Sunday, October 28, 2012

The case of the "Tomorrows"

“When it comes to eating right and exercising, there is no "I'll start tomorrow." Tomorrow is disease.”

--- Terri Guillemets


5:30 am; The alarm clock roars. The snooze button is hit.

5:45 am; The alarm clock howls. The snooze button is pressed.

6:00 am; The alarm clock wails. Mike wakes up for work, and the snooze is set.

The same continues until...

8:15am; The alarm clock cries. I finally pry myself off of my way-too-comfy bed and realize it is too late for the gym. Time to get ready for work. Yes. I am very guilty of letting this to happen more often than I would like to admit. "Tuesday I will do better", I tell myself.

    When I started my life style change, less then a year ago, I vowed to go all or nothing. It is the way I have always been. I admire all those who can say "I will cut back on soda from 3 sodas a day to 1 a day and progressively get it out of my life" and actually make changes that way. How on earth can you do that? For me, I would talk myself into having an extra one here or there but I eventually would be back to where I was- 3 sodas a day. That's just me. It is not something I am proud of, but you have to accept your weakness and learn how to adjust your life to compensate.

  What is all or nothing? In my case, it is a 180 degree lifestyle change from diet to exercise to mentality.
Diet, check!
Mentality, check!
Exercise... sometimes check?

  I want to put a full on check next to exercise but I honestly can't. In the beginning, I was counting calories, reading up on heath constantly, and working out at the gym AT LEAST 5 days a week. As I researched and found what works for me my eating habits have changed into something that better works for my lifestyle, my idea of what it means to be healthy has changed, and my exercise habits were adapting for the better until I started using tomorrow as a crutch.

  Rewarding ourselves is something that is important for all of us to do from time to time. My boyfriend and I decided to reward ourselves by going on a great cruise to Alaska. I knew what cruises were all about and was prepared mentally for all the food, the overly "relaxed" mentality, but I was very unprepared for how hard it would be to get back into your groove once you come home. It's been about two months since and I am just starting to find my exercise rhythm again.

   Right now my goal is to be at the gym by 7 or 7:30, and work out for about an hour/ hour 15, Monday-Wednesday. Then attend my group personal training session on Friday and Saturday for an hour. The feeling you get when you are working out regularly is indescribable. Your energy level, endorphins, stamina, and results increase. Most importantly I feel great. I am sick of letting tomorrow get in my way, so lets not let it. In the words of Alice Morse Earle, "Yesterday is history, tomorrow a mystery, today is a gift, that's why it's called the present", and I'm going to treat it that way.


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