We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then, is not an act, but a habit. ~ Aristotle
This particular quote inspired me to get my butt out of bed this morning, despite the nagging pain in my heel (I fear planters fasciitis or a heel spur) and go for a 2.85 mile walk with Josh and the dogs. I have been known to make any excuse under the sun as to why I can't exercise in the morning - using anything from back pain to period cramps to a broken nail to the bubonic plague - you name it - I came up with it - as long as it would allow me to stay in bed and be a lazy ass.
But over the course of the past few weeks, I have been walking rather faithfully with my husband in the morning ( I think I literally ran out of excuses and was starting to feel pathetic and frankly more than a little bit of an ass when my husband kept asking so nicely if I wanted to come along with him), and while it took me some getting used to, it is now pretty much routine. Yesterday my foot was really bothering me so I begged a reprieve for the day, which Josh conceded to. However, all day long I felt so damn guilty for not going so last night when he asked if I'd like to go for a bike ride - how could I say no? I'm not saying we did the Tour de France, but we got in over 4 miles so I felt pretty good about that.
In the past when I gave my half-assed attempts at weight loss, I would work out sporadically and get irritated when the scale didn't cooperate, when really, I shouldnlt have been surprised at all by it's lack of movement. I mean, why should the scale move when I wasn't willing to? Who could blame it? Now I realize that exercise isn't negotiable in this process - it is a must - and it is something that I will need to continue doing the rest of my life, not just until I reach my goal.
I found this great blog post about making exercise a habit that gives some good common-sense advice on what to do if exercise isn't exactly second nature to you yet. This has always been a struggle for me, as I'd sort of do it here and there but not consistently enough to make it feel like it was natural part of my everyday schedule. I am happy to say that is changing and I am embracing exercise more and more. There have been times in my life when I have been a member at a gym and really enjoyed it. Last night I took the first steps to becoming that person again by calling the local gym and signing up for a seven day free membership. I am pretty sure I will end up joining - it is something I have wanted to do for a while now.
In the meantime, I just continue to keep on, keeping on.... I have to remind myself, this is not a race. This is for life.
