Jump in where you are...

Not that I'm always good about it, but like the Nike commercial says, "Just Do It."

I did squats in the shower this morning. I did crunches waiting for the boys to fall asleep (in the dark with the dog nosing me because she decided she did want to go back upstairs). I justified skipping swimming this morning because I wanted to get a free latte at work.

There's no perfect time to start working out. There's no perfect workout. It takes about 30 days to form a pattern and 90 days to form a habit. I'd love to go swimming more, but I think I need to think smaller. Starting tomorrow (it's a little late for today), I'm going to try really really hard to move for 15 minutes. Whether it's walking or swimming or jumping up and down with the kids (have you noticed if they haven't gotten enough exercise, they start doing laps around the house just before dinner time?), I'm going to do it. Wish me luck.

The me in my mind Vs. the Actual me

I wanted to post something about who I think I am in my mind (and want to be) vs. who I've actually become. Sometimes I talk to people about the things I like; ice hockey, backpacking, hiking, rock climbing, triathlons; and I feel like such a poser because if you look at me it seems perfectly obvious that I can't actually do any of those things in my current condition. A while back I inquired about a backpacking trip run by a group called Wild Women Workshops in CA. (Check them out at: http://www.wildwomenworkshops.org/.) A little over a month ago they got back to me with at trip they were trying to run at the beginning of Nov. for women over 40 (yikes, I qualify!) if they could get enough participation. I was SERIOUSLY considering going on this trip. At some point I realized that the timing was horrible for me to be able to keep up an exercise routine every night so that I would have a chance of being about to manage it, and even if I could, I probably would not have been in good enough shape to carry a backpack, let alone do it up a steep switchback trail. But the point is, I WANT to be able to do these things! I want to be able to say to someone on a moment's notice, yes I'll go hiking, yes I'll play hockey, yes, yes yes! And I want to be a person who, maybe is not the best at that sport, but is certainly in good enough shape to not struggle and hold my own. In my mind, I imagine that I'm this person. In my mind I imagine I could even wear the appropriate clothing for these activities and not look like a pork sausage! But I'm not this person, and it's depressing. I'm a mother who's too tired every night to get any exercise, not a morning person (so don't even suggest morning exercise,) and the kids never let me get any exercise during the day. The kids snack, so I snack. I love watching TV at night to turn off my brain. And the sad thing is, I KNOW that if I can stick with the exercise routine long enough, I will eventually begin to crave it -- eventually it won't just be painful, but it will give me energy and make me feel more like the person I want to be and I will want more of that. And feeling more like that healthy person will make me crave better foods and less junk. I was watching video of Sierra's birthday party yesterday of me helping her open presents. Yuck! In my mind I just don't look like what I really look like....

Thanks for listening.