3 posts tagged “swimming”
For over a month, I've gotten up every morning (every weekday morning, at least) and done some cardio before breakfast. Haven't missed a single weekday. (I consider weekend cardio as optional - I intend to start filling weekends with fun sports in place of structured workouts.) This morning I threw in an extra five minutes of cardio just because I could; which is very unlike me, ...well, it was unlike me.
I've been trying to get on the road to fitness for a hell of a long time, but it's been tough for a girl who prefers sedentary activities (is that an oxymoron or what?!) and foods that are terrible for you. I didn't even like to "play" as a kid. I'm a bookworm, crafter and artist; almost all of my favorite things to do involve sitting still. :)
So, what happened? I started getting joint pain. I had a vision of my future as a creaky, slow, shaky, overweight woman, and said FUCK THAT! The phrase "use it or lose it" rang through my head simultaneously with every "ow!" That's motivation, right there.
I started brainstorming over what kind of movement I do enjoy, and it's a short list. Swimming was easily at the top, but lap pool access is an expensive and tricky thing to come by, especially when you live out in the boonies. Dancing was a solid second choice, but unless you have a lot of room and a repertoire of moves, or at least some professional guidance (expensive, again, and on someone else's schedule), it's hard to turn that into a reliable workout. Third, ...well, I remembered the rebounder I keep stashed under my coffee table, the one I use to bounce away excess stress and anxiety. I've always *loved* jumping on trampolines! There was my cardio routine, right there. I jog, jump and sometimes dance on the thing every morning. Oh hell yeah, it's fun. It gets your heart rate up right fast too though! Don't believe me? Try jumping for five minutes. I do thirty minutes minimum of non-stop, knee-up, target heart-rate cardio on it every morning (working up to a goal of forty-five), at least five of which is jumping. And yeah, I still hate it sometimes, but I also love it just as often if not more, which makes it harder to quit.
I also roll right out of bed and into my jog bra -every morning. I've learned that once I've started getting ready to workout, it's a lot harder to justify skipping it, so I don't even let myself think about it. Sit up in bed and immediately put on the workout clothes - no other option,.
I've had a bit of a paradigm shift this last week too. While panting and sweating and watching the clock impatiently for the passing of each stupid minute I had to endure, I reminded myself that as NOT fun as working out can be, it's really a form of pampering. I'm not losing time that I could be doing something else so much as I am investing time in me, to make me feel and perform better in so many ways, and yes, to look better too. I've started thinking about exercise not as "taking my medicine because it's good for me", but more in the same vein as getting my hair done or getting a manicure or shopping for new clothes. I know that people who already have exercise habits would hear this and think, "DUH!!!" but it really was an eye-opening realization for me, and since having it, I've found that not only do my morning workouts pass more quickly and enjoyably, but I actually look for additional time during the day that I might be able to "sneak in" a little more physical activity. After almost forty years in quest of the most comfortable sitting position (not joking), I've found that I really do like to move a whole lot more than I ever thought I would.
Good music helps a lot too. My playlist consists of fast-paced tunes, the ones I can't help but dance to when I hear them. I need to add some more songs to that playlist real soon though, as it's getting repetitive and too familiar.
This is a long post, but I have more to say, and since I might need to come back to this some day for motivation, I'm going to keep going. I'll just assume "tl;dr" for anyone who normally reads my blog. ;)
So I've stuck with this long enough that it's qualified as habit for a couple weeks now, where it's almost automatic that I workout every morning, and the thought of going without actually bothers me. The inches have been coming off nicely, but not the pounds so much, so last week I started reading labels, and it's been eye-opening in a shocking way. I look for serving size, calories, fat, protein and fiber, with a glance at type of fat as well as sodium content. I don't total up anything or run the numbers through any formulas, because that's just the kind of fuss that's kept me from being much of a label reader all along. I've just tried to be more aware of exactly what I'm eating. I've made a few healthy changes to my normal eating habits and prefered foods, just baby steps, but I'm feeling better and starting to see the pounds drop too. It's harder to justify pigging out on crap-food, even on the worst of days, when you know in the moment exactly how bad it is for you and you have an idea of how much more exercise you're going to have to do to make sure those fats and calories don't take up permanent residence on your ass. When I see obscenely high sugar or fat content on a label, no matter how much I was craving that food a second ago, the reality ot the nutrition nightmare combined with the memory of sweat stinging my eyes just hours ago makes it a no-brainer to put the junk food down and find something else that will fill whatever need I have at the moment. I'm no health nut or anything, but I'm making tiny painless changes. I've learned a great lowfat recipe for tuna salad that still uses *a little* mayo and tastes very close to what I've always loved. I also still enjoy the occasional bit of sugary cereal, because I find one serving of Corn Pops in a little soy milk satisfies my sweet tooth in a way that makes far more sense than high-fat cookies do. Baby steps are the intention. I'm not trying to drop weight fast, as nice as that would be. I'm trying to form a new healthy *and enjoyable* lifestyle in which weight becomes a non-issue.
Last week I also started weighing myself daily. I know! I know! It goes against every bit of advice I've ever heard about weight loss. I'm finding it helps *me* though. I'm not the kind of person who has the control issues that go hand-in-hand with eating disorders. My issue is a "lack of control". I don't beat myself up over what the scale reads each morning, I just note it as a fact, just one easily measured touchstone of where I am right now. I let it motivate me when I'm cranky about working out, or when label reading seems like a kill-joy of a chore. The reality of a daily weigh in has been keeping me out of the denial I've indulged in for so many years. Now I'm no newb. I know about fluctuations in weight and water weight and such, and I know the day's number will sometimes be higher than the previous day's. No worries. Knowing the reality of where I am just seems to really help me keep moving in the right direction. The previous weekly weigh-ins left me too many opportunities to think "I can indulge now because I have a few days to make it up before the next weigh-in." I don't have that as an excuse when the next weigh-in is always less than a day away.
So, I have the new cardio habit and I'm making small and easy changes to my diet. Next up, this week or next at the latest, I want to add 1-2 swimming workouts/week to my schedule (now that our insurance covers fitness club fees), and once that's my new "normal", another additional 1-2 "freestyle" workouts each week, whatever I feel like doing at the time: weights, pilates, a spinning class, ...whatever. And that's it really. That's my whole long-term fitness plan:
Phase 1 - start with 30-45 minutes of cardio before breakfast 5-6 days a week (check)
Phase 2 - add being more careful about what I eat (check)
Phase 3 - add some biking/tennis/basketball/rollerblading for fun (starting this week)
Phase 4 - add 1-2 swimming workouts/week (starting this week or next)
Phase 5 - add 1-2 additional "whatever I feel like" workouts/week (likely starting in October, definitely before the end of the year)
Once those things becomes "normal" activities for me, I will stop watching the scale completely no matter what my weight, I will stop feeling guilty when I just want to sit still and do something, and I will stop worrying about my "desk job" killing me with it's lack of physical effort. It's a simple plan really, realistic and healthy, and I already have almost half of it implemented.
Oh, and I haven't had joint pain in at least three weeks. :D Use it or lose it. I'm NOT losing mine!
- So sorry for the length of this entry. I hope you burned a few calories scrolling past it at least. ;)
Craig talked to our travel agent today, and has decided he wants to spend his birthday this year in Ireland!!! We'll be gone a week, taking a driving tour, staying in Dublin, Killarney, Galway and back to Dublin! I'm so excited I could scream! I can't wait to see some new things, and I also can't wait to have another pint at The Poet's Corner in Ennis!!! ...And I can't wait to see Slea Head again, our future home!!! I'm so frakking psyched!!!!!!!!!!11!
So Craig came home to tell me all of this exciting news, and then he had more great news to relay. We're finally going to get our money's worth out of our health insurance. They're starting a new wellness program this year. The program allows us to workout at several local gyms, including one that has AN OLYMPIC SIZE LAP POOL!!!!!!! I get to swim again! The wellness program has all sorts of other goodies, like access to personal trainers and dieticians and such, BUT I GET TO SWIM AGAIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Today I got a trip to Ireland *AND* access to a lap pool! This is turning out to be one of the best Jen's Big Birthday Months EVER!!! I'm so damn excited!
Craig took me out for breakfast today. The plan after that was to do some shopping for project supplies, then pick up my mom and check out a local fine arts show.
The art show was fun but HOT! (I hate summer.) I chatted up every flameworker there, and there were quite a few. I talked to them all about their studio setup and equipment. They were *all* extremely friendly and happy to talk shop with me. There were also a bunch of glass-blowers, but I know nothing of glass blowing so I didn't pester them. Still, glass work in all it's various forms seems to be the in thing right now. Craig talked with all the woodworkers, the turners at least. My mom just had a great time wandering around looking at all the pretties. :)
After the art fair, we made a quick stop for a few groceries and then headed back to Mom's for an early dinner and a few hours in the pool. Ah, the pool! I love my mom's pool. Soooo nice. Ant stress or tension you're harboring just dissolves when you're floating in a pool. I didn't want to get out, but my mom had baked brownies for us.
And it never seems to fail. Whenever I'm feeling most ready to just be rid of everything I own, someone will give me some stuff. My brother gave me two of my dad's paintings today. *SQUEE!!!* They aren't very good examples of his work, but they hung in the house I grew up in for as long as I can remember. I was never sure what happened to them, but Marc had them apparently, and he passed them on to me. I am so completely sentimentally attached to these paintings, I can't even tell you. I'm *thrilled* to have them and I can't wait to hang them. I just hope my dad won't see them and try to steal them back. MINE!
I'm pooped out, and tomorrow there's work to be done again. Bed time now. Only a four day week though! Craig has Friday off, as well as next Monday and Tuesday! That's right. My Big Birthday Weekend is going to be a 5-day celebration!!! I have to cram a lot of work into the next four days and work hard in preparation for playing hard, because I am going to enjoy every single minute of next weekend. Good times.
OH! Real quick, Mom told me an Oona (my 3 yr old niece) story tonight. I guess her dad took her to the mall to buy her first bike helmet. She got to pick it out herself. She was so excited and proud of her helmet. Adrian put it on her to check the fit, and Oona did NOT want to take it off! The cashier had to scan her head to ring up the sale. *snort* :) She wore it through the mall, back to the car and all the way home. :) That's *my* chinstrap girl! She's so much like her Aunt Meanie! :D
