I don’t often post about my personal life- I’m really not very interesting. In fact, as a housewife who buries her nose in the laptop most of the day, or spends it doing laundry, dishes, and various other tasks with an mp3 player for company, I bore myself! But I’ve been making some changes, little by little, and I’m starting, for the first time in many, many years, to feel good about being me.
If weight loss, exercise, etc. is not your thing, I understand. It’s not been mine, mainly because I let myself down constantly. Yes, MYSELF. No one asks me to work out. No one expects me to lose weight. Hell, if you’ve ever dieted, you know how it is. No one notices those first few pounds except you. And if you bloat, or have a day without exercise, or just fall off the wagon onto a cheeseburger (as I so often do) then you’ll find you kick your own ass harder than anyone else ever could. And continue down the same path you were once on. And stay miserable.
I had enough of it, frankly. I have asthma, which I’m often able to work through or ignore completely- until it knocks me on my saggy butt. As it did in early March when I spent nearly 2 weeks miserably ill with pneumonia. That was when I quit smoking. I didn’t choose to. I didn’t have a choice. I have 4 days where I spent so much time unconscious (as did my hubby since he was sick, too) that it terrifies me- I don’t remember taking care of my daughter. PLEASE don’t confuse that with ‘I didn’t take care of my daughter.’ I have vague flashes of cooking for her, showering her, etc. It’s just blurry. I could barely breathe, and I remember thinking that I was dying. Literally days after turning 28, I was dying.
So it’s hardly surprising that I quit smoking. The choice was taken from me, and when I finally came back to myself, the nicotine was out of my system. And after a few weeks, I felt great.
I started walking. First just walking the dog, who, at 13, deserves a nice, long walk at his own pace. Then I started riding my bike. First to the mail box, then the bus stop, then a lap around the park, and then two. And gradually I was able to increase everything, including my water intake. I went from drinking very little, walking around dehydrated every day to drinking almost 150 oz of water a day- more on the hot days, or when I work out like a maniac that day.
Now I’m walking the park twice, several times a week. That’s about 2.3 miles, at least 4 days a week, in addition to 15 minutes walking the dog, and a minimum of 50 squats a day. And after a month of this, yesterday I noticed that my butt shrank. *LOL* Any woman can tell you that that is a HUGE deal if it’s been the feature you’ve hated most for years. It’s actually more than halfway to toned and in shape, and my legs are muscle once more- not flabby.
So today I pushed myself. I put in my least favorite DVD, and my ONLY exercise DVD- Jillian Michaels’ 30 Day Shred. Granted, I only did level one, but normally I stop maybe halfway through… usually sooner. The cardio kills me- jumping jacks, jump rope, etc. With my asthma I can only handle so much. But today I did the entire workout for the first time ever. I’ve owned this DVD for at least 5 years, and I finally did it.
Now, I’ll ‘fess up. I fell of the cigarette wagon last weekend for personal reasons. But for someone who was a pack a day smoker to smoke 5-7 cigarettes a day isn’t bad, and I’m hopping back on the wagon Monday. I have my reasons for waiting, but I want to quit again, and for good.
But don’t ever say you can’t get fit, please. 5 years ago I weighed 240 pounds. I’m only 5’2″, and even though I didn’t look my weight, I still looked and felt fat. Now I’m down 2 pant-sizes, and I’m feeling better. My fibro still flares, and I have days I can’t exercise at all because I’m in too much pain. But I’m proud of myself, and that’s a statement I don’t remember making in the past- not to actually mean it. Start small. I only started exercising for rewards! I downloaded the Nexercise app on my phone, and it rewards me with points I trade in toward gift cards. But I use it religiously now, and I’m almost to my second Amazon gift card. Now it’s not all about the rewards- I actively try and beat my own records. And I enjoy it, which is a huge step.
So walk the dog for a few extra minutes each week. Put on headphones and shake your hips while you do the dishes, the laundry, or cook dinner. I do all those things, even on my bad days. Every little bit counts, and before long you’ll be proud of yourself, too. If you aren’t already!
I want to hear from you! Do you have a success story? Do you just want to share your goals? I want to cheer you on! And if you want to add me on Nexercise, you can do so, please! kglassauthor@yahoo.com
Kay Glass, Author 