The day in review: I have no clue. I can't assess this information anymore. Maybe I never could and that's the problem. Or part of it. I think I'm ranging off into too much mental wandering.
Snacks, snacks and more snacks. Hmmmm. Snacks. I would expunge them all from my house but then I would just buy more. I need to learn how to know that it's here and moderate my intake of it. I don't think that total abstinence from snacking is a fix for this problem long term. Snacking is too deeply embedded in my lifestyle. And, frankly, I don't want to give it up. I want to behave myself. In a word: moderation. It's a goal. A big one, apparently.
Today is mixed. My meal portions were great but they were heavily rounded out by snacks. I did manage to talk myself out of all the urges to stop today and acquire cake/donut/cookie. I suppose that's something.
And, on schedule, I managed some workout time. That makes for 3 workouts over a six day period. I'm defining a 'workout' as 20-30 minutes of activity that actually raises my heart rate and keeps it up. I've had some increased activity overall the last week in the form of walks and many trips up and down the stairs. I've been changing out the workouts. Each one has left different parts of my body very sore - this is a huge mental block for me. I'm already hurting, why do I want to do it again? I'm getting around that by doing a different workout. Does anyone know if this is good or bad? Should I be focusing on one routine for awhile? Or is it just really about the heart rate increase? I don't know. I don't exercise very often. Or, really, ever. Except now. Because I need a change.
The other day I thought "Wow, Cornerstone is about four months away. I need to start getting in shape." I think this every year. I think about walking or bicycling around the campground and think how much nicer it would be if I were more physically fit. But the closer the mid-summer gets, the harder it seems to accomplish. I think something like: I can't get physically fit it 2 months, why bother doing anything now? Defeatist logic, yes. But the other day, when I thought about getting fit, I thought: You know, maybe I can do this. After all, I've got 4 months and I've already started trying to fix my eating habits and be more physically active.
Who knows. Maybe this year I'll be able to pull it all together.
Tonight, the exercise thing was really hard to approach. But I did it anyway. So, regardless of the endless snacking, I'm going to lean towards success.
Regarding your exercise, it really depends on what your goals are. If you are looking for cardio and just increasing your heart rate in general, then you should just do anything that achieves that goal. Overall you will burn calories which if you expend more than you intake will lead to weight loss. If you are looking in particular to tone a certain part of the body, then you would want to work those specific areas 2-3 times a week. Honestly, unless you have a specific need for a certain muscle group, I think any fitness is good fitness (coming from someone who now has a permanent butt indent in the couch).
ReplyDeleteYou will get there. You are making progress. I promise. Look back last month. Were you talking about exercise? If you were, I apologize, that's a bad example. Look back 2 months. :) The point is, I know it feels slow, but that's how the best life-changing progress is made.
This is progress for real people, not some reality tv show where there are people to cook meals for you and inspire/scare you into not quitting. You are coming up with real life solutions.
Thanks for the feedback. I've been trying to understand my road blocks to exercise and how to circumvent them. I would like to work on my middle (I'm too pear shaped for my taste) eventually, but I think that specific toning needs to take a backseat to the overall effort to become more physically fit. When I'm sore from a workout, I don't want to work those muscles again. So for now, I think the rotation method is best.
ReplyDeleteIt does feel so slow. It feels like I'll never get any better than I am now. It's my desire to make grand changes, not put my energy into the small lifestyle changes that will result in lasting success. I'm trying to remember this is about change - and it does take time. Sigh.