After indulging in some pretty delicious and unhealthy foods on our cruise last month, I felt really inspired to clean things up when we got back home! The first morning we were home I laced up my tennis shoes and did a 30 minute workout. And then I did it again the next day, and the next. In fact, in my December goals post earlier this month I deciding I would try to keep my streak going all month long. I'm pretty pleased to say that in the last thirty days I've worked out 24 times!
While losing some weight is definitely one of my hopes, I have noticed several other benefits from keeping exercise a priority this month. Namely:
I've been having extremely productive mornings.
Working out in the morning has always been more successful for me. If I wait until later in the day I find that I don't really feel motivated or something else gets in the way. This month I've developed a pretty reasonable and productive routine! Around 6 am I get out of bed and let the dogs out. They also demand their breakfast right away! While they are chomping away, I spend a quick 5 minutes turning on the lights and opening up the blinds. Then I change into my workout clothes and let them out again. Then I head to the living room and put in a workout dvd. Right now I'm doing my Turbofire videos, but Blake and I want to get Beachbody on Demand in the next few weeks for some more variety.
These dvds are between 30-60 minutes, so I pick one based on how much time I have. It's been helpful to plan that out ahead of time. After doing my workout I usually jump right into the shower and get dressed. Then I sit at the dining room table and eat breakfast while doing my Bible reading. Depending on how much time I have left, I can do a little tidy up or I have to get ready to leave for the day.
It's also worth mentioning that I still have my Orange Theory membership and I do those classes on days when I go into the office physically. I'm going to downgrade my membership next month because I'm only going into the office once a week. If that doesn't work out, I may have to cancel-even though I really love those classes! (The studio is an hour away next to the office, and since I'm mostly working from home now it's not as easy to get those classes in.)
Anyway, my point is that my Bible reading and work out are my main priorities to get done in a day-and it's SO awesome to get it done first thing. I feel like my days are set up for success and I just love how that feels.
I've experienced more positive self talk.
As a naturally critical person, I'm sure you can imagine how hard it is to be positive about myself. Obviously, I like myself, but I find it all to easy to find things to pick on. This month I have noticed a huge difference in the negative self talk I usually experience.
For example, if a pair of pants didn't fit as I hoped in the past, I would have been quite hard on myself about it. Instead, now if something doesn't fit well I have noticed thoughts more like "this should fit in a month at this rate." I haven't weighed myself in years, and I'm fairly sure no differences are obvious to other people-but for some reason exercise just gives you a little more confidence.
I have not felt guilty about food.
I know that I will eventually have to clean up my eating habits if I want to see real results. But, this month I have just not worried about food at all. I've been eating when I'm hungry and enjoying wine and dessert with no guilt. Maybe you don't have an obsessive personality, but when you can stop obsessing about something you usually fret over, it's so freeing.
I feel like myself again.
In January of 2013, I started working out for the first time in my life. It took a couple of months for other people to notice, but within a year I was smaller than I was in High School, and I was STRONG. The veins in my arms were sticking out strong. I get so proud thinking about how hard I worked then. Again, I haven't weighed myself since then (when you have an obsessive personality getting stuck on numbers is risky.) but I'd say I'm probably 25 pounds heavier and 1 pant size bigger. The problem is: When I think about what I look like, I picture myself 3 years ago. That's who I want to look like. Even within 10 pounds of that version of myself.
So, even though I know that 30 days of working out isn't going to get me close to that (reasonably neither will 6 months.) I feel like that person again! The clarity that comes with exercising and a clear vision is what makes me feel like me. Having sore muscles and lots of dirty workout clothes feels so familiar!
TLDR: I love how I feel after making exercise a priority again.
I'm really looking forward to carrying this routine into 2019, and I love to hear what you do for exercise! Leave a comment below if you have found a good program, or if you are looking for one. Have you been in shape in the past, but let yourself slip like I have? What is your favorite part about working out?! I have several favorite things, but one thing I love this time of year is to work up a sweat and then go outside into the cold air afterward. It's so invigorating!
P.S. I am so proud of the deals I got on my new tennis shoes and the Fitbit pictured above! Nike rarely goes on a good sale, but I was able to find an older style on sale at JCPenney for $39! I got $4 cash back on that with Ebates. The Fitbit was actually from Ebay! A woman listed the exact color I wanted almost new. She said she had worn it for a few days and decided it wasn't for her. That day Ebay had a coupon code for sporting goods, so I saved $20 on top of her huge discount for being a used item. Plus 2% back with Ebates! Have I not convinced you to sign up for Ebates yet? Anyway, thanks for letting me brag on my good deals! I always get so excited when I need something and I can get a good deal with a little effort.
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