The me project
About a year ago, I was in a doctor’s office and at the end of the exam the doctor asked, “So, are there any issues you have that you’d like to bring up?”
I allowed as to how I wished I weighed less, but I was honest with her, too: “I’m not really willing to do anything differently, either. You know, the whole eating-better-and-exercise-thing? Yeah, that.”
Well, I have been reconsidering that position. I’m not getting any younger, and I’m not willing to revamp my entire wardrobe to accommodate my wanting to sit and watch episodes of Big Bang Theory with a plate of lemon Oreos … so better eating and more exercise it is.
I set a goal to walk more by keeping a chart and aiming for an average of 10,000 steps a day, knowing that some days I’d walk more, and some days I’d fall a bit short. I shot for little steps: I parked as far away as possible whenever I went anywhere – school, WalMart, Raley’s, the fabric store, etc. I filled up those awkward 15 minute segments of time between tasks with a brisk walk, even when all I wanted to do was check Twitter to see what Washington, D.C. was up to. I went up and down the stairs with small tasks instead of trying to be efficient and go up with several at once. I even offered to pay Thomas 50 cents for every lap around the neighborhood he took with me (about 3,000 steps, or 15 minutes). When I needed distraction, I listened to stand-up comedy on Pandora, which meant I was often laughing like a loon, earbuds wagging, but at least I was moving.
The thing about exercising more is that you start to find yourself exercising more. The day that it rained (despite my app on the phone insisting we had a 20 percent chance) I got a little panicky: I counted on racking up a couple-three thousand in the morning! Luckily I remembered I owned walking DVDs, and I popped one in to knock out a mile. (Note: that mile is WAY more exercise than a jaunt around the block, especially because I hadn’t done the DVD in a bunch of months. I was wiped out at the end!)
Next up on the self-improvement was eating better, which includes drinking more water. I got in a nice habit of filling up a water bottle a few times a day, and soon I was craving water. I bought a bunch of fresh fruit and veggies and made healthy lunches and dinners. I had my iced coffee after work, but I used a smaller cup and savored it instead of wolfing it down as an infusion of caffeine. In short, I made healthy choices, and those choices built upon themselves in a nice sort of way.
My final move toward taking better care of myself was to do some exercises for my upper arms. (Simple, and not as intimidating as squats or sit ups, right?) I found a little chart on Pinterest with six exercises and a routine to follow. There were pictures and a schedule to do the movements one day, then rest the next, then do the movements, then rest. The first day I confidently got my little walking weights (I think they are a pound) and did the three reps of each motion, following along on my Kindle. I was surprised at how easy it was; how on earth was this going to accomplish anything? The next day I rested, and the third day I called up the exercises on the bigger computer screen to jot down the upcoming schedule. Surprise! I was supposed to use a five-pound weight, and do each exercise eight times, three times through that first day! That was very different than what I had done! I started over, and now I’m at something like 12 times, three times through, and building to 15. (And yes, it is becoming noticeable…ish.)
I may not drop the freshman 15 or the baby weight or whatever, but all these steps are making me a little bit healthier each day, so I guess that’s good enough.
