 miler last year on the fumes of the previous year's training and coasting into summer on a runner's high, I flat out stopped. I mean just stopped.
While any individual with an ounce of common sense can wake up every morning and say simply: eat less, exercise more. Make healthy choices. Every time you eat you have a choice. Don't watch more TV, watch less by going out and doing something. I have ignored said knowledge by sitting still and feeding myself nonesuch.
Therefore I should not be surprised by the predicament I've eaten myself into. I take full responsibility for my expanding pants and inertia. Sure, I could give you a long list of environmental factors: stress at work, increased travel schedule by DH, breaking up with my trainer, and on and on. But the reality is, I have the time to make it happen and I'm not.
This morning my alarm was set to catch the 7am yoga class before work, my clothes were set out, but when the alarm went off, I rolled over and took over both sides of the bed since DH is traveling. Not exactly a calorie burning exercise.
I have 137 days until the Army 10 miler and I have to get my act together.
My über awesome, running her first half and full marathon this year, friend Kelly has recommend Jeff Galloway's training method and I'm looking at starting from the beginning with his 5K training podcast. I need to start a new routine. Create a new set of incentives so I stop going through the drive through and start going to the gym.
While any individual with an ounce of common sense can wake up every morning and say simply: eat less, exercise more. Make healthy choices. Every time you eat you have a choice. Don't watch more TV, watch less by going out and doing something. I have ignored said knowledge by sitting still and feeding myself nonesuch.
Therefore I should not be surprised by the predicament I've eaten myself into. I take full responsibility for my expanding pants and inertia. Sure, I could give you a long list of environmental factors: stress at work, increased travel schedule by DH, breaking up with my trainer, and on and on. But the reality is, I have the time to make it happen and I'm not.
This morning my alarm was set to catch the 7am yoga class before work, my clothes were set out, but when the alarm went off, I rolled over and took over both sides of the bed since DH is traveling. Not exactly a calorie burning exercise.
I have 137 days until the Army 10 miler and I have to get my act together.
My über awesome, running her first half and full marathon this year, friend Kelly has recommend Jeff Galloway's training method and I'm looking at starting from the beginning with his 5K training podcast. I need to start a new routine. Create a new set of incentives so I stop going through the drive through and start going to the gym.
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Newton's First Law
Shaking off inertia is a psychological mind game that really does require a series of very small choices to be made in an effort to go from being completely at rest to a constant state of motion. Somehow in an effort to slow and enjoy life more I've managed to slow down so much, I'm missing out on the very things I am making time to enjoy. I've correlated being in a constant state of motion with doing too much and therefore rewarding myself with the privilege of doing less. Ha. What a fallacy.
I've managed to pull out running clothes and running shoes and set the alarm for 6:30. (I know that's not early for some of my friends, but do we need to discuss how much mornings and I do not get along?) I've also managed to hit the snooze button on two beautiful mornings for walking/running. I will not be discouraged, I can do this.
Note: I apologize for the more naval gazing turn of writing for the moment, I'm hoping by writing I start to be more accountable again.
In listening to the NPR piece about sitting too much at work, my sedentary routine was further amplified. Instead of wondering about why so many people are walking instead of working throughout the day, I should be applauding them for modeling a far more constructive approach to their health and workday.
I was surprisingly unable to even really delve into this New York Times piece on how sugar is poisoning us. My DH found it riveting and over 1.1 million people have viewed the video that highlighted the research. So I'm thinking about it and listening to the video as I type this entry.
What is not surprising when considering the state of inertia is that it effects every aspect of your life. Lack of interest in exercise has compromised my eating habits. By degrading my eating habits I've impacted our fiscal balance by eating out more and cooking at home less. Hello vicious cycle, I'm getting off this ride.
I've managed to pull out running clothes and running shoes and set the alarm for 6:30. (I know that's not early for some of my friends, but do we need to discuss how much mornings and I do not get along?) I've also managed to hit the snooze button on two beautiful mornings for walking/running. I will not be discouraged, I can do this.
Note: I apologize for the more naval gazing turn of writing for the moment, I'm hoping by writing I start to be more accountable again.
In listening to the NPR piece about sitting too much at work, my sedentary routine was further amplified. Instead of wondering about why so many people are walking instead of working throughout the day, I should be applauding them for modeling a far more constructive approach to their health and workday.
I was surprisingly unable to even really delve into this New York Times piece on how sugar is poisoning us. My DH found it riveting and over 1.1 million people have viewed the video that highlighted the research. So I'm thinking about it and listening to the video as I type this entry.
What is not surprising when considering the state of inertia is that it effects every aspect of your life. Lack of interest in exercise has compromised my eating habits. By degrading my eating habits I've impacted our fiscal balance by eating out more and cooking at home less. Hello vicious cycle, I'm getting off this ride.
Friday, April 22, 2011
Lenten Loathing
The ironic nature of starting a blog to track your own efforts in mindful living and then avoiding said blog because you're on a mental hiatus from moving forward is obvious in the time between posts here.
Lent as a marker in time during spring often serves as an apt reboot for new years resolutions. In the past few years I've pep talked myself not into giving up things such as caffeine or chocolate, but rather adding something new to my routine like more gym time, yoga, swimming, etc. As a result, I hit my training goals in 2009 and then promptly road my healthy achievements right off a cliff.
The odd nature of falling off a life precipice is that you are often in total free fall for an extended period of time before you really sit up and say "wow, when did that happen?" And by that, you of course are asking why you suddenly find yourself nearly 15+ lbs. heavier than when you started training, completely divorced from your gym routine, without any yoga centering left, and the closet you've come to runner's high in months was breathing deeply while driving past someone else running on a gorgeous day.
As I rounded the corner into 2011, I knew I was in trouble. The fumes of training that had propelled me across the 2010 Broad Street 10 miler were long gone and I was committed to kicking the 2011 race with some serious training. Then I canceled my trainer because I wanted to save the money. I haven't seen the gym since.
My friends and I sporadically tried to get reinvigorated by going to yoga, fail. We signed up for an 8k in March to give us a midway training goal. A friend ran the race wearing my bib because the number of times I've put on my running shoes in recent months? Zero. Nada. Not even close.
Number of excuses? Infinite. Number of legitimate life altering excuses? Zero.
So Lent was to mark a new beginning for me, a chance to refocus. With less than three days to go, I am no further ahead than I was at the beginning. I actually can't run the race next weekend because I literally couldn't finish in the allotted time and taking your body from zero to ten miles on a single morning is unwise and potentially damaging. So that free fall? I think I'm starting to see the bottom of the canyon.
I know all of the one day at time adages, one foot in front of the other, try not to focus on the big picture, just start with something small. So my something small is acknowledging that I've lost all accountability.
I'm going to start climbing out now, I need go dust off my running shoes.
Lent as a marker in time during spring often serves as an apt reboot for new years resolutions. In the past few years I've pep talked myself not into giving up things such as caffeine or chocolate, but rather adding something new to my routine like more gym time, yoga, swimming, etc. As a result, I hit my training goals in 2009 and then promptly road my healthy achievements right off a cliff.
The odd nature of falling off a life precipice is that you are often in total free fall for an extended period of time before you really sit up and say "wow, when did that happen?" And by that, you of course are asking why you suddenly find yourself nearly 15+ lbs. heavier than when you started training, completely divorced from your gym routine, without any yoga centering left, and the closet you've come to runner's high in months was breathing deeply while driving past someone else running on a gorgeous day.
As I rounded the corner into 2011, I knew I was in trouble. The fumes of training that had propelled me across the 2010 Broad Street 10 miler were long gone and I was committed to kicking the 2011 race with some serious training. Then I canceled my trainer because I wanted to save the money. I haven't seen the gym since.
My friends and I sporadically tried to get reinvigorated by going to yoga, fail. We signed up for an 8k in March to give us a midway training goal. A friend ran the race wearing my bib because the number of times I've put on my running shoes in recent months? Zero. Nada. Not even close.
Number of excuses? Infinite. Number of legitimate life altering excuses? Zero.
So Lent was to mark a new beginning for me, a chance to refocus. With less than three days to go, I am no further ahead than I was at the beginning. I actually can't run the race next weekend because I literally couldn't finish in the allotted time and taking your body from zero to ten miles on a single morning is unwise and potentially damaging. So that free fall? I think I'm starting to see the bottom of the canyon.
I know all of the one day at time adages, one foot in front of the other, try not to focus on the big picture, just start with something small. So my something small is acknowledging that I've lost all accountability.
I'm going to start climbing out now, I need go dust off my running shoes.
Sunday, January 23, 2011
An Extra Hour
If there were only more than 24 hours in a day. Ah, the sentiment we've all uttered seriously or fleeting from time to time as we rush from task to task. After grad school, I can remember basking in luxurious open evenings. Spacious Sundays uninterrupted by a forced eight hour march at the library. Coming back to Washington work-life balance was at the heart of my career choice. Less on-call, less frenetic pace. All conscious choices.
A survey of the past three years back in our hometown, shows a splattered mix of the use of my new found free time. Nothing cemented with conviction and discipline the way grad school forces you to divide your days.
An hour for the gym.
An hour for writing.
An hour for cooking a more involved meal.
An hour for art/gift/photo projects.
Sure they've all made an appearance in the repertoire, but some how none has carved out firm time. So when DH travels for several weeks at a time I'm presented with an interesting opportunity that I've often squandered. Massive chunks of time that I can fill with anything at all. An ideal opportunity to form new habits, healthy habits.
So I'd like to be able to report that with the start of 2011 the latest sojourn brought on by his travel has set me on the right path. Specifically with reestablishing a five day-a-week gym schedule. That would be a no.
Rather, I've rediscovered a mean case of insomnia; tried out a few new recipes (yummy pork loin and pizza recipes will be shared later); caught up on a disproportionate amount of reality TV; and merely dappled in the gym.
Well, tomorrow is a new day. Maybe the extra hour I need to fit in the gym will be there.
A survey of the past three years back in our hometown, shows a splattered mix of the use of my new found free time. Nothing cemented with conviction and discipline the way grad school forces you to divide your days.
An hour for the gym.
An hour for writing.
An hour for cooking a more involved meal.
An hour for art/gift/photo projects.
Sure they've all made an appearance in the repertoire, but some how none has carved out firm time. So when DH travels for several weeks at a time I'm presented with an interesting opportunity that I've often squandered. Massive chunks of time that I can fill with anything at all. An ideal opportunity to form new habits, healthy habits.
So I'd like to be able to report that with the start of 2011 the latest sojourn brought on by his travel has set me on the right path. Specifically with reestablishing a five day-a-week gym schedule. That would be a no.
Rather, I've rediscovered a mean case of insomnia; tried out a few new recipes (yummy pork loin and pizza recipes will be shared later); caught up on a disproportionate amount of reality TV; and merely dappled in the gym.
Well, tomorrow is a new day. Maybe the extra hour I need to fit in the gym will be there.
Monday, January 10, 2011
Watch Out Thin People
The absence of a topic in conversation can be an indication how much you really don't want to talk about something. The topic that has eluded this blog? Exercise and weight loss. I've avoided it more effectively than the Christmas cookie platters of yore. I've told myself repeatedly not to write about it because it was too personal, putting too much out there. But enough, I'm going to meekly broach the topic.
So my jump start training of 2009 for 5K/10Ks and sprint triathlons did me a wonder of good. And then through a variety of personal stresses and ironically weighing myself one day and realizing I had lost more than I thought, I stopped really trying. Genius I know. Last May I drug myself across the finish line at the Broad Street 10 miler. It was awesome, it was painful, I want to do it again. With less pain.
Working to dispense of the psychological baggage of a plus-sized lived life, I've finally come to terms with something my doctor said to me several years ago. "Watch how thin people eat and exercise and copy that."
Let me tell you, I've been ticked off about that sentiment for several years. WTH was pretty much all I could think as I walked out of her office. I've been haunted by that phrase over and over again as I made choices at a lunch or dinner with a friend or colleague that is thin and fit. I've hemmed and hawed about it as I used the stationary bike at the gym and watched a fit women pound it out on the treadmill.
Over the last year I've finally started to interpret that concept into the more literal direct statement of "make better choices." Every single thing I shovel into my mouth is a choice. Every time I don't go to the gym is a lost opportunity cost. Implementing this realization is a bit more tricky.
So as I've mulled over new years resolutions to write, the items have not surprisingly centered around health. Yesterday, I caught up with my inspiring and kick-ass training partner from 2009 and independent of each other had both reached two conclusions: we want run a race again and we miss hot yoga.
So watch out thin people, I'm watching.
And very slowly running behind you.
So my jump start training of 2009 for 5K/10Ks and sprint triathlons did me a wonder of good. And then through a variety of personal stresses and ironically weighing myself one day and realizing I had lost more than I thought, I stopped really trying. Genius I know. Last May I drug myself across the finish line at the Broad Street 10 miler. It was awesome, it was painful, I want to do it again. With less pain.
Working to dispense of the psychological baggage of a plus-sized lived life, I've finally come to terms with something my doctor said to me several years ago. "Watch how thin people eat and exercise and copy that."
Let me tell you, I've been ticked off about that sentiment for several years. WTH was pretty much all I could think as I walked out of her office. I've been haunted by that phrase over and over again as I made choices at a lunch or dinner with a friend or colleague that is thin and fit. I've hemmed and hawed about it as I used the stationary bike at the gym and watched a fit women pound it out on the treadmill.
Over the last year I've finally started to interpret that concept into the more literal direct statement of "make better choices." Every single thing I shovel into my mouth is a choice. Every time I don't go to the gym is a lost opportunity cost. Implementing this realization is a bit more tricky.
So as I've mulled over new years resolutions to write, the items have not surprisingly centered around health. Yesterday, I caught up with my inspiring and kick-ass training partner from 2009 and independent of each other had both reached two conclusions: we want run a race again and we miss hot yoga.
So watch out thin people, I'm watching.
And very slowly running behind you.
Monday, August 9, 2010
Why I'm Glad There Aren't Life Grades
I could blame my lack of go-getter attitude on the heat. It has been crazy hot in DC this summer, but that would be pretty much BS. Yes, August has arrived and as I have a small mental freak out that I have squandered away my summer I'm taking stock in what I have and haven't done well or done at all this summer. Here's to hoping "writing this out loud" makes me a little more honest and productive as we sprint to fall.
-Training: Bah! Don't make me laugh. My two gym memberships (one for swimming, the other for everything else) have barely been used and I think my trainer is starting to get testy. I will be running in the Marine Corps 10K so I do need to get my act back together.
-Debt Free: Check. Short of Dear College. We officially owe no one or entity. It's awesome and I'm totally geeking out on increasing our retirement savings and all other sorts of rainy day savings options.
-Eco Products: Very little improvement here. Still working through using up other things, but then when I've run of say make-up, on the fly I've punted and bought drugstore something in a hurry to make up for it and yet to make a full transition to a Greenista suggested brand.
-Eco Friendly Commute: I didn't take up the bike, but we've been doing a little carpool of two in our household and while not the most efficient, it definitely beats out having the old two cars. Bus use still in rotation.
-Dressing Like a Grown Up: Work in progress. It pains me to spend money on clothes because I've fallen hard for not spending (which says a lot because I love clothes and shoes. Oh how I love shoes). I just added a few small items and I'm going to have to force myself to spend a little more to not look homeless.
-Feed the Brain: Went to Seth Godin and I have been reading more, but still more progress required. For the record, Godin was interesting, not mind opening. Still noodling on why.
-Creative Self: Still wait listed for glass blowing, thinking about painting.
-Eat Local: Total fail, unless you count restaurants. My trips to the farmers market (other than at work) have been nonexistent and I am determined to remedy. There's still plenty of tasty things to eat through late summer and fall.
That's enough navel gazing. Sorry about that, but I have to purge it from my head to move on. With more travel on the horizon for the other half again I need to find balance between projects and busy work because I'll need a little bit of both. But did I mention we're financially balanced? That's priceless people. Priceless.
-Training: Bah! Don't make me laugh. My two gym memberships (one for swimming, the other for everything else) have barely been used and I think my trainer is starting to get testy. I will be running in the Marine Corps 10K so I do need to get my act back together.
-Debt Free: Check. Short of Dear College. We officially owe no one or entity. It's awesome and I'm totally geeking out on increasing our retirement savings and all other sorts of rainy day savings options.
-Eco Products: Very little improvement here. Still working through using up other things, but then when I've run of say make-up, on the fly I've punted and bought drugstore something in a hurry to make up for it and yet to make a full transition to a Greenista suggested brand.
-Eco Friendly Commute: I didn't take up the bike, but we've been doing a little carpool of two in our household and while not the most efficient, it definitely beats out having the old two cars. Bus use still in rotation.
-Dressing Like a Grown Up: Work in progress. It pains me to spend money on clothes because I've fallen hard for not spending (which says a lot because I love clothes and shoes. Oh how I love shoes). I just added a few small items and I'm going to have to force myself to spend a little more to not look homeless.
-Feed the Brain: Went to Seth Godin and I have been reading more, but still more progress required. For the record, Godin was interesting, not mind opening. Still noodling on why.
-Creative Self: Still wait listed for glass blowing, thinking about painting.
-Eat Local: Total fail, unless you count restaurants. My trips to the farmers market (other than at work) have been nonexistent and I am determined to remedy. There's still plenty of tasty things to eat through late summer and fall.
That's enough navel gazing. Sorry about that, but I have to purge it from my head to move on. With more travel on the horizon for the other half again I need to find balance between projects and busy work because I'll need a little bit of both. But did I mention we're financially balanced? That's priceless people. Priceless.
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