Thursday, January 6, 2011

Loving Gym

In response to this post from my darling Foxy and Fabulous, and in trying to give myself and hopefully others a little more much-needed motivation this time of year, I have this to say:
When the things you want outweigh the things you don't want, then you will find the strength to make the changes you desire. 

Please note the clever use of "outweigh."  ;-)

I've often seen this gimmicky refrigerator magnet, "Nothing tastes as good as being thin feels." 

Good point, not always true.  I mean, have the authors of that ever tasted Grilled Cheese Focaccia?  But, nine times out of ten, being fit and healthy is more satisfying than food or laziness.

I will go through spurts where I am eating whatever I want every night and waking up the next morning feeling just fine.  Then, magically, one morning I wake up feeling like a disgusting blob.  That is the turning point.  The point at which I decide that the feeling of being fit and healthy is more important than that delicious hamburger. And, if I just eat healthy most of the time, then I can have a hamburger the one time out of ten when the food does taste better than being healthy feels.

There are also the other things that you, and many others, cite as obstacles:
  • Discouraged
  • Hate going alone
  • Slacking off/lazy
  • Inability to do certain exercises due to previous injuries
  • Don't want to work out with gym nazi's
  • Don't want to have to shower/makeup/change clothes more than once per day
  • Don't want to have to have lingering sweat on a date/at work
You could go the easy road of simply cutting your calories to about 1400/day divided into three 300-calorie meals and three 150ish-calorie snacks with no exercise.  But sounds like you'd like to get that heart pumping and feel some tone in your muscles. 

I go back to, "When the things you want outweigh the things you don't want, then you will find the strength to make the changes you desire."   This is why I am the gym-lover I am today.  Of all the things I was making a priority in my life, I realized the benefits of the gym outweighed all the other priorities.  Longer life?  Better looking?  More vigor for life?  Health?  Yes, please!
 
Yes, going to the gym alone can be difficult, but what feels worse - temporary confusion at the gym or muffin top?  
 
And say this outloud: "I'm not going to the gym because I don't want to change my clothes twice today."  
Does this sound as silly to you as it does to me? 
 
Try this one: "I'm not going to the gym because I can't run."  Aren't there other ways to get your heart rate up?  Even just doing weights, if you do a circuit workout instead of a muscle group, your heart rate can stay above 140 in an interval fashion.
 
Honestly, the clothes-changing thing gets me too.  During shows, I often have to divide gym time into two sessions, that means I change my clothes morning, noon, noon, after work, after work, maybe again if I'm going out or need special rehearsal clothes, night.  Ugh!  BUT the payoff of gym time is worth the hassle of changing more times than should be legal.

And the sweaty thing?  That's a tough one.  If I know I am going out and unable to shower, I will only do my weights portion - that works me out with minimal sweat.  A quick brush off with a towel and changing back into your normal clothes solves that problem.  
 
If you want to be healthy, this needs to be part of your day like going to work or seeing your significant other - wake up an hour earlier, go later in the evening so you can shower before bed, delay your evening plans by an hour so you can run home and shower before your date.

Most people only need a workout routine three days per week - if one of those days is a day you don't have work, then you are really only inconvenienced two days per week - a small price to pay for waking up feeling great every morning. 

And, for the record, ten pounds is hardly "letting yourself go."  Just don't let yourself go any further than that.
 
Need more motivation? Some before and after photos from last year (view the last comment on this linked-to blog if you want the run down of what I did) - but before these I went through an equally radical change to get to the size of the before photo...roar!


5 comments:

miss kristen said...

Boo. I hate you.

Well no, not really. I hate that you are only affirming what I already know.

And I'm not not going because I can't run or I hate to change my clothes 400 times a day. Just looking for alternatives. And scott isn't a HORRIBLE Nazi, he just doesn't get I'm not at the same level as he is so I will always be behind--at first.

The main reason is I'm afraid I'll waste money I don't have. If it's being used that's one thing, wasted is a completely different story...

Miss Megan said...

Thanks, Larissa, I feel inspired! I'm taking "before" photos and starting up an excercise routine tonight! You look amazing!

Angelina said...

"Hey you in the pink shirt and black pants--YOU TIGHT!"

Danny said...

It's okay. Take your time to heal. You can use mobility aids if you are facing the problem of any kind of movement. It will help and support your leg to easy movement and also provide less pressure on the legs.

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