Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Starting the cycle

So we all know that losing weight is about two "simple" things: (1) eating healthy and (2) exercise. Some people find it easy to do both at the same time. Some people manage to lose a ton of weight without doing a smidgeon of exercise.

For me, I find eating healthy to be way harder than exercising. In fact, exercising drives me to eat healthier. I also feel amazing bursts of energy, and my mood always improves.

So in tackling this journey again, I'm going to do things very differently than I have in the past. I'm going to start with exercise, and only exercise. I'm not going to focus on my eating or water or vitamins. I mean, all of those things are really important, don't get me wrong. I just need to start somewhere, and I think the best pick is exercise.

I started to think about how many times a week I should exercise. Is three a reasonable number? Is five too much? How is this all going to work? And then it hit me. I'm in this for the long haul. Even after I lose my excess weight, exercise is going to be a huge part of my life. So I'd better start building a really positive relationship with it, right? I've decided that I'm going to exercise every day. I know it sounds like overkill, but hear me out.

If I decide to exercise only three times a week, it's easy to lose momentum in between. It's easy to "reschedule" a missed date to another time. And then if I miss two dates in a row, I'm at risk of throwing the whole week out the window. I'm also not talking about running a 1/2 marathon every day of the week! I'm talking about some form of activity. Whether I go to a spinning class, or for a long walk, it doesn't matter. Something will happen every.single.day. Consistency will be key to this, so I'm even going to stick to the same time each day.

And that's it. I'm not going to beat myself up over eating right now. The right habits will form in the fullness of time, especially after I start seeing results. I need to start with one task at a time.

How am I feeling after two days of this? So, so, so fantastic. I didn't think that I'd feel this good so soon. Mentally, I'm so much more committed to this because I know that exercising is just a part of my day. And it's kind of exciting to choose a different activity every night.

What did I say at the top of this blog entry about this whole journey being about two "simple" things? Ha. Simple is such a LOADED word!

4 comments:

Teresa said...

Sorry to hear thing have been rough. Looks like you've got your mogo back to start tackling things. Wishing you much luck. Slow and steady wins the race.

Martalu said...

I think that's a great plan! Exercise is a life saver! It cheers you up and it really does motivate you to eat better, because you need fuel!

Rebecca said...

i love it!!!

seriously, your customizing this to fit your lifestyle! which means it will stick and work for you!

and yay to blogging more often!

Tammy said...

Exercise is definitely easier than eating healthy. It's cause you can just get it done. Eating healthy means planning and preparing ahead of time. I try to do those things but it's alot easier said than done.

Love your blog, you are keeping me motivated.