Well, hubby and I officially lost a combined amount of about 40 pounds over the last year. And after eating healthy foods and snacks, and going to the gym 6 times a week, we got a little burned out. We got too busy to go to the gym, and too busy to cook healthy meals and grocery shop twice/thrice a week and needless to say, we lost our healthy habits.
Now we’re trying to get ourselves back into the habit before fall hits and we just mope around the house doing nothing but eating junk food. But it’s hard to get back into the habit! It’s definitely more enticing to sit here at night and watch TV with a glass of wine. How do I get my butt back in gear? That’s what I’d like to know.
I got to thinking, it’s so easy to take a pill or medication each day, and before you know it – you can feel it working. So why can’t workouts be like that? You do it once a day, and before you know it, you can feel it working? So I found a solution to my problem, and a way to implement it. Here’s my plan.
1) Start with honest goals.
Let’s face it, I could set my goal to “go to the gym more” but that says nothing, and it’s so easy to blow it off. So instead, I put my goal for this week, to be to go to the gym at least 2 times. It’s starting me off slow, and it’s putting an exact amount on how many times I need to go. I told myself that this is not a suggestion, it’s required. I can pick which 2 days that will be, so the flexibility grants me a little freedom from the gym.
2) Improvise on your workouts.
I know I’ve said this before, but I’ll say it again: you have to make exercising fun. As much as I enjoy going to the zumba classes at my gym, I hate the drive there along with the pressure of having a schedule to meet for when they have those classes. Instead, I set up my wii to a TV in the basement so that I can stream zumba videos off Youtube. I can workout when I want, where I want, and for as long as I want.
Still not motivated to do the hard-core workouts? You don’t have to. Start slow. Make it a long, brisk walk one night, and maybe a bike ride the next. As long as you get your heart rate up for at least 30 minutes, it’s a great start!
3) Try new activities that sneak in exercise.
This is the key with me. If I enjoy doing something, then I don’t pay attention to the workout my body is getting. Do your homework about the areas of your body you want to focus on, and then try a few new activities; especially things that get your cardio going for an all-around workout.
Fun/entertaining ways to get exercise and enjoy it!
Let’s call this the housewives list of exercises 😉
- Rollerblade
- Bowling
- Frisbee
- Rock Climbing
- Hiking
- Hopscotch
- Tennis
- Swimming
- Walk the Dog
- Volleyball
- Jump Rope
- Dancing (to the radio, or to Wii games!)
- Kayaking
- Paddle Boarding
Also, did you know that picking up trash in your neighborhood for 4 hours will burn roughly 2,000 calories? (According to Fitnessandobesity.com) Now that’s what I call ‘giving back’, the calories – that is. Okay that was an awful joke, I blame it on the lack of exercise today.
Hearts,
Sarah
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