Remember last year when I posted a series of embarrassing yet accurate photos of myself? If you don’t, then that’s fine. I’m not going to link to it. Trust me, they’re there. I’ll just say it involved a nutritional program with supplement in which I lost 10 pounds and 10 inches over the course of six months.
GO ME!!!!
And then guess what happened…
I went to BlogHer in Chicago and got out of my eating and exercise routine. Then I got sick. Then school started. Then it was Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. By the time New Year’s Day rolled around, I was nothing more than a cliche. I was making false promises to myself about how I would get in shape and eat healthier. Yada, yada, yada.
What I know for certain is that without exercise, I’ll never look (or feel, for those of you that think this is about vanity or unrealistic expectations) the way that I want to. I can count calories, cut carbs, and basically make myself miserable. But when I exercise, I feel better and naturally want to eat healthier.
Admittedly, I’ve had a really hard time getting back into the groove of things this year. But I find myself in the position of having to get moving and not just because I feel like a fat schlub (no, I’m not doing the self-loathing thing either – I just really carry too much fat around my middle). You see, I’ve signed up for a 5k. And when I mean I signed up, I mean that I intend to run for a distance of 5 kilometers, which is more than I’ve ever run continuously in my life.
My problem with running, besides my physical weakness and lack of conditioning, is that it’s boring unless I’m running outside. And I’ll only run outside if it’s 72 degrees and partly sunny. So I’m back to the treadmill.
I’ve tried watching TV while on the treadmill at the gym and I can’t get into it. I’ve tried listening to music but it doesn’t occupy enough of my brain power. I’ve tried listening to my audiobooks and I find myself getting super distracted. So I’m taking the advice of one of my friends who goes down to her basement, sets up her iPad, and turns on the latest addictive show she can find on Netflix.
Brilliant. I have a treadmill in my basement. I have an iPad.
So I set about one night, feeling super motivated, to walk/run on the treadmill. I set up my iPad, started episode 1 of season 1 of “Orange is the New Black” and wowza! I watched the first 30 seconds and knew something was terribly wrong.
No, it wasn’t the show, although it’s clearly for adult audiences. It was the treadmill. The electronic dashboard worked but the actual treadmill wouldn’t turn. I’ll admit, I was tempted to stay down there and just watch the show anyway but dammit  I was ready to burn some calories!
I paused the show and called down the handyman (my husband) who helped me learn all the intricacies of the inner workings of a treadmill. And it’s still not working. But now, my motivation isn’t to get it fixed so I can properly train. My motivation is to get it fixed so I can watch the show!
If you haven’t tried Netflix streaming, I highly recommend binge watching some of their shows. I’ve currently got my eye on the season sprint (and I highly recommend “House of Cards” if you haven’t seen it).
I’m part of the Netflix Stream Team which means that I write about them monthly but all opinions are my own.
3 comments
Good for you, Fadra. Getting back on the horse, particularly a broken one, can be so hard. For what it’s worth, I think you should feel absolutely fine with whatever motivation keeps you going—vanity, well-being, competitiveness, work the thing that keeps you going!
I did the same kind of things years ago, but with books on tape. I got a bunch of books from the library that I really wanted to read/listen to, and only allowed myself to listen while I walked. That was the year I walked 500 miles and lost about 40 inches. It was a great strategy for me.
I would do this at the gym…an hour on the treadmill or elliptical would go by so fast. The only times I had issues was if something scary happened and I would jump. Now I am doing Pure Barre again and hoping to be fit by 40. We will see. Good luck to you…I hope it sticks!
Also…how can I be part of Netflix Stream Team? We stream ALL. THE. TIME!