I'm Going the WRONG Way!

(photo courtesy of freefoto.com)

I have taken a wrong turn.

Don't get me wrong, I FEEL good lately, I am happy.  I am looking forward to the coming of fall, football, and all that.  I have been working out on a quasi-regular schedule, and it feels good.  But for some reason that I can't quite pinpoint (or that I'm not trying to is more like it), I'm eating more/worse.  The chocoholism has amped up quite a bit.  As such, the weight situation is going ever so slightly the wrong direction.  Danger, Will Robinson, Danger!! Abort, Abort!

I Survived a Hurriquake and the First Day of School-

It's true, this has been a busy week.  This past Tuesday I experienced my first earthquake.  EVER.  And let me tell you, this east coast girl was most definitely NOT amused when my 8th floor office (in a 10 story building) started rocking.  First it sounded like a freight train of wind was coming toward the building, but it was lovely and still and sunny outside.  Then when me and a handful of my coworkers had the sense to move away from the windows, we just stood there, staring at each other, first reassuring each other that yes, we believed this was definitely an earthquake (as opposed to a construction accident or a terrorist attack), and then realizing we didn't have a damn clue what the safest move was.  No sooner had we caught our breaths (is the building still shaking, or is that just ME shaking?) than we were told to get the hell outside by the building maintenance crew because who knows if the building will still stand up after all that anyway?  We sure don't design buildings for those events here...

Next came Irene.  Now we have been known to dabble in a hurricane in these parts on occasion, but it's not usually too big a threat other than high winds and heavy rain.  This time the predictions were a lot more apocalyptic, however, and we had plenty of time to think about it and be over-prepared.  Stocked up on water, wine, canned food, and junky snacks.  Knew where the flashlights were.  Charged the phones, gassed the cars, got some cash.  Even moved our social plans around to be lunchtime instead of evening.  AND I GOT MY WORKOUT IN.  :)  There were some trees behind our house that gave me a good scare around 4 in the morning in the most fierce of the wind, but they held on.  Good prep = no need, you can all thank me for that later.  I know there were places north and south of this area that got beat up pretty badly, but we were largely spared.  The fate of my parents' beach house is TBD, however, so keep your fingers crossed for us.

This morning was a really big one for me, a milestone that I've thought about for a long time coming, and that is my sweet boy's first foray into public school for first grade.  My angel boarded a yellow bus this morning, with a smile on his face, and I hate to wait and fret all day to see how it turned out.  The result?  He was all smiles and it seemed to be a good experience.  He even kept track of both his lunchbox AND his backpack.  Win.

Life is a Treadmill

Sometimes, life is a treadmill, whether you're on one or not.  Ironically, when I'm actually ON the treadmill is one of the times I get a mental break from that sensation.  Today, a fairly average weekend day, went as follows:  wake up early, volunteer at a triathlon (insert any personal activity here, though), come back, breakfast with family, take kid school shopping (insert any domestic errands here), come back, make/eat lunch, help assemble and play with the boy's new toy, dishes, laundry, watch part of a movie until the kid gets bored and restless, more playing, more laundry, realize there are other errands that still need doing but have to wait 'til hubby returns from his day, we will have family dinner together, I have a hockey game tonight.  And tomorrow, it's back to the usual weekdays treadmill of getting up, getting ready for school/work, driving to school, driving to work, working all day, driving back to school, driving home, scrambling to fix dinner, driving to/watching tae kwon do class, then we'll come back, do the bedtime routine, collapse in a heap.  Rinse, and repeat.  This is why suburban working moms are so tired all the time...

Not that I don't love the various components of my life, and not that I'm not starting to figure out how to fit a little bit of exercise into all this, which is already starting to give me more energy.  Actually, I'm just trying to give myself a little credit here.  Living my daily life is no small feat.  But I wouldn't have it any other way, unless of course I won the lottery and could cut out the working part...

I Heart Endorphins.

Endorphins are part of the chemicals that are supposedly released in your body during/after exercise.  Some people seem to be more reactive than others to this phenomenon, also known as a runner's high.

I am one of those people that totally reacts to them, in a good way.  The last couple of times I've gone to the gym, on the days I've planned to, it went something like this:  I want to fall into my usual bad habits of resting and relaxing instead of working out, but I talk myself into going, since I had planned to and I am paying for it anyway and I need to stick to it this time, and because I know in the short time I've been going it is already making me feel better/have more energy.  On the way to the gym I am grumbly, growly, and crabby.

Once there, however, I've been hopping on the treadmill, prepared to trudge through an obligatory workout, and lo and behold, halfway through I start to feel better.  And then after I start to feel better, I start to crack a smile, and then it gets bigger.  And then, soon enough, I'm feeling fabulous, and I am able to do a little bit better of a workout than I had expected to.  Walking has turned into walking faster and now sprinkled with progressively longer jogging intervals.  I've been leaving the gym with tired legs, a grin on my face, a renewed sense of "I can do this," along with more energy than I arrived with, and a much better attitude.  I love it.

150 Posts

I didn't realize until after my last post that it had been my 150th since starting this blog.  Wow!!  I've written 150 times about myself, my life, my goals and my interest in losing weight and getting healthy.  It hasn't happened for me yet, but I know I've learned loads about myself along the way.  I've learned a lot about my habits, my strengths, my weaknesses, my triggers, and my patterns.  I'm now two weeks into a gym membership and have worked out 4 times a week these past two, and I already notice a shift in my energy level, without even starting on the healthier eating portion.  And a bonus opportunity has emerged- rarely do my hubby and I align on when we want to start (or stop) a healthy lifestyle regimen, but he just told me tonight that he is gearing up to kick off a healthier plan for himself this Sunday.  What a great time for me to do the same!

I am Now Inspired by Yoda

I know, don't laugh at me.

Yoda made a brilliant statement which is my new favorite quote, and an insightful friend I have been chatting with recently was witty enough to point it out to me.  He's trying to inspire Luke Skywalker to believe in himself and his ability, and Luke says he will try.  "No!"  Yoda says.  "Do, or do not!  There is no try."

Sure, this is the same concept I have been telling myself in a lot of different ways recently, about needing to buckle down, make the choice to lose weight and get healthier, etc., but this captures the bottom line in a much more succinct, memorable, and inspiring way.  Like Nike's trademarked "Just Do It", only better.  Especially since I got this Happy Meal Toy about a week ago and my kid already has two of them, so he's mine.