Consistency, Challenge and Goal

I feel bad for neglecting my blog.  I seem to have developed writers block. I used to be really creative, and have all of these ideas flowing through my mind so fast that I couldn't write them down, but since I stopped taking any depression medicine my brain seems to have slowed down.  I'm not having wild ups and downs, although I have been pretty grouchy the last couple of days. I think that having a cat that keeps puking on my carpet first thing in the morning is contributing to the bad mood more than anything chemical though.  As you will learn in the following blog, sticking with things in the long term is something that I struggle with daily.  I don't want to give up on this blog--I love writing and knowing that people are reading it.

In the last 7 months since we moved, I've been doing yoga, Zumba, and water aerobics in attempts to help me stay fit and lose weight.  None of it really worked.  I would eat more in the lunch after going to water aerobics than I would during the class, and I never felt like it was a particularly difficult work out.  Zumba challenged me, but I didn't do it often enough, and the songs started to get on my nerves, because they would stuck in my head for days on end. Yoga, as I've discussed in the past may have been a contributing factor in my back pain, so I stopped it shortly before my semester was going to end anyways.  I like all of these activities, but I need to do them weekly, not one a week if they are going to make a real difference in my health.

Consistency is and always has been my biggest challenge in life. Consistency from studying daily, practicing a religion, not getting bored and giving up on projects, cooking/making meal plans, working out, and even little stuff like routines of taking a shower every day, brushing my teeth, taking medicine.  Yes, I'm openly admitting that at times I forget to do these things. so feel free to mock my occasionally skuzzy teeth and greasy hair (although I'll probably kick you). It is my struggle. My battle with consistency has a lot to do with my difficulty in losing weight and getting/staying fit.  I start something, be it going to a exercise class, making meal plans, working on my elliptical, doing yoga at home, counting calories and I get bored and give up and in the end...don't lose weight.  I'm really frustrated that I am at the same weight I was my senior year of college before I worked my ass off to lose 40lbs.

It is is this weird catch 22 of sorts, because if I don't highly regiment things, I don't get anything done but if I feel like I have too much stuff to do, I just shut down and can't do anything at all.  I start freaking out and thinking of what I can cancel or move around so that I don't feel overwhelmed. I'm not sure what this means or how I can deal with this anymore than simply working hard to have some accountability to myself and other people.

Last week, I joined a gym at the recommendation of a very nice lady I met.  We are around the same age, and live pretty equally far from the place and she really likes it. This gym includes all fitness classes (yoga, zumba, spinning, aeorbics) and obviously cardio machines with the gym membership. I figure if I use them there as often as I have paid for them elsewhere that it might work itself out in the end.  The other costly thing I did to get me actually into the gym is to get a trainer. I started on Monday, and Tuesday, what was left of my pecs after not working out for 6 months were pretty sore.  I think Zumba has kept my legs in pretty good shape, since they didn't hurt much.  My goal is to continue with the trainer at least 2x/week and get in for at least 2-3 classes on top of that. I'd like to do some private pilates lessons as well to learn about the machines and see how my back feels with them.  Some things work, some don't.

I am well aware of how fortunate I am to have the financial ability to do these things, to buy healthy food and eat the things I want, when I want. I am truly blessed, and I thank my husband every day for giving me this opportunity to stay home, and not have to work.  The least I can do is do something with this opportunity.  My husband made me write a list of goals recently and basically told me that my job was to work towards one of those goals every day.

So while I will struggle every day with making myself learn a new pattern of going to the gym, and doing things differently I need to. Most of us do.  I've already made a lot of positive changes in my lifestyle in the last few years. I'm looking forward to more, and making those changes habits to last a lifetime.

On another note, I managed to get distracted from this post at least 5 times...ADD anyone?

Some side goals where I am just going to talk to myself...
*Get better with meal planning, and snack planning so I don't ever feel like there isn't something I want to eat in the house.
*Keep a list posted on the fridge with snack suggestions of things I actually know I like.  (When I'm hungry I want everything and NOTHING at the same time and have no decision making skills.  Plus, I turn into a demented dragon. It isn't pretty.)
*Figure out what I can do with this crazy sweet tooth.  The popcorn at night seems to be a pretty good snack, but is it the best? I'll post the recipe.
* Make hardboiled eggs to have in the fridge--come on, I've got 4 dozen farm fresh eggs (thanks Andy!) that I need to use.
* Look in the pantry! I've got quinoa that I want to eat, but I'm not sure in what recipe.  I am thinking some shredded chicken, finely chopped celery/carrot, tomatoes, and some herbs and spices might work.  I'm craving the food that Lily's mom used to make.  Read some of your magazines, and start to explore with cooking again instead of being all lazy and tired.
* You aren't 'treating' yourself by eating crap, you are HURTING yourself.
* Your elliptical isn't a lawn ornament parked in your room. Use it. I know it isn't the arc trainer you want but...get over your spoiled self.
* Seriously--send some of those awesome people you met an email before they think you are blowing them off.  Not cool Ms. Procrastination.

Consistency

While I am enjoying writing my religion series, it takes awhile for me to digest, think through and write each entry. I am attempting to condense years of my life into a few hundred words.  I never expected the interest that these entries would bring, and thank everyone that has read.  Today I am breaking from the series to blog about learning to live a healthy lifestyle.

A couple of weeks ago I read this quote from one of my favorite bloggers about consistency;
"It’s not what we do occasionally that makes the difference. It’s what we do consistently."  Ronisweigh

See that is the crux of my problem. I, like many Americans am great at doing something one...maybe two times.  Getting that gym membership on a getting fit high, and then using it like twice.  Yeah, been there done that.  My problem however, is doing things over...and over...and over again.  You'd think that it would be easier for me to do that since I love routines but I have always struggled.  I think I am finally overcoming some of that.

My meetup group goes to water aerobics on Mondays, and three of us go to yoga on Wednesdays.  It is a lot more difficult to cancel if you are accountable to other people.  Having that accountability and routine weekly has helped me shape my routine for the rest of the week.

While I was out of town my husband started to lose weight.  He started being more aware of what he was eating, and when, and also I think was able to have his thyroid medicine fixed.  He has lost at least 20 pounds and either his doctor was hitting on him, or he really does look better when she said 'you're looking really good.'  Mwahaha I'm so getting in trouble for putting that out here, but I really can see a difference.  His face is looking slimmer, and his stomach is looking...well, deflated.  I'm really proud of him, and I try to help motivate him daily.

After reading and thinking about Roni's blog entry, I decided to do 10 minutes of physical (aerobic) activity a day.  Yes, water aerobics and yoga counted, but what about the other 5 days? I've gone on walks with my husband, or worked on the elliptical to get my 10 minutes of aerobic exercise a day.  If I felt like it, I'd frequently go over. The one day I 'cheated' I walked around the grocery store for almost an hour. I didn't sweat, but at least I was moving. That is the goal--to CONSISTENTLY exercise and integrate more movement into my every day life.

This week I'm doing 15 minutes. After I had surgery in December and wasn't allowed to work out at all for a couple of weeks, I lost all of my stamina and my motivation. We'd just moved, I didn't have a trainer, my back hurt ect. All valid reasons but excuses never the less.  I'm working on getting back that stamina and every time I get on the elliptical and that extra 5, even 10 minutes isn't too difficult, every time I can stretch a little more in yoga, run a little faster in 5 feet of water, I see that stamina coming back.  I need to get in shape, I need to get healthy.  No just for me, but for my family.

My husband and I decided that while you are never completely 'ready' to have a baby, that we were as ready as we were going to get.  About 6 months ago we actively started 'trying' to have a baby.  So far, no go.  All the baby books point to one thing.  I'm fat. My cycle isn't always regular, and I'm not even sure I am ovulating. What can I do? Besides go to a doctor and get checked out (that appointment is next week) I can start this routine and start getting into a routine that will lead to a healthy life style.

Every person that has lots a ton of weight using sparkpeople.com has made a healthy lifestyle change. It isn't about a miracle drug, or surgery, or all the sudden running and exercising for a short period of time.  We need to make changes every day. Those little changes lead to big ones.  We need to make exercise, healthy eating and learning about nutrition an integral part of our life.  If I don't, I'll never get off this yo-yo weight gain/loss and may never be able to have a baby.  Rather than trying to go all out in the beginning and losing motivation two weeks in, I want to build up a routine and stick to it. Wish me luck on my journey. I wish you luck on yours!

What is your routine?
How do you integrate activity into every day activities?