Hello again faithful followers!
So, it turns out writing blogs wasn't the only thing I went on hiatus from recently. I've been having a really hard time motivating myself to exercise this past month. Maybe it was that I was finishing up my last semester in college. Then after that I was "giving myself a break" because it was the start of my summer vacation. Next my excuse was that my brother is home too and I wanted to hang out with him before I start school in the fall. No matter what, there was always something better that I thought I could be doing, when in actuality my laziness set back in. I kept feeling like I was right where I was three years ago, I'd have a spurt of activity and then take it easy because I felt like I earned it. I'm not saying you need to work out five days a week, an hour and a half a day, every week...that's insane. But even doing something for fifteen minutes three times a week is better than doing nothing -- that's something I forgot.
Today I finally broke past whatever mental barrier stopped me from exercising and rode my stationary bike for about half an hour. Admittedly it was probably wasn't my best workout, seeing as I had to stop every four minutes to catch my breath because I'm fairly out of shape, but the point is I did it. I got the dreaded "first workout" after a break done with. Afterward I felt incredible. I would have kept going but I thought being able to move around tomorrow was a pretty good idea. I haven't been eating that horribly either, so I wasn't really seeing any ill affects from my little vacation. That right there is exactly what can lead to a huge weight gain. If you're eating fairly well but not doing squat activity wise, it'll still catch up to you. Good food still comes with calories and sugars that will be stored in your body. If you do nothing to keep the balance between what you consume and what you exert then the pounds will eventually be packed on.
I think that was what my problem was in the past years, and again during this past month. Even in high school I never ate the most terrible things. And let me clarify when I keep saying "terrible things". You will not gain fifteen pounds eating some cookies every once in a while...I promise. But if you find you're eating that a few times a week, that will add up eventually. It doesn't even have to be "bad" in the way that cookies are. Any little snacking between meals can be just as hurtful. If dinner is cooking, don't pick through the cupboards as an appetizer, unless you're truly famished. These are just little calories that can be avoided. Drink a big glass of water or chew some gum in the meantime, I know they don't sound as fulfilling as the Chex Mix in the drawer, but I'm willing to bet you're not even that hungry. You see or smell dinner on the stove and naturally your brain is going to signal hunger to your stomach, so you start the grazing process. Just try to fake your brain out with the water, or the chewing action you get from the gum.
But anyway, that was my little side note. Back to the point! If you do these little things, meaning the grazing or frequent snacking, just try to cut back. I know I'm not all-knowing when it comes to exercise and eating well, I may have really bad times too...but I'm human. It's unrealistic to think you can find a system that works for you and follow it religiously without having an "off-month". The key is not to lie to yourself by saying you have other things to do. Think about your day in your head, there has to be a fifteen to thirty minute time slot somewhere in there where you can bike, run, do some cardio, anything that is better than winding down on the couch. That can come later, but try to do something physical beforehand. And when I fall back in to my old ways of taking it easy again, as I know I will at some point, someone remind me to read this again and take my own advice. The first workout after a hiatus is always super hard and you feel so gross during it, but try to hold on to the feeling you get after and carry that momentum for a few months.
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