An hour of shoveling snow yesterday, and a half hour more today plus 40 minutes of yoga. Great workouts and the yoga both helps me realize where I have weakness and tension, but helps unto the stiff muscles from moving the snow. I'm extra motivated to move the snow because my son and his girlfriend are staying with me while they take care of some bills and save up a deposit and two month's rent for a nicer apartment. They went to the hospital this afternoon to have labor induced for my first grandchild. (I'm just a tiny bit excited.)
Being a grandfather is a great motivator, I want to be one for decades to come, and would love to be an active and involved great-grandfather.
I'm doing well on my food intake, with minimal splurges, that don't take me over or much over my calories for the day, as per MFP. Regular workouts are the challenge. January is my crazy busy time of year at work and it saps my energy and enthusiasm. I haven't let it derail my eating. Now if I can just get on top of regular exercise. If it wasn't so cold, I could get out and walk. Even just a few pushups and situps, anything to be more than the norm, to fire up the body's fat furnace. I've done it before, I can do it again.
I can't do some of the things in the yoga routine I used, due to knee issues, but I modified, or did something I can sort of do. As I build up strength and lose weight, my knees will allow me to do things I can't do now. One day at a time of just a bit in the right direction will get me to my goal.
I am amazed that I am 50 years old, where did the time go? One moment at a time, one day at a time. The same is true of anything we want to do or be. Each moment we make the little choices that put us that much closer or farther from our goals. Two steps forward, one step back will still get you to your destination.
I want to feel as young in my body as I do in my mind. I may not be able to get all the way there, but I will be closer than most people my age.
One thing I know, is at the end of this challenge, I know that if I do a bit each day, I will see a noticeable difference between my initial and final weigh in.
I have a plan. I will re-invest my Diet Bet winnings in the next challenge and keep going. I must keep up the momentum, and burn off the fat while it is easy to do so and build strength, so that I can be more active in the nice weather.
Attitude is more than half the battle. If you can conquer you apathy and whatever else keeps you from doing one thing in the right direction each day, you have won. Find ways to short circuit your "I don't wannas". We all know, or should know what our greatest downfalls are to being fit and healthy.
For me, if I don't have something ready to go for meals, I tend to eat something less healthy. So I make oat bran muffins with raisins, or lately with craisins, for breakfast. This has the benefit of helping get my cholesterol down and keep me off meds which are hard on the liver. If I don't plan something healthy for lunch at work, I am tempted to eat junk, or go to a restaurant with a somewhat healthy choice, but high cost. So I pack a lunch before I go to bed, and avoid a poor choice and save money. I have frozen chicken that even if I forget to thaw, I can still pop in the over for about an hour and have a simple meal when I get home from work.
I know the other things that I do to defeat myself, the list goes on. We should all know our own list and work to set things in motion to short cicuit our triggers of fail.
We don't have to stay stuck in the ruts we have made for ourselves. If we really want our lives to be different, we have to accept that we are the only ones with the power to change them.
If we want to be happy, be happy. If we want to be fit, live a lifestyle that tends towards fitness. Thus it is with anything we do in life.
We may not have had the best role models growing up, or did not listen to the good role models we had. Just as we can make excuses not to do what we know we should, why not turn those excuses on their ear and make excuses for why we must or should do the things to get us where we want to go.
I am guilty of too much negative self talk. I think for many that keeps us off track. I think we all need to learn to be our own best cheerleader. There have been times in my life that I looked for someone in my life to cheer me on, and it never happened. So, unless or until, and even beyond, I will cheer myself. I may sound like the little engine that could, but I am going to live a healthier and happier life.