Since I started my journey to lose weight and get fit - I feel like I have the eating thing down. I know what to eat to help me drop some pounds, while still keeping me satisfied. I also feel like I have a great handle on exercising - look, I started out walking a couple times a week, and progressed to running 3-4 times per week. So you will understand my frustration when I say that I am the same weight I was last year at this time*. I drop a few, I gain a few... and so on and so on. I have all of the tools, and knowledge to be VERY successful in my journey, but obviously, something is not working. Or someone... I have reflected on this for the past couple of weeks, and well, guess what it comes down to?
Consistency. (oh, and me. Yeah, me too!)
I plan. I am great at getting my plan for the week down on paper (I even bought a little weekly notebook to plan and keep track), but than life gets in the way. Or atleast that is what I tell myself. I realize this is going to happen, and most times, I just erase and re-arrange the plan, and move forward. What eventually happens though is that I am pushing all of my plans towards the end of the week, and trying to cram to get everything in. And week after week, my plan ends up going to crap and I don't end up being consistent with my workouts/tracking/sleeping. I know life is going to get in the way, but I think I am using that as an excuse more often than not.
As noted above, this not only happens with workouts, but with my food tracking and every night when I promise I am going to get into bed early. I know that a good nights sleep is so beneficial mentally and physically. Yet somehow, day after day, I seem to stay up later and later. Which, BTW, totally does not work well with my plan to start getting up early to workout. I also have read that getting a good nights sleep helps aid in weight loss.
There's nothing wrong with being an afternoon/evening exerciser.
I know this. But I need someone to come and explain this to my employer and my husband. You see, I have been working out at lunch - and so far, so good. However, as my workouts get longer, there just isn't enough time to make sure I can get it in within an hour. My employer does not care for me to take more than an hour for lunch. Herein lies the problem with afternoons.
The few times I just HAVE to get a workout in and it just so happens to be after work, are often met with long, hungry sighs of "OK, do what you have to do." Which is than followed by being reminded of the time (I leave work at 6, if I work out and shower, I am not making dinner until 8pm - 4 hours after my husband gets home from work, and 2 hours until his bedtime - while this can bring up a whole mess of other issues, we will stick to my working out at night for the sake of time and space). ** I understand the long hungry sighs... as this is our time to eat dinner together and hang out before he heads to bed. Bottom line - I atleast need to give morning workouts an honest try.
With all of this said, it is clear to me that I need to make a better effort to be consistent in all of the areas I am struggling with. What steps do I need to take to start being more consistent?
- Workouts: Stick to my plan for the next 7 days. No erasing/editing this week.
- Eating: Track all food that goes into my mouth for the next 7 days.
- Sleeping: Get to bed by 11:30pm every night with a wake-up at 7:00am for 5 days this week.
Detailed plan to follow.
What helps keep you consistent?
*I realize the scale is not everything, and I know my body has changed - but no one is going to tell me that 180 is the my "normal" weight. I do take measurements, but I also count on a weigh in every week to keep track of where I am and how I am doing.
**My husband is VERY supportive in my journey, and loves that I have been working out as it puts me in a great mood and I haven't been nearly as sensitive as I normally am. I do not want to paint him as someone who complains that I need/want to work out as like I stated - I think it just frustrates him as it dips into our "together time."
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