Happy Spring!
It has really been a hard year so far, and it's only mid-March. We are definitely still struggling with exercising and eating right, but we've come up with some alternatives that we hope might help.
I started searching online for ideas for fun exercises. I found a lot of pages that recommend activities that we used to do as children. One page specifically said that, as children, we got a lot more exercise and activity without knowing that's what we were doing. We went outside and played: on the swings, jungle gyms, playing tag, throwing frisbees, playing catch, etc. We were doing things to have fun, and getting exercise while we were at it. As we got older, our ideas of fun "matured." Those "mature" activities became a lot more sedentary. We stopped being active. Yes, a lot of people in the world keep up with their active lives, playing sports and other physical recreational activities. However, our amount of time spent on these activities has lessened for nearly everyone as we've grown older. Life gets in the way and we just don't have as much time for play. Play, according to this site (I wish I had kept the link to share with everyone), is just as important for us as adults as it is for kids. Playing is a great stress reliever, a positive mood enhancer, and a physical boost for our bodies.
I really connected with this idea of playing. I started realizing that I've gotten away from having fun just for the sake of having fun. The idea of having fun and getting exercise at the same time is very appealing to me. I got on Facebook and let all of my friends know that I was going to start going to the park every Saturday to find some form of play. I've invited everyone who can to join me. My friend took it a step further and started a Facebook group about it.
For the last 2 Saturdays, I have gone down to the park and played Frisbee Golf. Lee joined me last week, and my friend and her 5 kids joined me yesterday. As the weather warms up, I would like to include other activities, as well. Some of the ideas that I have come up with are:
swinging, playing on the jungle gyms, flying kites, playing catch, having water play (water guns, water balloons, etc), playing tag, hopscotch, kickball, horseshoes, croquet, lawn bowling, volleyball, badminton, and a few others that I can't remember right now, lol.
On a different note, Lee and I have also been looking at other exercise videos. We're still doing mostly Sweatin' to the Oldies 2, but we're trying to get more ideas of things we like that we can do. For the last 2 days we've also done short walks. Getting up and moving around, even just for 10 minutes, is better than being sedentary all day and just exercising for 20 - 30 minutes at night.
One of the biggest reasons for being more active throughout the day is really for the psychological benefits. This year so far, as I mentioned, has been a hard one. It has really affected both of our moods, and there have been a lot more depressing days; some were very bad days. Exercise releases endorphins which help us feel better, and we could really use more of those.
Although I talk a lot about how hard it is to exercise, I have to admit that it's been just as hard (or even harder, if we're being honest) to stick to a healthy eating lifestyle. For the most part, we haven't really gone back to how bad we were eating a year ago, but we also haven't continued to improve our eating habits. We've kind of just stuck with where we're at. All of the information we've been told says that the majority of weight loss comes from how we eat. We've made healthy changes to our diet, but we're still not at the point where we can honestly say that we're burning more calories than we eat.
I've mentioned before that I've had a hard time losing weight, especially in comparison to Lee's success. I've thought a lot about it, and I'm kind of ashamed to admit that I've not been doing as much as I can. I've made small changes along with Lee, but as I'm already a bit healthier than he is, I realize that I can do so much more. I also realize that I'm subconsciously trying to avoid making those changes because they are going to be hard. The next step for me is going to have to push those feelings aside and focus on why I'm doing it. There is a part of me even now telling myself that I can't do it. It's time to start eating even less and adding more fruits and vegetables . . . and drinking a lot more water (I absolutely hate plain water).
As an ending to the blog today, I'm going to post current pics of Lee and I walking today. I do have to say that I'm really enjoying going out with him again. We don't really look all that great in the pics, but that's not why we're out there, right? Enjoy!