My wife’s been after me to write this post since we started this blog last October. I’ve finally gotten around to it this year because it’s of particular significance this year.
I had a great November of exercise and food moderation. I didn’t put on a pound, and I ran a lot. December on the other hand hasn’t started off so well. Last week, the only exercise was the Monday morning basketball session and a Friday afternoon round of golf. Neither of those two things burned as many calories as a run would have. The other days I did nothing. I didn’t eat badly, but I didn’t eat well either. Pam went away this past weekend so I didn’t exercise or eat particularly well. Basically, my exercise plan has been terrible since Thanksgiving!
I don’t know what it is about the season that turns a Holiday (singular day) in to the Holidays. Everyone would be fine if they slacked off exercising and eating well on 1 day in October, November, and December, but we’re all asking for trouble when we start slacking on Oct. 31 and end slacking on Dec. 31. Any momentum that we’ve built up during the year can easily disappear during this time. Old habits can resurface, and the new ones can easily fade away.
So yep, I’m off the exercise bandwagon right now. I even turned off my alarm clock this morning when it went off and skipped the gym again. I need to figure this out in a hurry so that the holidays don’t ruin my progress. When Pam gets home today, I’m off to the gym. That settles it.
{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
I completely agree! My hard part is that I travel for the holidays — it’s my only time to go home, and I’m still in that unsettled phase where home is literally half the country away. I’m visiting my parents for 10 days this year, so I won’t have access to a gym. Thankfully, they still have my dog, so I’ll be taking her for walks. But I just can’t manage to even lace up my shoes and go for a run when I’m home; there’s so much catching up to do, and I don’t want to miss family time. Then, of course, it takes me awhile to get back into the grind when I return to my job.
Basically, my goal for December is to not gain weight. Or not too much. This year, I’ve taken up cross country skiing (which I can do on my lunch break at work), so I’m hoping that the extra working out from skiing helps counteract the 10 days where my only forms of exercise are walking the dog and helping my mom carry groceries.
For me, it’s the cold of the winter in Ontario as well as the holidays… I do some indoor soccer and try to hit the gym a couple of times a week, but it can be tough to get motivated. Walking out of the gym into the bitter cold sucks pretty hard and plowing through the snow just seems difficult after 6-7 hours in my warm bed…
here’s a question for those in snowy climates: why not become super anal about keeping your driveway clean? My roommates and I work on shoveling our driveway regularly, but we sometimes get lazy and let it pile up for a day. But if you convince yourself that your driveway must be kept clear of snow on a daily basis, it seems like you could get in a good chunk of incidental working out.
I just got back from my lunchtime half hour of cross-country skiing and am completely sweaty (need to wear less clothes next time!). This is another method I’m working on for keeping up with my exercise program during the winter.
This year I decided to start a new fitness class — kettlebells! — which started the week after Thanksgiving. It’s two days a week until December 18th. The newness of it has thrown my muscles into confusion, which makes it a great workout. It’s also keeping me “honest” during this challenging period. I’m also keeping up my regular cardio and yoga classes, but the extra push of these kettlebell classes has (so far) kept my weight steady. The bonus is that I’m getting stronger, since I’m working new muscles!
I plan to do this next year too – instead of deciding that November and December are “too busy” for something new, I’ll make a point of trying a different fitness class and challenging my muscles.
I’m determined to finish the holidays lighter and fitter than when they started. So far I’m heavier and fitter.
{ 2 trackbacks }