Okay, it’s time to get serious here. Summer is just around the corner and I’d like to feel comfortable in my swimsuit this year, so it’s time to buckle down and get back into shape. You may have read my post a few weeks ago about getting back on track with my healthy eating. I am happy to report that I’ve been doing pretty well with my eating. I’m not perfect, but I’m getting there. I’ve even cut out the gluten again and my last thyroid blood lab result came back lower than it has been in a while. Whether it’s coincidence or the diet change I don’t know, but I feel like it’s a step in the right direction!
Now comes the hard part: exercise!
I have been a little hit or miss for the pass several months with my exercise. I enjoy getting out and being active, but there are so many obstacles that I use as excuses to not work out daily. For one thing, my morning walking partner is working this year. We motivated each other to get out and I really enjoy getting out with another person to walk and to talk! For another thing, I (just like every other mom on this planet) lead a busy life; my home sewing business has been keeping me very busy as has my non-profit, so sometimes I feel like I am too busy to exercise.
It’s time to end the excuses!
One thing I have learned over the years is that exercise means so much more than looking good in a swimsuit. My overall sense of well-being is affected when I do or do not exercise. I have found that when I exercise, I feel better mentally and emotionally. I have more energy and accomplish so much more throughout the day when I am active. I owe it to myself, and to my family, to implement exercise back into my daily routine!
This time, I’m pushing my husband to join me. He’s active and healthy, but he’s never had an exercise regiment in the 16 years that we’ve been together. He’s approaching his mid forties, I mean…we are both getting older each day, so it’s important to keep a healthy lifestyle as we age. This is the time when people start having issues with cholesterol, blood pressure, heart, etc. Even though we are healthy today, we don’t know what issues may be brewing. It is better to stay on top of our good health and prevent these issues from occurring rather than trying to tackle them once they have us pinned down. Watching my mom succumb to a brain disease at a young age has made me so much more aware; not that her disease came about because of poor healthy choices, but I feel the need to do everything in my power to create good health and do what I can to prevent and keep my body and mind healthy. And I feel the same for my husband; I want to grow old together and live a long life.
The challenge is on.
Simply telling my husband that we are going to get healthy together isn’t enough. We’ve resolved many times to do this together and it usually avails to nothing. This time, I decided to get creative. I have done healthy challenges with friends before, so I decided Jeff and I will do one together. A little healthy competition is a good motivator! I broke down exactly what we need to do get headed in the right direction and I made a weekly tracker with allotted points for achieving each goal.
Exercise might be his struggle, but sugar is my weakness! Every day that we stay on track, we will award ourselves points. Tonight, we are sitting down and setting the stakes; the loser will owe something to winner. Whether it’s a foot rub, scrubbing the toilets or some other creative idea, we will come up with something to work towards each week and each month. We’ll see how it goes! I’ll be sure to check back in a month 😉
Want to play along? You can print out my healthy challenge here. Find a spouse or a friend and start a friendly little competition! Motivate each other to good health!
