Welcome To The Home Of The Every Day Goddess
I keep reading that a key way to stick to a fitness program is to keep an exercise journal. I've now been keeping one for the last couple of weeks. Sure enough, I've been exercising most days. But the thing is, I don't seem to be able to keep a journal that is is just cut and dried boring. I mean I started writing things like treadmill for three miles, four sets of bicep curls....but let's face it, that makes for totally boring reading. Anyone who knows me knows that writing and reading are at the forefront of my identity. My "exercise journal" began being filled with concepts, emotions, and (God I'm a geek!) vocabulary. Yeah...I wish I was kidding.
I've taken some time to get really quiet, and explore the idea of goal setting. I think it's important to recognize that you can't always predict/control the outcome of your efforts. For instance, instead of saying I'll lost thirty pounds in three months, you might be better off saying I'm going to eat thirteen hundred calories a day, do sixty minutes of vigorous cardio five days a week, strength train every other day, and cut out sugar. See the difference? You may lose those thirty pounds if you adhere to those guidelines. This puts you more in control of your destiny.
It's helpful to list your goals, maybe even show them to a trusted comrade. These lists can be helpful to look at when you are feeling sore, tired, bored, or mindlessly hungry. It's also important to be setting goals for yourself because you want to make the changes. You can't really sustain a lifestyle change just to please someone else. This is not to say that can't find inspiration in others. But ultimately you are doing this for you. When you commit those goals to paper, make sure you mean it. A series of failed attempts can dampen your spirit.
It sucks to start with baby steps...but it pays to start with baby steps. Those first weeks of diet and exercise can be really tough. My frustration comes from having done all this before. I'm a card carrying member of the Yo-Yo Sisterhood. I've been doing a personal inventory, trying to figure what the possible silver lining there is in having lost a great deal of weight, then after several years gained it all back. Surprisingly, I did come up with one. As a person who has been through this before I know that I can do it again (it's really hard, but it can be done.) I also know that I can combine my love of writing (and the advent of blogging) with my current effort. Therefor I may actually be able to help other people (I firmly believe that you can't live a good life, or truly be happy if you don't help others.)
Still, these early days of building a foundation for a more rigorous life-long fitness plan are frustrating. My body is not even near strong enough to do the workout I know will get me into the shape I want to be in. But that is why I'm doing the foundation work out that I'm doing right now. It involves the most basic types of exercise. I'm mainly doing the treadmill, with free weights for my upper body. I'm also throwing in a small amount of basic yoga for flexibility and stress relief.
