It was a Saturday and for some unearthly reason I decided to wake up early, as usual, don my workout clothes and go for a walk. Not just a walk but a bit of a jog. This is the norm for those chosen few. Those wonderful people who eat healthy, exercise, and take in every bit of life they can suck in while they sweat out the bad stuff. Essentially, not me. I'm not in horrible shape mind you. I'm an average weight. I have an average endurance. I eat average size meals and am moderately active. Nothing to write home about. But one day it happened. I put on my jeans and realized that they did not quite fit the same. In fact, I seemed to be slightly smooshed into them. Yes, smooshed. Did the dryer shrink them? Absolutely. Was I somewhat bloated? Why not. I could have eaten too much for dinner the night before. Sounds reasonable. The problem was I knew I was lying to myself. A big, obvious, bold-faced lie. And it was ugly. I had gained weight. Five pounds to be exact. Perhaps not the end of the world. But for someone all of 5'4 and who wears fitted clothes five pounds can be a little unsettling. Not only was I heavier but I suddenly noticed that I wasn't as tone. When did that happen?! It's like I hit 30 and my body decided to rebel. I suppose it happens to all of us. You can't have those candy binges you once did. Have your fourth meal of the day at 10pm or even later. Never have thought of a gym or exercise unless it involved having to walk because you were too young to drive a car and didn't know anyone else who could. Nope. Those days are over. At least they were for me.
Sometime in November I decided I'd had enough. I was tired of making excuses for why I didn't exercise. I was tired. I couldn't go out because I had the girls all day. There wasn't enough time. I couldn't afford the gym. Blah, blah, blah. Even I knew I was full of it. I just didn't have the drive. So I forced myself to. I turned on our Wii, which was ironically purchased years ago for the purpose of exercising at home, put on the Wii Active and began my 30 day workout. It's a program where you set your difficulty level, answer some questions about yourself, and begin training. It tries to customize itself to what it thinks you need. And I loved it. It wasn't always easy to get up and exercise. I do all my working out around 11pm and sometimes that means a day with the girls, a night at work, then still working out. But the way I would feel afterwards was great.
I completed my 30 day workout. Didn't lose a pound. But I can see a difference in tone. My stomaches flatter and my arms have muscle. So the scale can take a hike for all I care. I think they're a horrid invention anyways. Does anyone really need a scale to tell them what shape they're in? I find that if I look into a full length mirror I pretty much know where my problem areas are. Another giveaway of my need for exercise was the fact that jogging to the corner winded me. The corner! Not even a far corner. So again, scale bad. Keep your self esteem. Workout for you not for the number on the scale.
I am currently working out with the XBOX Kinect Your Shape game. I prefer the Wii but am happy to try new things just to keep it interesting.
I workout with a console 4-5 times a week. I jog on the weekends. My goal? A healthier me. I am sharing this so you're goal can be a healthier you. We all have the energy for the excuses. Save the talk and lets all get up and sweat out the bad. If all you can muster is a daily walk then I say walk on. But move your body. We get one body and one life there's no sense in wasting either one. So let this health blog be all about exercise. I will be posting more blogs as I go along about my mission to create a better me. Physically, mentally, and spiritually. I hope they can encourage at least one person out there to want to create a better them.
