Last weekend i had a dilemma. I went home for fall break which was Won-Der-Ful but i had this little issue where i just did NOT want to exercise. not even in the slightest. To top it off i wanted to eat basically everything in sight.. There was so MUCH good food around and i really felt like i had to take advantage.
So i did. A lot. maybe a little too much.
I ate and ate and justified it by thinking "it's fine. I'll just do a crazy workout tonight to burn it off." but that didn't happen. Luckily this only went on for about three days but it was three days too many. I felt so sluggish and even though it was nice giving my body a break from working out, it really wasn't worth it. My workout time is my therapy time and without it something is just off.
I've noticed this week how much BETTER i feel after sweating like crazy and pushing my body until I am SORE. i need that.
When i went back up to school Sunday night i found this neat article that has SERIOUSLY helped me get back in the right mind set and gave me motivation to keep working out and eating healthy.
Even if some days i don't want to.
- Keep a water bottle with you at all times and drink from it often.
- Look at exercise as a pleasure and a privilege, not a burden or chore. Rather than obsessing about your next meal, get excited about your next workout! (I LOVE THIS!)
- Eat well-balanced meals and remember that excess calories, even if they're from food that's fat free and high in protein, will turn to excess weight.
- Limit caffeine
- Focus on short-term fitness goals with an emphasis on completing daily exercise.
- Keep a daily log of what you're actually eating. This includes ALL of your snacking.
- Enjoy an occasional (once a week) "unhealthy" treat, but never an unhealthy week or unhealthy vacation.
- Enjoy contributing to the health of others by having a partner or friends to exercise with.
- Avoid monotony by taking up new forms of exercising, or using things that keep you motivated and inspired, like new shoes or great music.
- Subscribe to fitness magazines to keep focused on health as an overall way of life.
- Invest in the right tools—good shoes, a portable MP3 player or iPod®, fitness equipment, a new series of tapes, etc.
- Make it your goal to do some form of exercise 6 or 7 days a week. If some days you exercise once in the morning and once in the evening, even better! If you're eating right, exercise will fuel your energy level!
- Don't compare your body to others'. Instead, work to be your personal best.
- If your diet is unbalanced, take daily vitamin and mineral supplements for total health.
- Work to take your exercise to new levels of intensity.
- Create an exercise schedule the day before instead of leaving it to chance or waiting to "find" the time.
- Move beyond the boundaries of weight loss and into total fitness.
- Stick with eating plans you can maintain indefinitely. Remember that no matter how hard you're working out, if you're consuming too many calories, you'll never see the muscles that lie beneath layers of fatty tissue.
- Get adequate amounts of sleep, but remember that people who exercise regularly fall asleep faster and sleep more soundly. (easier said than done.)
