Before switching to working from home, I had been dreaming up grand visions of how my days would change. Me time would be more available since I no longer needed to drive to and from work, including dropping off and picking up my girls. I would look like a supermodel 😉 , since I would of course have more time to exercise and eat healthy lunches. I would sew outfits galore for me and my girls with all the additional time.
Right…
So after a good start, our family traveled to Hilton Head for an exciting vacation with my parents, where I considered our hours of biking each day exercise, especially after the first day where my bike seat kept falling and my legs were sore!!!
Then I had plenty of excuses I used beyond that:
- Olivia started kindergarten and we were adapting to the schedule
- I don’t enjoy waking up super early to exercise
- I don’t like exercising after dinner cuz I get all jittery
- I don’t like showering in a rush after exercising because I end up still sweaty even after a cold shower
- Juliet and Olivia no longer had syncing nap schedules, and they love watching me exercise. I’m always nervous about hurting one of them while using weights or jumping around
- I was helping more with Isaac’s company
- We were hosting dinners more often since both Isaac and I needed adult conversations
- …I’m sure I can think of more 🙂
I know I am a much better mother when I exercised because I have more energy and I know that I’m taken care of, so I can then take care of my family. I know, but I keep using
3 things finally kick-started prioritizing exercising:
Isaac and I traveled to Orlando mid-September (without kids) for a work conference, and we always enjoy visiting Disney Springs and the Lego store located there. This set sat at the entrance to the store and I was immediately smitten. I love Lego and I love Harry Potter, and thought that miniature versions of epic things similar to their
architecture collection would be awesome. I
needed that Hogwarts set, and if it hadn’t required us bringing the box back on the plane (we traveled carry-on only as Isaac reminded me), I would have purchased it on the spot.
I waited 72 hours (
as Mrs. Frugalwoods recommends) and still really badly wanted the set. I typically don’t spend that much money on physical stuff, so I thought this would be the perfect reward for an exercise bet. I have used exercise bets before to keep myself motivated to work out consistently with rewards, but never for such a large reward.
Isaac said it needed to be a pretty significant bet, so we nailed down that I would come up with a workout schedule, and would be required to do 4 workouts a week for months (totaling 104 workouts). I finished up week 7 today, with one extra credit workout stored up in case I get too sick one week to workout (as I did last winter). I’ll divulge more details on the workout schedule in a different post. As of now, the Lego set is setting unopened in our office as a reminder of what I’m working towards (besides looking hot 🙂
Walktober
My friend Brooke set up this wonderful walking challenge in October. The goal was 250,000 in the month, with some prizes for most steps in a day and most in the month. 250,000 in October comes to a bit more than 8,000 steps per day, which I thought was feasible. Last year I went from September 15th to November 21st with at least 10,000 steps every day except one. It was amazing to have such a clear goal, and made me carve parts of my day out for walking (like during lunch, before watching TV, while watching TV 🙂 I was able to make the goal and did 399,216 steps (about 13,300 each day). I loved arranging time during the day for my extra walking. I then set up another challenge in November (currently have 55 participants 🙂 and am so glad to be able to continue my walking streak!
Yes.Fit
I normally don’t click on Facebook ads, but I saw this ad for a “Beauty and the Beast” virtual race. They offered a cool looking t-shirt and/or medal and I was realizing as I switched to fall clothes, that my t-shirts were starting to get a bit raggedy. I’m not one for medals (I don’t need extra bling around my walls), but the shirts are awesome. I’ve already completed 3 races (Beauty and the Beast, The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, and It’s Fall Y’all). Also signed up for the Turkey Trot (free if you don’t want any swag) and am waiting on Olivia to get her pedometer to start up the Unicorn race cuz she would love the shirt). You can do the races on your own timetable by walking, running or cycling, and don’t need to complete the entire distance in a day. Definitely pushed me to walk farther each than I normally would to get to the next Mile Marker. If you’re new to Yes.Fit and want to try a race, use the Promo Code LJ35aVWr during check-out, and you get a discount.
What is everyone else doing to keep themselves active as it gets darker and colder?
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