Whoever these “they” people are, they’re pretty smart. I’ve read and heard the same thing a number of places: It takes 21 days to form a habit.
I don’t know who came up with the magic number, but I have a feeling it’s “they.”
In any case, they are right.
Last week, I still had to talk myself into getting on the elliptical. More than that, I had to talk myself into not changing into my comfy clothes and plopping down into my comfy chair , which was my past after-work routine. Throw a snack in there for good measure.
But today? Today I got home, let Lucky out to pee and headed straight for my workout clothes. Then I headed straight for that elliptical. This certainly didn’t go unnoticed. As soon as I finished my workout (30 minutes, yay!), I logged into my blog admin and looked back to when I posted my first multi-workout week.
And you know what? That week began 21 days ago TODAY. Yep. No lie. I say in my Jan. 21 WW weigh in that I used the elliptical three times the week before. I know, because of my astute memory, that my first elliptical day was Monday of the week before (aka Jan. 14).
So there you have it. They’re right, and I have shiny, new habit.
Note: I’m using my weight from yesterday (Sunday) morning.
I’m down a pound this week! That puts me back to where I was before Christmas. I’m trying hard not to focus on the fact that that was more than a month ago.
I had a great week with the elliptical. I used that bad boy five days last week, and two of those five days were 30-minute workouts. I’m aiming for five days again this week, maybe even six. And I’m aiming for 30 minutes each day, but I’m going for no less than 20 minutes each day.
I’ve gone back to writing down each thing I eat. The first day I did that, I realized I’ve been forgetting to count things. I’m able to do it, but I think I just slipped up with the holiday rush and then just fell into a habit of not being as diligent.
I expect that to help.
Now, why am I not using today’s weight? Because I was a Fatty McGee last night at the Super Bowl party and ate way more than I should have. I didn’t keep track, and I have a feeling the scale showed that this morning.
Call me a cheater, but I don’t care. I’m going to undo last night with a great week of working out and eating well, and I’m not even going to think about the flex points for the week. Those are long gone.
Get out the hairspray and french cuff your acid-washed jeans because New Kids On The Block are prepping for a comeback.
I added some of my old favorites to my workout playlist and warmed up today to “Hangin’ Tough.” Ahhh, the good old days. My parents have what are now classics on their lists of songs from the good old days. I have New Kids On The Block. I’m afraid to see what my kids will call classics. (Disclaimer: Oldies are still classics to me. That’s all my parents listen to, and since they were my full-time chauffeurs, I learned to appreciate real, classic rock and roll.)
I’ve again reached a lull in blog posts. It’s mainly because my days lately look the same, a little like this:
Wake up late, as usual;
rush to get ready, pack breakfast and lunch;
join the sea of commuters heading into the city;
work;
join the sea of commuters leaving the city for the burbs;
let Lucky out;
get on the elliptical (yay me, it’s practically routine!);
cook dinner;
watch a couple hours of reruns or a movie;
and go to bed.
Thrilling, eh? I know. I can hardly stand the excitement.
I do have exciting news, though. Rob and I just booked our return trip to Mexico! We’re heading back with two of our best good friends (Hi, Jen! Hi, Josh!). We’re returning to the resort where we both honeymooned (at separate times, though). I cannot wait to be back there!
Perhaps I should just officially change my weigh-in day to Monday since I regularly forget to post on Sundays.
I’m up 0.6 pounds this week. I’m not going to lie. I’m disappointed I’ve gained weight (though teeny bits) the last two weeks. The only thing I’ve done “wrong” was that I had one splurge night each week. The week before last it was game night at the neighbors’. This past week, it was Johnny Carino’s with some friends.
I find it hard to believe that one night of letting go can ruin my whole week, but maybe it’s possible. Who knows.
It’s also possible that I’m retaining water or that it has something to do with using muscles more than I have in a while.
At any rate, I had four great workouts on the elliptical last week and stuck to my points range every day but Friday (Carino’s night).
I suppose it’s time to go for a week without a splurge and see where that takes me.
I own the elliptical this week. I’m working on making that thing my bitch.
I did 22 minutes on it Monday, 17 minutes on it Tuesday (I was soooooo tired. I’m lucky I made it 17 minutes.), 25 minutes on it Wednesday, took Thursday off to get my hair cut (nothing drastic. I’ll post a pic later.) and 30 – yes, three-zero – minutes on it today.
I won’t lie. Those 30 minutes weren’t easy. I wanted to give up a few times. But then “My Humps” by Black Eyed Peas came on, and it was like the guy (I don’t know names!) was asking what I was going to do with all that junk inside my trunk. There is an awful lot of junk in that trunk of mine, and you know what I’m going to do with it, Mr. Black Eyed Peas Man? GET RID OF IT.
So with that, I pulled out every ounce of motivation I’ve been talking myself into over the last week and made it till the machine beeped at me. And you know what? I feel great.
I had an epiphany of sorts while getting rid of the junk in my trunk on Wednesday. Exercise can’t be an option for me. It doesn’t matter whether I like to do it or not, so I need to quit wasting time trying to like it. It’s just a necessity for my life.
I started adding up the number of hours I am stationary each week. I work 40 hours a week sitting in a chair at a computer. I spend somewhere around 12 hours sitting in a car while I’m driving to work and running errands during the week (the weekends vary, so I didn’t count those hours). I sleep somewhere around 8 hours each night. That right there is 156 hours each week. That doesn’t count time I’ve spent sitting/laying on the couch to watch TV or movies or sitting at my home computer or sitting to eat.
That’s a lot of sitting for someone with two perfectly good legs!
After all that math, it occurred to me that God wouldn’t give me the ability to have a fully mobile body if he didn’t intend for me to use it.
So there you have it. Just as eating, drinking and grooming are essential parts of my daily life, so must be exercise because of my relatively stationary lifestyle.
Maybe I’ll learn to one day call it a hobby. But for right now, it’s just an essential element of my life.
