Healthy Habits in 2010 - More Important Things to Realize
I wrote yesterday about how this broken toe has turned out to be a huge blessing in many ways - other than the fact that my toe is, well, broken.
First: I learned that I was really making excuses for what I wasn't getting done when in fact I just plain wasn't doing things. I was being lazy.
Second: Guess what? That goes for my weight loss and getting fit and healthy plans too.
Oh, I made some strides this year alright. I got both the early spring and summer promos at Jazzercise (and won a cute tote bag and a really cute pair of flip flops to boot!) - totally 45 classes in 3 months which means I was going to class somewhere between 3 and 4 classes a week those three months. Whoo hoo! And I realized that I was eating in part to fill in the gaps in spiritual and emotional intimacy in my relationship with John. That was a huge deal too.
I realized this weekend that a lot of the excuses I had in my head for not doing more in terms of exercise and watching what I eat were exactly that - excuses.
I can't do Jazzercise for 4-6 weeks with my injured toe and I panicked. I could see myself getting hideously fat (really Lea, in 6 weeks?) and then not being able to walk at all (yes, in my mind that was how fat I would get). I saw all the 'hard work' I had put in over the last 7 1/2 months going down the drain. Though my doctor did say I could do the arm and ab work and anything with my legs where I was laying on my back on the floor. That's at least half the workout there (I get to try that out tomorrow AM by the way).
So I started looking for alternative options.
I possibly have an option for swimming three times a week, though I'm not excited about it since I really dislike swimming (that's another story!) and never learned to swim properly because of that. Hopefully I can write about that soon.
I dug through some old magazine clippings and found several weight training type exercises for my arms and legs that I can do without putting weight on my foot. I did those this morning. 4 sets of arm exercises, 2 legs and 2 abdominal exercises took me a whole whopping total of 30 minutes - done in 3 different sets of 6 to 14 minutes at a time. Um duh. There goes that excuse of 'not having the time to do it.'
I'm also hoping in 2 weeks, when I can put more weight on my foot, to start walking regularly. I had been doing some already, but I quit wearing my new pedometer quite a while ago, and I really do need to get back to that again. No, I won't be running any races or winning any speed awards, but I'll at least be moving.
The biggest thing I realized is that I eat out of habit or boredom.
I think this is what most people do each day. I remember my Mom once commenting on my Aunt badgering my Grandmother until dinner was served right at 6pm - even though we'd just eaten a huge meal at 3pm. Were any of us hungry? No. Was my Aunt so used to having something to eat at 6pm that she 'needed' it. Yep. At the time I didn't pay much attention to the comment. Now it holds a big clue to the mystery of why my Aunt is obese.
In the last 4 days I noticed I did that 18 times. At least those were the times I noticed; I'm sure there were more than that. One of my triggers is reading - curling up with a good book and something crunchy to eat. Am I hungry? No. Habit? Yes. I also noticed that if I don't quite know what to do next, I'll eat something.
I also noticed that if I'm hungry, I'll make far more than I need. Today, for example, I made the kids a bowl of popcorn for a snack while they played in our newly rearranged family room and I worked on some schoolwork. I was hungry too and almost popped another whole bowl of popcorn just for me! Yes, it was the low-fat variety, but I truly didn't need that much! Especially since we were eating dinner in 2 hours! I fed myself one Wasa cracker with a slice of really good cheddar cheese on top and made myself a cup of tea. I was fine and my hunger more than satisfied.
Big things? Maybe.
More like little things that make a big difference!
What have you realized on your journey to a healthier you? Care to share?
First: I learned that I was really making excuses for what I wasn't getting done when in fact I just plain wasn't doing things. I was being lazy.
Second: Guess what? That goes for my weight loss and getting fit and healthy plans too.
Oh, I made some strides this year alright. I got both the early spring and summer promos at Jazzercise (and won a cute tote bag and a really cute pair of flip flops to boot!) - totally 45 classes in 3 months which means I was going to class somewhere between 3 and 4 classes a week those three months. Whoo hoo! And I realized that I was eating in part to fill in the gaps in spiritual and emotional intimacy in my relationship with John. That was a huge deal too.
I realized this weekend that a lot of the excuses I had in my head for not doing more in terms of exercise and watching what I eat were exactly that - excuses.
I can't do Jazzercise for 4-6 weeks with my injured toe and I panicked. I could see myself getting hideously fat (really Lea, in 6 weeks?) and then not being able to walk at all (yes, in my mind that was how fat I would get). I saw all the 'hard work' I had put in over the last 7 1/2 months going down the drain. Though my doctor did say I could do the arm and ab work and anything with my legs where I was laying on my back on the floor. That's at least half the workout there (I get to try that out tomorrow AM by the way).
So I started looking for alternative options.
I possibly have an option for swimming three times a week, though I'm not excited about it since I really dislike swimming (that's another story!) and never learned to swim properly because of that. Hopefully I can write about that soon.
I dug through some old magazine clippings and found several weight training type exercises for my arms and legs that I can do without putting weight on my foot. I did those this morning. 4 sets of arm exercises, 2 legs and 2 abdominal exercises took me a whole whopping total of 30 minutes - done in 3 different sets of 6 to 14 minutes at a time. Um duh. There goes that excuse of 'not having the time to do it.'
I'm also hoping in 2 weeks, when I can put more weight on my foot, to start walking regularly. I had been doing some already, but I quit wearing my new pedometer quite a while ago, and I really do need to get back to that again. No, I won't be running any races or winning any speed awards, but I'll at least be moving.
The biggest thing I realized is that I eat out of habit or boredom.
I think this is what most people do each day. I remember my Mom once commenting on my Aunt badgering my Grandmother until dinner was served right at 6pm - even though we'd just eaten a huge meal at 3pm. Were any of us hungry? No. Was my Aunt so used to having something to eat at 6pm that she 'needed' it. Yep. At the time I didn't pay much attention to the comment. Now it holds a big clue to the mystery of why my Aunt is obese.
In the last 4 days I noticed I did that 18 times. At least those were the times I noticed; I'm sure there were more than that. One of my triggers is reading - curling up with a good book and something crunchy to eat. Am I hungry? No. Habit? Yes. I also noticed that if I don't quite know what to do next, I'll eat something.
I also noticed that if I'm hungry, I'll make far more than I need. Today, for example, I made the kids a bowl of popcorn for a snack while they played in our newly rearranged family room and I worked on some schoolwork. I was hungry too and almost popped another whole bowl of popcorn just for me! Yes, it was the low-fat variety, but I truly didn't need that much! Especially since we were eating dinner in 2 hours! I fed myself one Wasa cracker with a slice of really good cheddar cheese on top and made myself a cup of tea. I was fine and my hunger more than satisfied.
Big things? Maybe.
More like little things that make a big difference!
What have you realized on your journey to a healthier you? Care to share?
