Friends, get ready for information over-sharing overload. Mercy, this post has been a long time coming. I have really been struggling the last few months with living a healthy lifestyle. It all started back in November when I started a new job that requires a sit a lot more than I was use to. New job also required I work regular business hours. If you have had read this blog before last fall, you would know those are two very new and different things for me.
The first few months I felt like I never knew if I was coming or going. There was never enough time in the day! And all the sitting. Ugh! Hated it. Still do. But then I felt like I was finally getting into a rhythm with things. I was going to the gym most mornings before getting the girls off to school and myself to work. But my eating was not where I really wanted it to be. It wasn’t horrible, but not great. Too many indulgences, too often.
And then mid-June happened. I lost all motivation to workout or care about what I ate. And I really have no idea why, what, when, or how. But the wheels fell off this wagon. I wish there was something that I could look back upon and say, yep that’s it, that’s what happened. But I’ve got nothing. The past several weeks have been a sugar-fueled mess. My weight definitely went up, I had no energy and I was content to be a house slug.
The week before last was our family vacation to Florida with my parents, my youngest brother and his family. This was not a last-minute trip. One would think that would have motivated me to get it together. One would be wrong. I went into this trip hoping the Florida humidity would cause all cameras to produce only blurry photos. Well, Florida let me down and now I have proof of what months of not eating right and less than stellar workout habits can produce.
I’ve spent the last week contemplating what needs to be done here to get moving in the right direction. On the work front, I did the only one thing I really could do. I ordered a stand-up desk. I am now able to stand up for about 90% of my day. (Necessary office equipment requires sitting for the other 10%.) I will also be working on the clinic floor assisting patients with their physical therapy exercises more often again. I did that before, but we’ve had 1-3 PT students each day all summer. Now we are down to just one student for two days a week for another month.
On the food front. I have stocked up on healthy groceries. I can’t eat crap if I don’t buy crap, right? I am also ready to get back to cooking larger meals to be able to have leftovers for quick lunches and dinners. You know how I dislike cooking. And no more drive-thru anything! McDonald’s lures me in with their $1 Diet Coke, but then I can’t leave without ordering a chocolate chip cookie. Have you had one of those? Don’t! They are cookie crack, especially if they are still warm.
That leaves the working out part. I need to just get my butt up out of bed and get moving. Here’s the “funny” part! My body usually wakes me up automatically at 5:00 AM. I could totally get up and go to the gym like I have so many times before. Most days these last few weeks, I even had my clothes laid out for the gym! But then 5:00 AM would roll around, I would wake up, think about getting up, and then instead I would reset my alarm and go back to sleep. Part of this may be due to me having a hard time getting to sleep. It’s so hard to drag myself out of bed at that time, if I didn’t get to sleep until well after midnight. Either way, that habit needs to stop. Maybe I will start putting my alarm/phone in my bathroom instead of on the night stand within arm’s reach. Maybe if I actually have to get out of the bed, I will keep moving.
You may have noticed fewer posts recently. I didn’t feel good about anything and I certainly didn’t want to share that here when I was still processing it all myself. So why share now? Because keeping everything inside is not working for me! And because I don’t want to fool you into thinking things are different from what they really are. I may be private on some things, but I won’t lie about them.
I think one of the things that may help me is getting more organized. I need to just start writing everything down. I ordered a new planner today. I think it will be helpful to see everything written out in black and white in front of me. It will be my personal calendar. We also have a large, wall calendar for my girls to write all of their time commitments on.
Wow, this post has gotten lengthy! To wrap it up, I’m tired of watching life go by and wishing things were different. It’s time to make those changes! I miss “me” if that makes any sense. I plan to share more on each of these areas as things develop. I hope by sharing my challenges, and hopefully successes, it will encourage others to share, too. Most importantly, I want this to be a positive experience for all of us overall. So here’s to the next chapter in this crazy journey!
Tell me what’s going on with you!
