Bosses don't cancel

You know, it's funny...when you're trying to start a lifestyle change, you want to go from zero to sixty.
 
"I'm going to eat fruits and veggies!"

"I'm going to drink half my body weight in water!"

"I'm going to exercise at least 5x a week!"

It's good to be enthusiastic and motivated to make those changes but sometimes it can be overwhelming.  You can take on too much, too soon and feel like it's too much to handle.  When we started up in 2008, we focused more on our portions.  We did exercise but not as consistently as we should have.  It wasn't until 2009 that we got on our true path with exercise that we never wanted to stray from.  By then, we learned that exercise had so many more benefits than just weight loss.  The stress busting benefits were huge which is why exercising at the end of a work day made the most sense for us.  We could take those things that stressed us out the most and punch, kick, lift and dance our way to being able to breathe again.

So many people like to say "oh, you're making a mistake by waiting because you'll find an excuse if you don't have the time.  You need to workout in the morning, it's the only way you'll get it done."  Funny, we haven't had a problem "getting it done" in the evening for 7 years!  Have there been times we have had to switch it to morning workouts because we have plans that night?  Sure.  Namely holidays and occasional family dinners out and you know what?  I consistently burn less when I workout in the morning.  So never let anyone tell you that the time of day you workout is wrong because what is wrong for one is oh so right for another.  In the end, being consistent is the only thing that matters.  We have an appointment to exercise in some form 5-6x per week and that isn't optional. (Vacation is the only time this schedule gets interrupted but we try to do some exercise here and there as well.)

The other night we went to the grocery store, did a little shopping, had to unexpectedly help a family member with something that took longer than it should have and by the time we got home, it was almost 7pm.  We still hadn't worked out or had dinner.  Well, it's always been our rule we don't eat unless we've worked out.  My lower back was killing me and even just walking in the grocery store was a chore.  Did I want to workout?  Hell no, I didn't.  Did we?  Hell yes we did!  It wasn't even a discussion like it would've been in the old days.  In the old days, we would've talked about how late it was, spent 15 minutes whining about why we didn't want to workout and then skipped it and still ate the dinner planned.  Instead, I had the Mr jam his elbow into my lower back where my muscles were bunged up, rolled on the big foam roller to crack my spine back into place and sucked it the heck up!  I'm not stupid, I didn't do something that was going to injure me but the back pain I was having was from sleeping wrong.  It wasn't a pulled this or that.  Even if it was, stretching or light cardio would've been fine to loosen things up.  The Mr said "see, this is how I know we've changed because we're not even entertaining the idea of skipping, we're just doing it."  He was right...and I was proud.

When people ask me how I've managed to keep my motivation to exercise all of these years, I'm very honest with them...I was never motivated.  Motivation wanes.  Motivation betrays you.  If my own wedding and a trip to a tropical climate wasn't enough motivation for me, something trivial like a reunion or fitting into a certain outfit certainly wouldn't be.  You just have to do it and make no excuses.  It has to be like brushing your teeth or eating everyday...it's not an option not to do it.  Even when I was suffering from my worst bout of leg issues and was put on non weight bearing exercises, I initially thought "oh my God, how am I going to do this!?  I'll never lose weight now!"  But you know what?  I got over myself and I got a floor bicycle , (affiliate link) did upper body strength, did lots of stretching and even did the same workouts the Mr was doing but sitting down in a chair.  I knew back in 1999 when I saw a dude doing Tae Bo in a wheelchair that I never had another excuse again.

Whether you need to lose weight or just want to maintain what you've lost regardless of whether you're at goal or not, it's those daily commitments you keep to yourself that matter.  How can you be a good wife, daughter, mother (husband, son, father) if you're taking care of everyone else and not yourself?  It's like the caretaker who puts themselves last because people need tended to and helped. Well, guess what, if you don't have your health, you can't help those people who need it.

Let the little things add up to big success.  Be a boss!

How often do you exercise per week?

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