On Making the Right Decision
Now that the days have shortened I am having great difficulty getting out of bed in the morning. It doesn’t help that it is immensely cozy with my two snuggly dogs. But along with the shorter days has come a decrease in physical activity, which has become painfully obvious, both in how I look and how I feel.
I spent last weekend in a hotel where the wall to wall mirror reflected my naked body right as I got out of the shower. There was no way to avert my eyes, much as I tried to avoid what I declared a most unseemly sight. Lots of flab and no visible muscle tone. Now I am not obese, but I am solidly in the “overweight” category on the BMI and probably closer to “obese” than “normal.”
I also have lots of aches and pains from muscles that are underused. Add low energy and tight fitting clothes, and you have the perfect recipe for wintertime hibernation in clothes with elastic waistbands.
So upon my return home (where, thank goodness there are no mirrors to catch me naked unless I make a conscious choice to stand behind a door), I knew that the magnetic force field of my comfortable bed was going to have to give way to self-improvement. When I worked with a trainer, we always started off with “how much do you think you can do?” That way, I would not be able to use the excuse that I didn’t have time, or it was too much.
So the first day I rode my exercise bike for 10 minutes and did some yoga stretches. The next day I did 20 minutes of a strength training routine with the lightest weights. And just in those two days I noticed an improvement in how I felt. Most importantly I felt motivated. Even though it is about to be dark when I get up and when I get home from work, I feel ready to get through the winter by taking better care of myself. The body has an amazing ability to bounce back from periods of neglect. I am almost back to the full routine I abandoned last spring and feel great.
Most importantly, I have eliminated that pesky force field around my bed at 5:30 in the morning!