When I started approaching 30 (and then ~gasp~ reached and passed 30), my health and fitness got worse and worse. After having a child, and adopting a second, and now babysitting for a third, my couch potato meter just increased exponentially. Add depression to this mix, causing a severe lack of motivation to do ... anything .... Well, we're looking at intervention time.
We all know the gym membership thing is a complete waste of money for me. Aside from the inability to carve an entire hour at a time out of my schedule to go, there is the whole childcare issue (I won't leave my kids in the care of someone I don't know, even if there is childcare provided at the gym.) All of this adds up to making me even LESS motivated to go.
For our birthdays, my mother-in-law bought my hubby and me a Wii Fit program. I have to say. It's WORKING. I'll tell you why:
- I don't have to leave my house. I can do this while my kids are napping. No one else can watch me do my workout.
- It keeps track of my "stats" for me. I can see if I'm slacking or when I improve at a glance.
- I can tailor what I do to what I like AND what I'm in the mood for (or what I have time for today).
- It makes exercising FUN. I'm competing with my hubby (and my mother who is using it too), but even more so with myself! I actually did step aerobics yesterday for 35 minutes so that I could fill the top ten positions before hubby and mom come in and wipe me out.
Now, that's motivation!
To top it off, my Wii makes me laugh. It's programmed to do things like wish me a happy birthday, remind me to brush my teeth before bed, and eat lunch (a reminder that all busy moms can actually appreciate).
And yes, it's true, exercise really does help you to feel better about yourself. Even if you don't have a Wii, get outside and enjoy the fresh air. Take a walk. It's good for your body and your soul!
2 comments:
Great Post..! Yes, just the simplest form of exercise does make you feel better. Enjoy that Wii...I love mine.
ah...the dreaded presidential fitness tests, and even worse, the mile! and to make matters worse, in 11th and 12th grade, we had to run a mile and a half. for me, it was a twenty two minute exercise in pure torture. i walked much more than i ran, and was gasping for air. once, i even managed to slip off the track and sprain my ankle.
fast foward to christmas 2004. 27 years old, 270 pounds, not good. i knew i had to do something about my weight, so i eased into a low carb diet and to my suprise, began shedding pounds quickly. after a 30 pound loss in two months, i began walking two miles a few three or four times per week. then, my dad had a stroke, and i decided i should be exercising more vigorously. i decided to give running a try.
i ran for one minute, then walked for one minute, and the next time out, ran two minutes, until i was able to run a solid twenty minutes. this process took about one month. throughout the summer, i worked my way up to four miles, then joined the lancaster road runners club. i made lots of new friends there, and ran my first race (a 7.5 miler!) i have run in dozens of races since then, including three marathons.
my life has changed so much, and all for the better, over the past four years. better health, more weight loss, new friends, loads of fun, more energy, and i finally got the the girl--and married her to boot. all i was hoping for was to be able to jog a few miles around the neighborhood, but so much more happened. it just goes to show that a little exercise can go a long way.....
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