You snooze you lose

Years ago I had a rule. It was a zero-snooze rule. What was the point in setting an alarm for a certain time only to wake up to hit the snooze button for 7 extra minutes of sleep. Just set the alarm 7 minutes later...DUH!!!

Evidently somewhere along the way I forgot that rule and now I'm the Queen of Snooze. Every night before I go to bed I set my alarm for somewhere in the 6 o'clock hour and inevitably, I don't roll out of bed until after 7:30. My intent is always to get to the gym before work. I'll be good at it for weeks and then I'll hit a tired patch and not want to do it. I'll make every excuse and justification in the book. The "I'll have time to workout this afternoon" line always sneaks its way in there but usually, I end up not having the time.
The solution? Resolve myself to getting out of bed on the first ring of my alarm. Period. OR I can invest in this nifty little clock that makes a mad dash off of your nightstand to prevent you from rolling over and hitting that button. AquaClocky will you allow to tell it how many times you can snooze and then after that set number of times, he sets himself in motion and rolls off the nightstand and around your bedroom all while continue to sound your wakeup alarm. GENIUS!

Until I get an AquaClocky of my own, I guess I will just have to exercise some self control and quit being a snoozer.

Until next time...

All or Nothing

I remember a conversation I had about eight years ago while driving in the car with my mom. She wanted to go through the McDonald's drive-thru to get an order of small fries as a "treat." My mom and I share the same weakness for those delicious crispy and salty delights (don't even try to argue about whose fries are better...you will lose that battle). She was hoping that I would share this order of fries with her and she really wasn't happy when I said, no thanks. You see, we all feel better when we have a partner in crime. Someone to "cheat" or "be bad with" so that we don't feel so bad about our own food indiscretions. She tried to get me to bend by saying something along the lines of, "you know, you can just have one. It's not good to deprive yourself of everything." This thought around everything in moderation is great, but not for me. At the time that this french fry conversation was happening, I was on a very successful journey toward weight loss. One of my rules was that if I was being offered some food item that I could turn around and get anytime I want (i.e. once my weight goal was reached) then I would not indulge. On the flip side, if said food item was something special that was only offered once a year such as roasted corn at the NC State Fair or my favorite Christmas cookie, then I was game for making an exception. It was all or nothing for me.

I deal with the same all or nothing attitude when it comes to my workouts as well. It's like the old "go hard or go home" addage. I want to go to the gym, go for a run, ride my bike, etc. as hard as I possibly can for as long as I possibly can. I want to walk away from my workout worn out, dripping with sweat, and feeling like I actually accomplished something. If I can't do that then I want nothing to do with it. That's a real problem. You see, I've got chronic Lyme Disease and I deal with consistent pain on a semi-regular basis. I'll go from 100% to full-body pain in a matter of one day. I'll go from 2 hour workouts to sleeping on the couch all day in just the blink of an eye. This cycle happens what feels like every few months and when it's like that, I do nothing. Literally. I throw myself a little pitty party on my couch with a House Hunters marathon and some bad-for-me food. Enter an extra 50 pounds....

So I've vowed to try the everything in moderation thing when it comes to my workouts. I'm guessing it'll force me to try new things and gain a new appreciation for different activities. Not sure what my first attempt at something new will be but I'm sure it'll be comical. Zumba anyone???

 

 

Just Move

Movement. Naturally, one might think of physical movement and activity. One foot in front of the other, forward motion, and so on. In a lot of ways that is exactly what movement means to me right now but I see it far beyond the physical.

It's so easy to skate through life without ever really making any movement. I mean, things happen. Marriages, mortgages, babies and so on. But are you consciously making movement toward your dreams, desires, and goals? It takes discipline and drive to actually move in the direction you so desire.

"Girl in Motion" is the title of this blog. It's easy to read that, read my first post, and think that this will be about exercise and activity. Some of that is correct but I see "motion" as many things. I see it as creating new adventures in life, exploring new things, constantly improving, and moving in a direction of growth mentally, physically, emotionally and so on. Motion is powerful. It can heal, it can create, it can improve, it can motivate.

For me, in this moment, I am looking at motion from the very literal sense. I vow to move everyday. It gets easy to go from home, to work, to home, cook, eat, clean, sit, sleep, and start over. I will intentionally move each and every single day so that I might feel my heart pump, break a sweat, and feel alive. I'm worth it my health is worth it.

What is your motion? What direction are you headed?

The Filthy Fifty

You know how it goes. Time flies and before you know it you're looking back uttering those dreaded words to yourself, "if I had only done _____." I'm not talking about regrets. I don't believe in those. What I'm talking about is that nagging feeling that you wouldn't be dealing with a certain something if you had just made the "right" choice when you had the chance. For some it's finishing school when life was less complicated instead of balancing work and school and family. For some it's paying off credit card debt when there were less obligations and responsiblities. For some it's that last 5 or 10 pounds that then turned into a MUCH larger problem...no pun intended.

I fall in that last category. Way back when, I devoted myself to fitness and wellness and I was a picture of good health. I found a love for the gym, healthy food, running, cycling, and triathlons. In the process I had lost 40 pounds and gained the person I knew I always was. Then "real life" happened. I went to grad school, moved away, got a full-time job, met P, got married, and gained 50 pounds. Wait, WHAT?! Did I say FIFTY? Who does that? (At least that's what my brain says)

Saying that outloud physically hurts. Fif....wait for it....fift.....waiiittttt......fifty (vomit). That's a huge number. That huge number is accompanied by my huge a*! and I have to look at it in the mirror every day. I know that everyone who looks at me thinks about it.

So here I am. I've been wanting to document my journey for quite some time but it's taken me awhile to work up the guts to actually admit to the world, and myself, that I've let things go this far. I ran a 5k yesterday and I crossed the finish line at 38:25. Someone looking at me for the first time might think, "great job...good effort...way to go for finishing!" I see someone who, just last year,
completed a Half Ironman and can barely finish a 5k. I see a time 12 minutes slower than my 5k time just a few years ago and it makes me want to crawl into a hole.

I hope to share my journey with those who care to be a part of it. This isn't about weigh-ins and calorie counting. This is about challenges, successes, and experiences along the way. I hope you will laugh, think, learn, dream, and walk this path with me!