So, About this Diet and Exercise Thing…

Let’s talk honestly here for a minute. Painful as that may be, its important. We all have flaws and faults and things we want to change. That’s completely ok. Like the saying goes… “the first step is admitting you have a problem.” In recognizing that there’s an issue, there is room for improvement. If you refuse to acknowledge your own issues, you can’t very well move on, can you? In order to make this easier on the rest of you (all three of the rest of you!) I’ll go first. Lord, save me from embarrassment…

The Dreaded Truth
On August 1st, 2008 I weighed a whopping (here’s the embarrassing part) 190 lbs. I’m only 5’5”, so that’s pretty freaking gross. I had been aware of this problem for some time, and I knew I needed to do something about it, but for whatever reason, I wasn’t moved to change anything. But one afternoon, as I was getting ready to leave my office, I thought “You know what? This is just bullshit. I’m fat. I shouldn’t be fat. I don’t want to be fat.” And before I logged off my computer I went to Weight Watchers On-line and signed up.

By October of that year, I was down to about 165lbs. My husband and I had also joined a gym that summer, so between the Gym and Weigh Watchers (WW from here on out) I had lost about 25 pounds of flubby and mushy in a few months. My fitness was greatly improved. I was ecstatic. I was getting lots of compliments from friends and co-workers, and I was so motivated to keep it going. My goal weight was 140, and I knew I could do it. I was already half way there!

Then I got a crappy cold. Then my birthday. Then Thanksgiving. Then Christmas… and New Years… and before you know it Easter, which means Cadbury Eggs. And then summer, which is Ice Cream season, and before you know it you’re right back at Halloween again, which should be called “Eat for Three Months Straight Eve.” Its not widely popular as an official holiday yet, but I’m working on it.

*sigh*

I currently weigh 171.8 lbs. Considering that I have gone a whole YEAR without keeping track of my WW points, and really slacking off at the Gym (I was going 3-4 times a week), I haven’t done too badly with keeping my weight off. But I know I can do better. And I will do better. The best way to do that, for me, is to jump on the wagon again.

What I Did
First and foremost, at the beginning of 2010 I re-committed myself (feel free to laugh at that phrase all you want) to reaching my original goal weight. I started keeping track of my WW points again as a way to be accountable to myself for myself. At the first of the year, I actually weighed a few pounds more than I do now… so I’ve already lost some weight. I also decided to start this blog… its another way to be accountable, in a way, but I also feel like writing down what I’ve been doing and where I am on my journey will be another form of positive reinforcement that I can share with someone else (again… all three of you!).

Second, I started with workout baby-steps. This may be laziness on my part, and y’all can think that if you want. But let me tell you something… I typically can’t bring myself to leave the house once I get home in the winter time. Its already dark when I get there… add the cold to that and I’m not feeling motivated to do much of anything but sit on the couch in my jammies. This winter has been incredibly and unusually cold and damp, so I have not yet been back to my gym in many moons.

I did start doing 30 minutes of cardio on my mini stair-stepper once a week for the past couple of weeks while I watch TV. I don’t think its as good as a treadmill or an elliptical machine, but its something, and knowing me during winter is the reason I bought it. I also occasionally supplement my stair-stepping with the On Demand workout routines my cable company offers.

A moment of praise for “Fitness TV”… I love it. L.O.V.E. IT. And while I don’t visit Fitness TV as much as I should, when I do, I am always so impressed with the volume and variety of workouts available any time I want to use them. From 4 week “make over” workout regimens, to 15 minute “build a better butt” quickies, from Pilates to kickbox cardio, they have it all.

When I opt for one of these On Demand workouts, I usually do more than one. I’ll browse through the (never ending) menu of options, and find a couple that target the area(s) I want to target and are short… about 20 minutes or less. This tactic is two-fold; Mentally, I feel like its easier to handle and less daunting to complete two smaller workouts than one big one, and also I can do two totally different things in less than an hour—like cardio and Pilates. Or Legs and core strength.

Next Steps
Getting myself back to the gym is going to be a big hurdle, and I’m not really sure why. It shouldn’t be. Its as easy as hopping in the car and driving three miles down the road. Maybe it’s the misconception that everyone at the gym is watching you. Maybe its guilt or shame I’m feeling about all the months that I have been paying my membership, but haven’t been going.
I also want to be able to actually ride Alfie more often. I can be as “gym fit” as I want to be, but that doesn’t translate into “riding fit”… and vice versa. I could be fit enough to run five miles a day, but that doesn’t mean I have the core stability and the right kind of strength to ride for 30 minutes.

I’ve considered starting the workouts that are in the book “The Rider’s Fitness Program”… but part of me is a little intimidated. It’s a 6 week schedule with three different workouts each week. Each workout is only 6 or 7 different exercises… but looking at the pictures of the exercises and machines and equipment in the book, I get the heebie-jeebies. The weight machines at the gym kind of intimidate me anyway… even the simple ones. But add to that different moves and attaching certain handles to the cables… and I feel like I’m in over my head.

Three workouts a week, plus riding 3 or 4 days a week, plus needing to get 3 or 4 days of cardio in per week… When am I going to have time to even do all of that? I work a full time job! And it takes me an hour to get there and an hour to get home! And what about making dinner for myself and Dear Husband? And walking the hounds? And cleaning the house and doing laundry and… sleeping? Its overwhelming!!!

Maybe that is my problem. Maybe I’m trying to do too much. But what is a good balanced approach to all of these things? Ah HA! That’s why the blog is here… I don’t have an answer now, but I’m sure I’ll figure it out by trial and error eventually. You now see where baby steps come in handy for me.

Final Thoughts
We all want to be fit and healthy. We all want to look fantastic in our breeches. But we aren’t all blessed with that long, lithe body the models in the Dover catalog have, so we have to work hard in able to look half that good.

But when it comes down to it, what motivated me was Alfie. Why should I expect him to cart my over-weight ass around when I wasn’t doing anything about it? He could safely carry me around, sure, but was it fair? Especially when I knew I should weigh less? Not really. He’s been used to feather-weight jockeys riding him… and here I come at twice that weight. With me at a healthier weight, Alfie would be able to do his job more easily, and quite possibly better. I would also be able to do my job better, as a rider, too. The advantage to losing weight was beneficial to me and Alfie as a team. If I want Alfie to eat the right things and stay fit, why shouldn’t I want that for myself?

Bottom line… you have to be properly motivated. You lose the weight and get fit because you’ll be able to do more with your kids, or you’ll be able to run that half marathon, or because you want to just look good. But its YOUR DECISION. Do it because you want to, and for the reasons that are right for you. Don’t do it because someone else tells you to do so over and over again. Its your life, and your call. It will mean so much more to you when you reach your goal than it would if you were merely trying to please others. Period.