During vacation last week, it was the first time I've felt truly out of shape in a while. I mean, I knew it was coming. I was eating as though there was no tomorrow every single day. I hadn't been going to the gym. I was studying for 16 hours everyday, with no real active breaks. And then I began really looking at my body. My arms were becoming flabby and the biceps I'd worked so hard to get were gone. My thighs were expanding at an alarming rate. My stomach was struggling to stop all pants from fitting. And I just felt gross. To top it off, when we went to Universal Studios, I started freaking out in my head that I wouldn't be able to fit in the rides. For those of you who have never had to worry about that, trust me, it's not fun.
So, I made a resolution to myself that I would live it up during my vacation and get serious when I came home. You know. The same resolution I always make to myself. And I feel as though I've been posting a ton of these "I'll do better" posts this year. But I think this time I'll actually be able to do it. I've set goals that I think I can actually maintain. And I've thought things through.
First of all, working out is hard. There's no way around it. I think last year, I got so used to working out, sweating, and feeling uncomfortable that it just seemed normal. Now because my working out has been so sporadic, I forget that it's not going to be easy. That it's going to require more work than last year when I was more in shape. That it's going to be hard and that I won't die. That's right, exercise won't kill me. And really an hour workout is only 4.17% of my day. I'm pretty sure I can manage an hour a day.
The second thing I've thought through is being realistic with myself. I know myself well enough to know that if there is anything tasty in my apartment, I will eventually find some excuse to eat it. So, I cleaned out my cabinets, refrigerator, and freezer this weekend. It was kind of overwhelming. But also necessary.
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| All my foods |
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| Reorganized |
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| My fridge is small :-/ |
I don't have any real indulgences in my apartment and I'm going to have to use a lot of willpower to keep it that way.
Something else I did this weekend was set up a goal/weigh-in chart and make some decisions about when I want to weigh-in.
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| It's hard to see, so I'll explain below! |
I'm also planning to start doing yoga. I've only done yoga once in my life and I know it's great for muscle strengthening. I think it will also be good for me during this hectic semester. Also, as a member of the YMCA, I can do it fre. So, right now i'm planning on going Mondays and Thursdays from 6:30 to 7:30. This week I can't go tonight, but I will go on Thursday. Before you know it, I'll be calm, collected, and able to do a headstand.
The other thing I'm going to do is try to be a legitimate runner. I've run two 5ks and one 10k, but I wouldn't call myself a runner. So, starting in June, I'm going to start running about three times a week. Right now I want to focus on strength training and increasing my stamina through some gentler cardio, like the elliptical and stationary bike.
In addition to all these thing, I'm going to try to be a bit nicer to myself. I tend to beat myself up about everything and a destructive attitude leads to not fun days. One bad day isn't going to ruin everything. I just have to remember that.
Lastly, I'm going to try my very hardest to blog more. Whoa. Calm down. I know that's exciting. But it also helps me. Obviously posts will never be this long on a regular basis, but blogging helps me stay motivated. So, here we go. Again. After all, this journey is a long one.
