It’s Yet Another Start

They say you’re not defeated when you fall down. But when you’re not picking yourself back up. And I am definitely one to always pick myself up, as long as I am able. And today I have yet another start.

You all know that I have had a love-hate relationship with exercising. And trust you me, it’s the biggest conundrum of my life. I am usually so disciplined in all the other areas of my existence, and I always want to do the best, in everything I set my mind to. Why can’t I put staying fit, and healthy and having a routine for making sure these things happen on my list of “to do” things, I have never understood.

Sure, it’s hard, but I do so many other “hard” things – like holding a job down, and over-performing, and paying my bills despite my expensive travel hobbies, and the list goes on. I guess the problem  is the missing of instant gratification. I just want to do 30 minutes of exercise and see the pounds literally drop off of me. Or see actual cholesterol dripping out of my veins, or something like that. And since there is a fat chance  that’ll ever happen (no pun intended), it’s easy to put it off.

The hardest thing is to stay focused on just walking, when I am on the treadmill. I opt for the treadmill  lately, versus the yoga mat, because I feel it in my heart better than the latter. I tried music, and I tried radio, as well. And sometimes either works only a little bit – because I still cannot stop watching the clock, and wishing 30 minutes or 45 or whatever I wanted to do that day has passed! And I watch the calorie count to reach at least 100, to be able to live with myself, at least…

Today, I found another trick to hold it and reach my goal. I figured, I do so well with executing what others give me as a task. So, I asked the treadmill to make the routine for me and all I had to do is just deliver. Like a good little student, I just needed to accomplish the task given to me. I selected one of the programmed workouts that came with the treadmill, it was 30 minutes long, and had various inclines and speeds, and I was not going to stop till the machine stopped me. And … I found the right music, too. It turns out that what pushes me is not crazy disco work-out music, but … zydeco. Hot, hopping Bayou music, folks. And I think all the lyrics about jambalaya and fried shrimp po’ boys and fried catfish are just extra-motivation to keep running.

The programmed routine is good for my short attention span, because every 1-2 minutes something changes in the routine – either the speed or the incline or both … So, you’re constantly doing something different. It was great! And great fun, for the first time ever, that I can remember.

And I burned more calories than ever before – and the proof is below. I know, I know, some people burn 1000 a day, or more, but … this is a giant leap for me, so I am going to take it!

I am going to Hawaii soon … and you would think trying to look good in a bathing suit has been motivation enough. But you know what – I am not even thinking of that at all! All I think about is the advice of one of my favorite writers, Anne Lamott – who says “we need to start where our butt is”. So, I start where my butt is, every day, and if my butt happens to end up on the treadmill, then, I walk. And instead of thinking of my slim figure in a bathing suit, I think of just my old, clogged up heart. I try to visualize always that with every step I take, I am gaining maybe one more heart beat … Trying to keep that focus. One step at a time. 

 

My new "achievement" ...