Work-out Wednesday

OK. So it's been pretty much a big fat FAIL for several weeks now. I haven't been checking in because there hasn't really been anything to check in about.

I think I might have learned a few things, though.

1. I feel crappy when I haven't been getting my exercise. As much as I say that I haven't been working out because I feel crappy, I really think it's the other way around.

2. Related to #1, it's really easy to make excuses. Like, "OMG I'm so stressed at the end of the school year, I just want to go home and veg." Or, "The baby is cranky so I can't go out and jog."

3. Letting one piece fall by the wayside invites other pieces to come undone as well. For example, I quit jogging and then my eating habits took a dive and then I started buying soda again.

And finally...

4. It's not a tragedy when it all falls apart, even if it's for weeks at a time. I stepped on the scale and overall was only up a pound since my last check-in here. Yeah, I've been making not-great food choices on the whole, but they're not terrible choices and I haven't been going overboard. I haven't been jogging, but I also haven't been laying around in bed doing nothing.

Knowing that I didn't take a huge step backwards when I fell of the work-out horse makes it a little easier to think about climbing right back on. It means that while I have taken a little step backwards while doing nothing, I have weeks of forward progress to look at while I was "being good." It makes it easier to think "OK. I can start up my good habits again and expect to make incremental progress, but if I skip a few days or a week it's not going to be the end of the world."

Will I start jogging again this week? I don't know. But I am determined to at least improve my eating habits and drink more water. And that's a start. And you know? Maybe it's not realistic to expect myself to get out there and jog 4 times a week (after all, there are BEES out there. Confession - I am deathly afraid of bees. And apparently there are lots of them out this time of year). But maybe if I change that expectation to just getting some exercise 4 days a week then that'll be OK. I have On Demand. I have the Wii Fit. Jillian Michaels and Jenny McCarthy might be able to help me out when I just can't bring myself to leave the house.

Let's work on being flexible with my means of meeting those goals.