It's been a while. A long while. A lot has happened in the last year and my fitness is definitely reflecting some of those things and not in a good way. I changed jobs, changed homes (twice), developed some health issues that have just now been diagnosed, and gained a significant other. In all of that I lost my fitness routine. I lost my motivation, and I lost my supports.
When I left my job I moved to a town that still had a Goodlife, but it wasn't MY Goodlife. It was older, smaller, darker, and almost entirely male. I couldn't find the equipment I was used to using, and there was almost no space for the free weights or floor mats. I didn't know the staff, and honestly they never approached me even once. The other members didn't talk to each other the way I was used to and there were less classes. My motivation took a very painful nose dive. In my gym I knew all the staff and they knew me. I knew some of the regular members and would race them on the rowing machine. It was bright, new, huge, and comfortable. I didn't want to go to this new gym so I thought I'd exercise at home. That worked, except for the dogs constantly licking my face, or knees, or feet... plus dog hair in your nose makes a lot of sneezing. I didn't have weights so I couldn't do a lot of things I was used to doing... and the excuses continued. I worked some temp jobs so my routine was a mess and eating healthy slowly gave way to eating convenient.
Then I got my new job, in a town with no gym (or post office or grocery store or even a traffic light). I work days now, which makes it surprisingly difficult to get exercise in. It's either really early in the morning and I don't want to get out of bed, or its after work and I'm tired. Again, doing it at home there is no structure to it so you get home from work and three episodes of Friends later... you get the picture. Shortly after this move I started having health problems centered around my stomach. Good bye abs! It got so bad that I could not do a sit up or even a crunch. Working with my doctor and many many tests later I've learned that I am unable to process gluten (yes yes bandwagon blah blah blah but I have the doctors note to prove it!). Since I already couldn't have dairy it became a huge learning curve on eating. One I'm still getting used to. I'm still waiting for the bloating to go down so we can see exactly how much of it is fat that I need to shed again.
The Significant Other is also on a path of reclaiming his body and health. He has his own dietary issues and no gym to work with so we are starting on the same page at least. We do a lot of meal planning and cooking together and as the weather is getting nicer we are starting to get more outdoors exercise in. We are talking about goals and motivating each other to make healthy choices but its slow getting off the ground.
Tonight, I stumbled back on my blog here and I reread my posts from last year and I can suddenly remember EXACTLY what I was feeling then, and thinking, and how great I felt about everything in my life. It wasn't just my body, it was a sense of accomplishment, of worth, of purpose, and of determination that spilled over into everything. Into my job (and getting out and finding a better one), my finances, my mental outlook, everything. It's the fire I needed to kick my butt back into gear.
I'm ready now to overcome my own excuses. I'm ready to reclaim that excitement and that body that I was building. I'm ready to focus on my food choices and kick out the junk. I. AM. READY.
Sometimes life kicks us down for a bit. It's just a set back, its not the end. I've got people who will get on board and who will join me in this quest. It's time to get back on that treadmill and run.
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