I have to lose weight. I want to lose weight. I struggle to lose weight.
These key statements will not be unfamiliar to those who swear every January to lose those extra pounds. I know. I’ve sworn that every January since high school.
Trish invited me to blog when I posted to our Romance Bandits loop about joining the YMCA. I’ve been doing Weight Watchers on and off also and had managed to lose 15 pounds. I understand the program. I KNOW the program and I feel better when I exercise and yet…here it is February 5 and I’m still languishing.
I offer no excuses but I do have explanations. Since October I’ve had two dear friends go through some traumatic life events. As a friend, I was there with them but I also worried for them and when I am stressed I eat. Then the holidays happened and now my brother had to have surgery. Running back and forth between houses, working 12-hour days and trying to keep up makes me stressed. So…I reach for the quick solution. I don’t get to the gym like I intend. I don’t follow the points like I should. No excuses.
No one can do this but me. No. One. I have to MAKE the time I need to exercise. I have to follow the program of Weight Watchers. I can do it. We all can do it. So I’m dusting the chocolate off my hands, tossing the buttered bread out the window and taking it one day at a time.
What about you? What are you going to do different today to get back on track?
10 comments:
Joan, I think we can all relate. There are times with big life events can totally derail all our best health and fitness efforts. It's important to not berate ourselves for it and just move forward. Sounds like that's what you're doing. I think you'll be rewarded for being such a good friend to those people who needed you.
As for me, I rededicate myself to exercise every single day. I did well two days ago, but other than the errands yesterday, I got no exercise. I'm on deadline and trying to catch up after being away from home for nearly two weeks, but like you said, I need to MAKE time to exercise. So I'm shooting for at least an hour a day, maybe more, until I get this book revised and turned in.
Life can really make it hard sometimes to be healthy. When I find myself struggling with my efforts to be healthy (exercising, keeping a food diary, making smart food choices, avoiding emotional eating/stress eating/eating for reward, etc.), I find it very helpful to just focus on one thing per week as I try to get back on the wagon. Best wishes to you, Joan, as you work on getting back on track.
In terms of what am I struggling with lately - I did not work out as much as I like in the month of January. I want to do better with that in February. The snow is going to interfere with that a bit, but I'm going to try to work out one or two times this weekend.
Michelle, maybe when the snow keeps you away from the gym, you could create some in-home exercises -- using some household items like 5-pound bags of flour or sugar as weights, stretches, sit-ups or crunches, lunges, walking the stairs in your building, etc.
Trish, I do have some exercise tapes and a step in my condo. I'm going to try to do some of those this weekend, and I'm thinking about buying some of the Jillian Michaels DVDs to expand my collection (and variety). I've heard they're good. I'm just not happy with how little I've really worked out this past month and need to change that. I can feel a difference in my body and am missing some of the benefits of exercise.
Welcome back to Nashville!
I guess Michelle you could shovel snow :-)
I know but today I got a salad at lunch. The first I've had in two months. I'm committed to getting back to my WW meeting tomorrow morning. Our local cable company has an On Demand program that has exercise programs. I can do that if our own weather keeps me from the gym.
I also found individual cans of V8 Fusion at the grocery! This will come in very handy for work!
Congrats, Joan, on getting that salad and committing to going back to Weight Watchers tomorrow. I really do find the meetings helpful.
Shoveling is definitely exercise. I'll be sure to do some kind of exercise this weekend.
Congrats on the salad, Joan. I think Trish is right--the best answer is to dust yourself off and keep trying. That's the best any of us can do. You can do it! (Imagine Rob Schneider in the Water Boy here)
LOL, Sally, on the Water Boy reference. I can't tell you how many times I've said "You can do it" in that voice. Yes, I'm a dork. :)
Joan, I'm going to have to check out the programming on my local cable provider and maybe TiVo some exercise programs.
It sounds so easy when we're talking to ourselves about it, doesn't it? And when we're in the right mindset, it actually is easy. The hard part is making that mindset last, and I fail at that miserably. I let too many life things get in the way.
Nothing helpful to add...just commiserating. I'm keep you in my best thoughts. As for me, I'm doing the horrible "THIS Monday will be the day..." thing. I should start tonight, this very moment. But I know I won't. (sigh)
Heather, I think exercise and eating healthy is like writing and so many other things -- we know it won't be that bad if we can just make ourselves start. But the starting is the hard part. I think then we just have to fall back on Nike's motto: "Just Do It!"
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