I've started this post a million times in my head and it all comes down to this..
"If it's important enough, you'll find a way, if it's not, you'll find an excuse"
I found that quote on Pinterest and I've got to tell you it fits perfectly with exercise and weight loss.
It's quite possible that you're like me. Every day I would wake up and think, "Man, I should really work out today, I'm going to have to find time." Before you know it the day as ended and you're back in your bed feeling lazy and slightly guilty.
I've been exercising for a month now and this is what I know:
You have to MAKE time. Believe me, I know there's something about 4:30 AM that doesn't sit well with a lot of people. If your day is filled with preschool, tumbling, dance, activity days, karate and fire meetings you may come to realize it's the only way. It's not an easy thing the first week or even the first month, but I do know that I feel better about my day knowing my work out it already complete before my kids wake up and my husband's gone to work. My day is now open and not filled with guilt.
You CAN'T rely on other people. When I decided to join a gym I invited quite a few people to come with me. A lot of them said yes but things came up and schedules changed and my "quite a few" became two. That's not to say I'm not lucky to have people going with me, here's the thing.. My objective and goal is different than theirs, so how I exercise, eat and what classes I take will be different. Once they get you to the gym you have to find your own motivation.
The first month SUCKS! I have now been going to the gym faithfully (Monday-Friday twice on Wednesdays) for one month tomorrow and I have NEVER missed a day! Something I'm very proud of, but very exhausted from. The morning still comes too early and I still have to drag myself out of bed. The first couple weeks were very discouraging. I guess in my mind I had this concept that pounds just fall off as soon as you start exercising...not the case. Ryan had a friend tell him "The first month is just to get you to feel better while you gain the muscle that's going to burn the calories. After a month is when the weight loss starts" This coming from a man who was 400 lbs and is now 250! I took this to heart and decided not to focus on the weight loss and to focus on how I feel. I do feel better!
DON'T focus on the weight. I had heard from at least 3 people not to focus on the weight and Ryan and I came to this conclusion. I had him take my measurements. *GASP* (This was not something Ryan forced me to do!) We wrote down my arm, chest, stomach, thigh and hips and then took my weight. In one month we will do it again. This system may not work for everyone but it's exactly what I needed to continue to find the motivation instead of looking for daily results!
DON'T eat everything! One of the girls I go to the gym with said she hasn't seen a lot of results and she's blaming it on her eating. She said she's always hungry and until she finds a way to curb her appetite she's afraid she's not going to see the great results she wants. Just because you're "working out" doesn't mean you no longer have to watch what you eat. For me, my day is not about being completely healthy all day long. I've found that if I eat a little chocolate or treat every day I find myself less tempted to eat every unhealthy thing in sight. You just have to find what works for you and stick with it.
