Wednesday, April 27, 2011

I can't think of a good "catchy name" for this type of post

In high school, I would go from track practice to dance class to karate. Then, I would go home and watch TV and do crunches. Lots and lots of crunches. Between track, karate, and my living room, I would do between 800-1000 crunches a day. My friends and I would get together and do workouts in my karate-obsessed friend's basement dojo. My dad, brother and I would hike and bike on the weekends and I would do road bike races a couple of times a year. Suffice it to say, I was in shape.

In college, I had marching band (more hardcore than it sounds - woodwind drill is crazy cardio and trombones are heavy) and a gym buddy that I would either work out with or take long power walks with every day. On vacation, we would ski and scuba dive.

Then, I started my crazy busy CPA career and stopped doing all my active things. It's like the job sucked all the energy out of me and I became woefully out of shape. Before I got married, I lost weight and went to the gym religiously during the fit-into-the-dress frenzy, but I fell back into my pattern of sloth after the honeymoon. Happy contentedness makes you lazy.

So anyway, a point. Part of this whole move to Colorado, go back to school, do all the things I have been putting off for years, journey is to get my physical self back into shape along with my emotional and intellectual self (that sounds corny, but it's true). I've changed my eating habits a lot (cooking almost every meal, not eating crappy foods), and I hike, go to the gym, and do 30 day shred and visualize punching Jillian Michaels in the face (just kidding, as it gets easier, I like her more). That sounds like a lot, but I'm not always regular with my routine and I have a hard time motivating myself sometimes.

I want to know the things you do to motivate yourself to stay in shape and be healthy. What activities do you enjoy? What's your fitness journey? What's a catchy name for this type of post? Life Makeover?


  1. I've been needing to start an exercise routine lately myself. I'm looking in to bike riding as a more fun way to get cardio. And the hubs and I definitely need to start eating better, but when neither of us cook, it's hard ...

    I'm in need of ways to motivate myself too. It's so easy sometimes, to be lazy.

  2. (Grrr, my original comment got eaten...I forgot what I wrote!)

    I've obviously had lots of past issues with my weight, and it's something that probably won't ever go away. Unfortunately, I think I'll always have trouble accepting my body and my fitness level, and I've kindof just accepted that I'll never accept it :P

    For me, it's been tough to change the way I look at food and diet. I've always been good at pushing myself to exercise, because I like feeling the pain. But to change the way I think about food has been a constant struggle - to think of it as something other than guilt-inducing is tough! But I'm getting better at it, and finding that making my own (healthy) food can be fun.

    Exercising has become super important to me, both as a way of maintaining fitness and as stress relief. I feel sooooo much better when I exercise, and sometimes that thought alone is the only thing I've got making me want to get to the gym. So besides the usual vain reasons for wanting to work out, like wanting a flat tummy or what have you, I also try to remember the high I get from running, because it's the best thing - ever!

    Plus, I like the feeling of achievement from the things I've done. It's cool to be able to say I've run two 1/2 marathons :) And right now, the gym is air conditioned so it's way cooler than our warm-ass apartment! So that's some Arizona-related motivation you don't have to deal with anymore!

    (I <3 Jillian. She's so obnoxious, I love it! Plus, I think of myself as a fit person (now, anyway) and her 30 day shred DVDs kick my ass!)

  3. @Mandy - I'm a big fan of bike riding, even though I haven't done much in the past few years. You get to see a lot while you ride, which makes it easier.

    Mike and I didn't cook much before, but now I cook every day. It's a lot of work!! Have you embraced the crock pot? There are some great (and healthy) recipes for it.

  4. @Mel - I like exercising, too. My problem was always the complete lack of energy and motivation with my soul-sucking job. I had forgotten how good it feels!!

    I'd like to run some races, just to finish, but it will take me a long time to get there.

    With food, I feel like the options for vegetarians in most restaurants suck, and I used to eat out a lot. Plus, a veggie can't eat a plain salad at a restaurant. There's not much to a salad when it doesn't have something protein-y on top. Basically everyone's go-to diet food doesn't work for us.

    I love cooking now, but I used to hate it. I think it was because I came home late and starving and I didn't have the energy for it. I hated (well, still hate) going to the grocery store, too, so Mike always went, and he's not so much inclined to buy healthy food.

    I feel like it must have been the restaurant food that really did me in, because I don't like junk food, don't drink much soda, don't eat meat, eat very little processed food, and I almost never eat desserts (though I like to make them).


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