Getting in the habit...

Bad habits are an easy thing to form and a hard thing to break, good habits are hard to form and easy to break, so what does that mean for the fit and healthy lifestyle?  You have to work at building new habits, but fitness and health should work for/with you, not against you.  That means working within your schedule and making compromises with friends, family, yourself, and your obligations.

What's the biggest reason people make for not being active?  "I don't have time."  Yeah, been there, done that.  I always thought my life was way to busy to squeeze in an hour of activity but then I really looked at how I was spending and (mis-)managing time to make time work against me and not for me.  There are only 24 hours in a day, take out 16 for working and sleeping and that leaves you with 8 more, how are you going to spend those 8 hours?  Some time saving tips that I've come up with over the course of my journey:

1.  Make a menu!!  I cannot stress how this is so incredibly useful this is for time management, money management, and health!  This is honest-to-God THE most important habit I have developed that is the best.  It saves me time because I sit down on Saturday or Sunday and come up with seven meals to serve for dinners (breakfast and lunches are usually pretty consistent).  Then I make a grocery list, I look through my pantry/veggies/fruit, see what's coming in the Suburban Organics box and I only go to the grocery store ONCE.  Imagine not having to waste time during the week because you don't have what you need to cook X, Y, or Z!!!  Imagine not having to waste money (or calories) going out to eat because you don't have a plan for cooking this week!!!!  One good dinner plan for the week can save you time, energy, aggravation ("What do you want for dinner?"  "I don't know, what do you want?" etc...), calories, and money.  Also, you can plan your menu around your family's schedule: I want to go to the gym these days so I'll plan a quick dinner, these days I have more time so I'll be able to cook something more elaborate.  This also allows you to try new foods!  I'm not a recipe person, per se, but I've got cookbooks out the wazoo so I'll look through them and pick a new food/preparation to try.

2.  Have workout clothes easily accessible.  I went to target and bought two of their cube fabric bins, one for workout bottoms and one for workout tops.  When I get home from work before I sit down on the couch (because that is my demon) I go upstairs and grab one from each and I'm ready to go.  Who cares if they match?  You're only running/going to the gym/walking/doing an at home DVD.... what do you care what they look like?  I've gone numerous times to the gym in black pants with a teal stripe, a purple tank top, and a pink head band...yes I am THAT girl ;-).  I don't have to hunt for clothes, and if they don't fit in those bins I don't keep them (yay for getting rid of clutter too!!).  This also enables me to easily put together a gym bag because sometimes carpool plans change (I tend to only go to the gym on days I drive so I don't even have the temptation of getting home and plopping on the couch).  Keep your sneakers somewhere visible!!  Then, when you haven't taken them out for a while, you're sneakers will be there staring at you, longingly desiring to be used.

3.  Turn off the "screen."  Last night, I went to clean the yoga studio (yay for free classes!!), then hopped down to the library, read for a little while waiting for one of my bestest buddies Gina's zumba class to start.  After that she and I decided to go out to dinner and just hang out (which is also a necessity in your life...time with friends), came home, showered, answered a few emails I'd been meaning to do, made a phone call to wish another friend happy birthday, but then I shut the computer off, climbed into bed, read and meditated my happy little ass to sleep, and slept like a baby I might add.  I didn't spend hours in front of the TV or on the computer.  DVR has been a wonderful invention for this kind of lifestyle.  There is no TV show I HAVE to watch when it's on.  DVR will get it and when I have extra time I get to sit down and watch it.  Dial down the number of hours you're staring at a screen, it'll free up time, it'll ease up the strain headaches, and climbing into bed and doing something NOT technology based will help your sleep patterns.  Sleep is insanely important people, you need it and you need enough of it and you need a regular schedule of it...but that's a whole other blog entry.

4.  The last, but probably the most overlooked/hardest....Ask for help.  Ask for what you need from your friends, families, neighbors, etc...  Your health is your priority, not theirs (their health should be their priority...).  There have been times I've pushed off cooking duties to Dave because I just can't handle doing it all (or eating would be really late if he waited on me to finish working out ;-) ).  I've asked my mom to push back our dinner appointment so I can accommodate my exercise time.  They don't know what you need unless you tell them.  No one is a mind-reader and the people in your life are there to help you, but they can't help you if they don't know you need help.

This is a lifestyle for you, designed by you.  Make it work for you.  I know, I hear ya, I get up at 5:30, stand on my feet, working with angsty teenagers all day, I have a house to clean, 5 pets to take care of, family to take care of and when I come home, the last thing I want to do is get off my couch, but the high is so worth pushing yourself for a few weeks.  After a couple weeks, these habits are starting to build and it gets so much easier.  Give one (or all) of these tips a try for a month and see what a difference it makes in your life.  I love my life and wouldn't trade what I have for the world, but it takes work to get there.

Ahh fall has come...

Yesterday I went on a 35 minute run through the neighborhood.  It was a beautiful afternoon to run, it was cooler then it has been and the dogs enjoyed the time to get out.  Since the bridge 10K is only 50 days away (eek!), I run up and down as many hills as I could find and today my legs feel awesome.  I changed my running stride based on some research that I did (coupled with the barefoot running movement) so my legs have definitely benefited from the new stride.  I am still wearing my nice comfy Saucony shoes, but the change in stride has done wonders for my leg fatigue.

Being back into the routine of work has been nice, back to hitting the gym and getting in my weight training again. I've got a new app on my phone that has help me set up two weight lifting routines, one for arms and back and one for legs and abs.  I'm so used to just wandering around the gym going "hmmm....which exercise do I want to do next?" Now I have a little more structure with the lifting so I'm looking forward to making real progress on the toning.

I went out shopping with my mom today and I used to hate shopping for clothes years ago because nothing fit, nothing looked good except for tents.  Now I have a shape, clothes fit, and I can look presentable.

Health and wellness is awesome :-)