Hitting the reset button

[YayForMorgan]

Hi nerds!

 

I'm working on making a major health overhaul, and who better to share my quest with than my fellow geeks? 

 

The short version: I'm 39 and a half years old, and I'm a lifelong fat girl. And the fact that I'm fat doesn't bother me - my self-confidence is through the roof most days - but what is bothering me is that I think my weight is really starting to affecting my health. I hit my health rock-bottom last summer when I sustained a shoulder injury. This was in the middle of a stressful and busy time and I couldn't stop what I was doing to nurse my injury, so I just soldiered through. Once the stressful busy time was over I got SO SICK! And then, once I was done being sick I fell into a really deep depression. I typically fall into a depression around Novemberish, but last year was more than just seasonal, it was different. And bad. And, honestly, scary. After the depression cleared up I decided it was time to focus on my health and see if I couldn't treat all the year's problems with diet and exercise. 

 

Dude, diet and exercise is so much harder than it sounds! I actually did pretty well, and made it through this busy stressful summer without getting sick or injured. I'm fighting seasonal depression again but it's nowhere near what it was last year. So that's proof that the system works. I just need to be consistent. That's the real trick, right? I haven't found the happy exercise yet. Working out is such a chore and the first thing to fall by the wayside whenever I get too busy. And I suck at eating like a grown-up. Frozen pizza and cereal is just so easy! 

 

So these are the goals: Exercise regularly, eat like a normal human being, sleep, fight off the olds, hit 40 being healthier (and hotter!) than ever. 

 

I need encouragement. More so now than any other time because of the depression. Some days it's a fight just to get off the couch and go to work. I know it'll pass, right now I just need some structure and a routine that doesn't involve sitcoms and candy until 2am. 

 

This post is kind of a downer. I really am a very positive, cheerful, enthusiastic person most of the time. I'm typically big and loud and colorful and weird and fun, it's just that these dark grey rainy November and December days make everything a struggle. 

 

I joined the 6-week challenge, if you want to read a more in-depth description of my current goals. Positive encouragement is appreciated and reciprocated! You be my cheerleader, I'll be yours

 

I am looking forward to making some awesome new friends!

[NDNSooner]

You can do this....  Just gotta find your focus....  You have it in your mind that you need to make changes, need to make plans & goals to be  successful.  Set long time goals and short time goals. 

[Basement Cat]

Hello and welcome!

 

You came to the right place if you need to be motivated. Hey, I know how you feel about working out, but it's not so bad when you find an exercise that you enjoy. Try out a bunch of things, see what you enjoy and stick with that! I feel in love with bodyweight training myself, so that's what I'm doing.

 

You say you haven't found the happy exercise yet. What have you tried so far?

 

Stay sharp!

[YayForMorgan]

Hello and welcome!

 

You came to the right place if you need to be motivated. Hey, I know how you feel about working out, but it's not so bad when you find an exercise that you enjoy. Try out a bunch of things, see what you enjoy and stick with that! I feel in love with bodyweight training myself, so that's what I'm doing.

 

You say you haven't found the happy exercise yet. What have you tried so far?

 

Stay sharp!

 

Your question actually really got me thinking. What have I tried? What did I hate? What should I revisit? What haven't I tried yet? Quite a response to a very simple question, huh?

 

I have no strong feelings positive or negative about lifting weights. It's just a necessary evil if I don't want arm flab or osteoporosis. I keep telling myself it's only 3 times a week, only about an hour a session, just suck it up and do it! Sometimes that argument works, sometimes it doesn't. I get the appeal of the personal challenge - to lift heavier than you did yesterday - and I have some silly personal incentives for doing it, like wearing geeky t-shirts and secretly listening to cheesy pop music, but I just can't get excited about actually doing it. 

 

I used to play hockey and I liked it a lot. I miss it. But the rink is far away and the games are very late at night and league fees are expensive. I know those all sound like super lame excuses, but the fact of the matter is they are very real barriers to entry that I can't get past at this point.

 

I do color guard with a marching band, and it's crazy fun and I love it. It's a moderate workout with some real fitness benefits, but it's not, like, strenuous most of the time. Plus it frequently ends in beer and bar food. 

 

There's a great big huge list of activities I've tried and felt negative to neutral about. But there are some things I've tried and liked but never pursued seriously, and some things I enjoy and am good at but just don't do very often, and some new things that have peaked my interest. So here's what I'm gonna do: I am going to do each of the following things at least once before the end of this year:

 

1. Take a dance fitness class

2. Go ice skating

3. Watch a beginner's rec-league futsol game and see if it's something I'd be interested in doing next season, which starts sometime in January or February

4. Tai Chi

5. Play Dance Central

6. Swim

 

In addition to that I'm doing regular weight lifting 3 times per week as part of my 6-week challenge. 

 

So that's 6 things to do over the next 6.5 weeks. One of them is just watching a sport, not actually doing it. One of those things I can do on my lunch break at work. Another I can do in the privacy of my own home. Easy peasy, right? Right! I WILL find a thing I'm into that I can do on a regular basis! And if not, I'll cross 6 more things off the list, and at least that's something. 

 

So thank you for your question!!

[telepathboy]

Yay Morgan! Yeah, the NW rainy winter can really have an impact! You have great goals though!

[YayForMorgan]

I'm re-posting this from my 6-week challenge thread because I want maximum visibility and accountability and, I'll just admit it, attention  (Maybe now is the time to start a battle log)
 

 * * * * *
 
Who went to the gym tonight? I went to the gym tonight!
 
...and I was reminded why I prefer going in the mornings. It was packed! Ok, not *packed*, it's just a little neighborhood gym so it's never really packed. I didn't have to wait for equipment or anything, there were just considerably more people there at 5:30pm than are usually there at 5:30am. I like having free run of the gym in the morning when it's just me and two other dudes and none of us speak to each other or get in each other's way. On the other hand, two guys complimented my hair tonight and I love compliments! That never happens in the mornings.
 
I was going to go this morning but I remembered my membership is about to expire and I wanted to talk to the owner about it, not his weird morning guy. So I went, I renewed for the next two years, I had a really nice chat with the owner about exercise and life and stuff, I got a good workout, and my motivation for going in the mornings was renewed. 
 
Accomplishments!!!

[danielmaggs]

Good luck in in your pursuits Its not a matter of 'can you do this?' just a matter of 'when do you want to achieve it?'. 

 

It sounds like you've dug deep to find the motivation you need to reach your achievements and reading your first post I found it to be uber-motivational! You can do this!

 

I personally find building healthy habits is best tackled by taking it one day at a time, having "grit" determination.

 

 

Who went to the gym tonight? I went to the gym tonight!
 
...and I was reminded why I prefer going in the mornings. It was packed! Ok, not *packed*, it's just a little neighborhood gym so it's never really packed. I didn't have to wait for equipment or anything, there were just considerably more people there at 5:30pm than are usually there at 5:30am. I like having free run of the gym in the morning when it's just me and two other dudes and none of us speak to each other or get in each other's way. On the other hand, two guys complimented my hair tonight and I love compliments! That never happens in the mornings.

 

Yay For Morgan! Keep up the hard work