5/11/09

Someone Exhumed my Exercise Gene


Yes, this is an exercising post. Don't worry, ya'll will feel like a bunch of Jane Fonda's after reading this post cuz I'm gonna give it to you straight... I think someone exhumed my exercise loving gene at birth.   I don't enjoy exercising... and it's starting to show.

I've always been active. I'm a healthy eater except for an occasional french fry fix and well... it's no mystery that I like chocolate... I might even say I need it.... okay, I can't live without it... alright, I MAY have a problem with eating right. But I'm not a big fast food person, unless I have no time to run home and fix food and my kids are bonkers in the car... okay, I like hamburgers and well what's a hamburger without something fizzy to go with it.... did I mention my kids go bonkers in the car more times out of the week than I can count?..... I'm done for.

The truth is I find physical fitness to be my personal challenge.  Anyone else out there nodding their heads? I know how important it is.  I want to be around until I'm 110 cuz that's how long it's gunna take me to learn good grammar, punctuation and sentence structuring not to mention the fact that "gunna" isn't a word.  I struggle to fit fitness into my routine and now that I'm 34 with 6 children and over 65% of my hair is gray, I LOOK like the prime candidate for a diet ad.  So, if you think you're going to get a fabulous how-to on getting fit, well, please direct your attention to Weight Watchers and The Biggest Loser websites. 

In all my experienced years I 'll tell you what I've learned:  There are skinny people and there are those "other" people.  Skinny people can look at a bowl of M&M's in the kitchen and walk by that bowl for 3 days and never take a bite.  They know the ice cream is in the fridge and they could cave any minute but, they're "not in the mood," or "not hungry."  Skinny people can eat a dessert at a restaurant and get half way finished and say, "I've had enough" then leave the plate for the waitress to take.  Skinny people have some fantastic magical power of self control that I believe could only be bestowed on me by way of a magic wand.... cuz I'm a fat person.  I prefer to say phat person... I wake up and think, "when I go downstairs I'm not going to eat an M&M before breakfast"  I head into the kitchen an start fixing my kids food.  The minute I get distracted my hand is in the M&M bowl and I've eaten a hand full of candy.  I could never leave my well prepared dessert that I enjoy at the restaurant for the waitress to take....
 you see... I think food, socialize food, happy myself with food... I enjoy it.  Did I mention that last summer I did a chocolate tour of NYC?  Wish I could squeeze you all in my 12 passenger van for a repeat tour!... Maybe we'll schedule one when I'm rich and famous... or just rich.  These creations are from Max Brenner... I'll do a chocolate post someday... too much to write.

Skinny and fat or phat has much to do with state of mind and self- control.  As I am grotesquely revealing, I have little.  I did however marry well and married a skinny person to keep me in check!  Dear sweet hubby is a health nut AND abounding with self-control (though he fights that control when he sees a useful piece of wood on the side of the road or a useful power cord at the thrift store).  We are the old nursery rhyme: Jack Sprat could eat no fat, his wife could eat no lean, and so betwixt them both you see, they licked the platter clean.

So what's my point?  Well, since it's impossible for me to plug into my husbands humming bird metabolism at night and let him burn calories for me, I have to do something I hate.  Exercise.  We all have to do things we don't like.  Goodness, we're pea pushing broccoli loving mothers who make our kids eat because "it's good for you."  Sometimes you gotta (see, I may even need 111 years to get gotta outta my brain) do something you don't like because it's good for you.  I'm starting my summer exercise routine for the 1098 time and I'm trying to find a way to LOVE it.  

I'm worth every grueling mile jogged.  My kids are worth every cardio-crazed aerobic session.  I have a lifetime left of keeping up with children and grandchildren and a skinny husband and I want to live it!

Okay! Enough of exercise talk.  Guess what!?!?!  I have knobs on all of my cabinets AND before pictures of my thrift store find for tomorrow!  First I need to get those 24 silicone muffin liners off my counter tops and tidy up!  

How do you make exercising fun? 'Cuz I'm gonna need the help!

11 comments:

Rachel said...

I'm doing Jilllian's 30 day shred. And while I wouldn't call it fun, it is good, and only 20 minutes. :) Have a great day.

Kim @ Homesteader's Heart said...

Wow. I love how open you were here. I'll tell you what works for me. Leaving the house. I do my best when I join a gym and take their classes. When you take classes you meet people and get to know them and with other people in the class it will push you to go further and work harder then you normally would. I go to 4 classes a week and when I'm home, just for "fun" I do the Wii fit. I honestly love the Wii fit. If you are dedicated to it, I'm sure that alone would help, but I do it just to give me a kick in the middle of the day. Okay I confess, I enjoy exercising. LOL. Don't hate me!
I wish you luck on your exercising journey.
Hugs.
Kim

Unknown said...

My husband made a fun workout mix on I tunes (Newsboys, Beatles, U2). So yesterday I grabbed a blanket and my 2 year old and danced around the living room with him while he ran back and forth under/through the blanket in the air. We also ran in circles and I threw in some squats, tae-bo moves and free weight work (he loved carrying the light weights around). When he went to his room to play I stretched out on the floor while picking up. I am sore today so something worked! Even getting out for a walk will get ya going in the right direction! I don't really enjoy 'working out' either but I love the results!

Kristen said...

I completely understand. My husband is the type that can cut our pop & loose 5 pounds within a couple of week. I cut out pop & manage to stay the same weight! :) I also just started the 30 Day Shred & it is amazing. Such an impactful workout in 20 minutes! If I could just stay away from the chocolate (I have a chocolate dependency issue - hahaha) I might actually make some progress!

Julianne said...

I'm a new reader of your blog, but I love it and I've even added it to my "Favorites" list, so, woohoo!

Your M&M dilemma was quite resounding with me. I used to be a "see it for 3 days and pass it" person, but in the last year, I've become quite the opposite. But it's caught up with me -- I've had a kid (a year ago), and I can't get rid of 8 pounds. Not a lot, but still a lot.

Just last night, as I was watching Biggest Loser, I went and ate a large (LARGE) handful of chocolate chips. I do this when I "need" a chocolate fix, because I don't keep any other junk food or candy around. The thing was, I didn't even really need the chocolate, but I think I've programmed myself to "need" something around 9 pm every night. Anyway, I made myself look at the caloric and fat content. Boo. Sad. I closed the bag and threw it on top of the TV armoire, where I can't reach it without the effort of dragging a chair over there to get it.

As silly as it is, I actually chew the Extra gum, just like they say on Biggest Loser. I was doing that before they started the advertisements, but it really is a great sweet fix, if you're in the mood for fruity.

I have signed up for a road race at the end of the summer to further motivate my running. My husband and I run 3-4 x/week, and it's finally getting to be fun again, and I'm not dying at every step I take. Knowing that I have $35 invested in a road race makes me want to get my runs in so that I don't waste the money.

I only have 1 kid, and not 6, so I don't know what it's like to have my time chopped up that many more ways. But, since I'm not ready to push my son in his jogger stroller yet while I run, I wait for my husband to get home, and the second he walks through the door, I'm out and off for my run. That's how it works out for us right now. He calls me on his way home, and I have my clothes and running shoes on by the time he's home, so that I can just go.

I've found that, for me, it's a continual recommitment to doing it. When it is a "should" thing, then there's guilt associated with it. But when it's a "want to" thing, it's easier to move on when you miss a session (or two, or ten), and easier to stay with it.

Good luck. You'll do it, because it's important to you. That's what someone told me once, and I took it to heart. I'll have setbacks - weeks, months, maybe years of inactivity - but I'll do it.

Julianne said...

Holy cow. I'm really really sorry for my novel of a comment. I'm done now.

Amanda @ Serenity Now said...

Oh, how I needed to read this today! I married into a "skinny" family and I come from a "phat" family. Unfortunately, I am the only phat one around these days...even my own family has shaped up. But. I. love. food. It is sooooo hard to resist. It makes it harder when I am home all day with the two kiddos. Starbucks is so close. ;) I have one class at my gym that I love, and when my 3 year old is out of preschool for the summer, I am going to have to MAKE myself start going more regularly. Thank you so much for letting the rest of us know we're not alone in our struggles and temptations. :)

Anonymous said...

Wii Fit.

I love mine. It tracks your progress, and the more you do the more activities you can unlock.

It's fun, and several of the activities are quite a workout (hula hoop, dance/aerobics, boxing).

Lisa

Lisa said...

Best post evah! I can so relate to this. I married into a skinny family. Actually my husband is continually trying to gain weight. Sigh. My three kids got his genes. Phew for my girls.

I notice my activity level has dropped since my kids- cuz I'm not getting up before dawn to exercise and when else could I possibly do it? And I now eat to soothe myself after the kids go to bed. A bowl of ice cream is just so calming and I think I deserve it at the end of the day. So wrong.

Can't wait to hear more about this journey of yours. Thanks so much for sharing.

Erin said...

It is not fun until I'm done for the day...

The Davidson Den said...

Oh, boy. I'm HOPING the Wii Fit my husband just got me for my birthday will "cure" me of my vehement HATRED for all things physically strenuous.

 
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