Since the fall, I have dusted off the treadmill started walking again. I still like my WiiFit, but realized since September that I can burn more calories faster using one of the walking workouts preprogrammed on my treadmill.
It was one of those things I had to wait for my children to get a little older to do consistently--until this fall, I wouldn't have been able to get a couple minutes in before being interrupted. It is now so much the routine that the kids just know that Mom goes walking after breakfast while they watch a TV show or two. I look forward to my morning walk ALMOST as much as I look forward to my morning cup of coffee!
Exercise has never been a huge part of my life. That's probably because whenever I started to exercise, I would see the areas I was weak in, become overwhelmed, and give up. Or, I would get in a routine of walking, etc., then take a couple days off and completely get out of the habit.
I started out 2010 exercising because Mama Mii was a bit round around the middle. It is now nearly the end of the year and I have lost 11 pounds almost completely because of the extra moving around.
This month is maintaining month. I don't want to live a life where Christmas cookies are forbidden.
There have been other benefits, too. Walking has taught me to keep my mind in the moment more than I have done before. I noticed early that as soon as I got to a tougher stage of the workout and started thinking about all the tasks ahead of me in my day, keeping up a fast pace became much more difficult. I had never noticed how much this thinking and fretting ahead of time zapped my energy to live in the moment.
I used to be pretty skeptical of the studies that said exercise can help depression as much as a prescription drug. This time of year--with its shortened and cold winter days--is usually the most difficult for me. This year has been completely different. I have to say that I feel just as well as I did when I was taking a prescription for my depression.
In fact, that was my main goal when I started this new routine in my life--to be healthier and feel better.
The rest is just icing on the cake. Mmm . . . cake . . . .
oh, laura...now you're making me feel guilty! i soooooo need to exercise right now and i am just not getting it done. i feel so much better too and i just need to DO it...i feel so much better when i do...thanks for the motivation :)
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