A question I get asked regularly … Did I Exercise?

Can I tell you something?

I’m lazy!!

I’ve never been a person to go out and do a bunch of physical activity, sign up for a sport or anything like that.

Confession Time:

• Gym classes in school were something I got out of as soon as I could.
• My mother lives 2 blocks away from me and most often I drive rather than walk
• Any THOUGHT of doing something physical would send me screaming toward a bag of potato chips!
• I’m the kind of person that will circle a parking lot 3 times to get a closer spot
• I would (and have) get someone to do my shopping for me.  Walking up and down a shopping mall seems entirely pointless to me and  a huge waste of time

I’m talking REALLY lazy!!

Part of my problem (when I was carrying the weight of an entire extra person on my body) was that it actually physically hurt me to move.  But being honest with myself, I got that way slowly over the years of being so sedentary.

When I was at my largest, I remember staring at people that were out walking or climbing stairs.  I wasn’t being rude, I was thinking to myself:  how can you make that look so effortless?!  Stairs for me were HARD! I would have to hold the rail, and walk up like a toddler one painful step at a time.  At the top I would be completely winded, and I’m just talking about the stairs in my house.  I would not even attempt stairs somewhere else.

I remember staring at thin, fit people and trying to talk myself into believing that would never be an achievable goal for me.  I remember having dreams that they would one day need to come with a crane and lift me out of my house because my legs would have completely collapsed.  I am not kidding you… the pain is real.

One thing that I loved about the Low Carb Lifestyle is that you don’t really need to move.  Which very enticing for me because at that point, I actually couldn’t.

So…

As I started to lose the first 30 pounds, I felt better, I felt like I could walk a little.  I was able to go on my Florida trip.  After I lost the first 60 pounds, I started doing yoga classes and get fit classes at our local senior center.  No, I am NOT a senior (even though I felt like one for several years), I went there with my mother who was my partner in all of this.

About Spring 2016, I really started to notice how everyone had one of these Fitbit things.  I know they had been around for a while at that point already, but I chose to ignore them.  I thought why in the hell would people put themselves through that, 10 000 steps a day?  You have got to be joking!  

By October of last year, I really wanted one.

I finally broke down and got one for my Christmas present to me.  (Coincidentally, that is also what we got my mother last year for Christmas lol).

I’m sure that before I started faithfully wearing my Fitbit, I managed less than 2000 steps a day.  That’s just being brutally honest.  10 000 steps was something completely OUT of my realm of possibility (more mentally at that point).

I set my daily goal to I think 3500 in the beginning.  Once I was easily achieving that daily (which only took a week of two) I moved it to 5000, then to 6500.   I’m actually still at 6500, but I need to move it to 8000 now because it’s time to push a bit more.  I would like to consistently be at 10K steps by the end of September.

So the Question was: Do I exercise?

No I did not, not for a long time.  I am trying to be more active daily now, and I am actually excited about getting more fit.  But that’s because now I feel like I can. I did not feel that before (not even microscopically :p )

Four things that are helping me to become more active:

1. My Fitbit.  I absolutely love my Fitbit now and feel bare-naked if I don’t have it on.  It helps me track my movement.  Gives me hourly reminders if I haven’t been moving enough.  I use it to track my sleep, and now I also am using it to track my water intake. This is coming from a completely Unfit person.  It truly really helps me stay on track.  Even though I am still not at the average 10 000 steps, I am moving more daily than I ever did before.  And enjoying it!  Mom and I have contests to see who gets the most steps in, that also makes it fun.
2. My dog Molly.  I don’t like that I have to take her out for a walk because it takes an hour of my very busy day.   But I actually really do enjoy it once I get there.  For me it has to be a mental switch.  I am taking the time away from other aspects of my busy life to get moving.  Again, taking care of me is always something that I struggle with, and I really need to keep my focus on my health.  So when I think about it in that regard, taking care of my Molly, I am also taking care of me.
3. My Littles.  Currently I have 4 kids under the age of 3 in my home. They keep me hopping.  It’s fun to get on the floor and play with them. Running after them helps me get my steps in without a second thought.
4. My Exercise Bike.  My brother and sister in law gave me an exercise bike to help me keep moving.  I don’t use it as much as I need to, but keep pushing myself towards taking that 15 minutes daily for me!  Again it is about a mindset, My Health is top priority, I need to keep that in my head.

My Fitness Goals?

Well from here I would hope to get continually more active.  Keep increasing my steps, keep walking with my dog,  running after my littles, and taking time to bike daily.  I also want to incorporate fun activities into life such as going swimming to the beach, or a local pool.  spending time outdoors with my littles well the weather is still nice in Canada, and maybe even going with my mother for a round or two of golf before the end of summer.

How about you.  Do you struggle with getting yourself moving?  What kinds of things do you do to trick yourself into being more active?  I would sure love to hear your ideas.

Do you have a Fitbit?  Does it help you stay active?  If you are considering getting one yourself you can click on the link, I have the Fitbit Charge2 and I love it.  (that is my affiliate link)  I like it because it is slender in design and does everything that I need it to do.  I am getting tired of wearing my blue band though.   You can easily change out the accessories on it to match your mood.  That will be my next purchase.

Talk soon,

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