Fitness Commitments

I’m still going with last week’s Fitness Commitments: drinking 2L of water a day, and running (on my way to 5K). Yay, me! Here’s where I’m at with the running:

Two more days, and I’ll be half way there, according to this program. It’s a bit hard to believe. Well, two things: it’s hard to believe I ran 4 minutes straight today (that’s never happened before), and it’s really hard to believe I’ll be running 5 K in 4 more weeks. Woah. I’m starting to appreciate the sports psychology profession a lot more now. A huge part of running for me is the mental games I play while I’m doing it. Some of the time I want to give up, and other times I am coaching myself along. I have also experienced running as meditation (really, anything can be a meditation…so true, isn’t it?) It’s great to have my hubby doing the program almost at the same time as me – he is 2 days behind.

So… I am adding new commitments for this week!

1. No more eating when I’m bored. I’m going to check in and see if I am actually hungry. Then I’ll drink water. If I’m hungry after that, then I’ll eat, but I’ll check in with my body to see if I really need that spoonful of Nutella, or would a peach taste just as good right now? I am making this commitment right now, for a week while I’m at home, knowing full well that I’ll have to renew it after our vacation!

2. I am going to go to bed when I am tired. No more staying up late on the computer, or playing Bejeweled HD (just one more!). I have so many books I’d like to read and am always disappointed when I didn’t get to read more of them before bed. Again, this one is for a week, since I’m not sure how things will go while I’m on vacation!

I would love to hear what you will commit to this week!

Fitness Commitments

My wonderful friend, Jenny Doh, inspires me to no end. She is immensely creative, productive, and a fun person to boot. Lately she’s been sharing many of her fitness adventures on her website, Facebook page and through Instagram. I find her path to fitness (through Tabata, archery, core strengthening) incredibly inspiring. She makes me want to be more fit.

I’ve been going to the gym every other day for the last 3 years – a huge commitment for me. I’m totally proud of myself for keeping this up. It’s been pretty easy, though, because I have an immediate incentive – my back. As soon as I stop working out, my back gets weaker, and things can go awry.

There have been many other things I’ve been thinking of doing to be healthier, but haven’t taken them on yet (or have just started). I’ve been heavily inspired by Jenny to start these things, and have been taking a “small commitment” approach.

I’ve never been one for New Year’s Resolutions, but I do like the idea of making small commitments. It’s easy enough to take on a commitment for a week, and see how it goes. Sometimes it will spill over into the next week, and then the next, and before you know it, it’s a habit. Wonderful!

These are my commitments for this week:

Drink 2 L of water a day. Water is essential to most of the processes our bodies accomplish, and I have been neglecting this one for too long. I’ve read that there are many symptoms which could be cured if only people drank enough water! I have actually been doing this for the last month. I fill a jug with water, add 1/4 tsp of salt, and drink up! It’s been really easy, now that I see how much I have to drink. In addition to getting the water I should be getting, I am over-eating less. When I feel like snacking (which is often), I drink water instead. If I’m still thinking of snacking a half hour later, I’ll drink again. Repeat. Eventually, I do feel hunger, and then I eat, but I love how this takes care of the (really-just-bored) snacking habit. I also tend to eat much less than I did before, because the water is so filling.

Learn to run 5K.  I’m not sure how I became interested in this one. My husband mentioned the “0 to 5K” app that he had heard of, and I was instantly intrigued. Let me make this clear just how bizarre this is: I’ve never run in my life, at least, no more than 5 m without getting a cramp. I never wanted to run, never had even an inkling of a desire. This is so far out that I still can’t believe I’m doing it. But the more I do it, the more I want to do it. I’m telling you, this app was made for me: it doles out badges every third day! Yay!

What will you commit to this week?

Self-Portrait Thursday!

Having fun painting! One of the guys working at the art store gave me a big lecture about using my hands to spread the paint on the canvas. Something about metals and health… blah, blah, blah…(kidding). I know he’s right so I bought myself a box of gloves. They are working well, even if they are a bit too big. It doesn’t make too much difference to the process, and my hands are clean at the end, which is a bit of a bonus.

In other taking-care-of-myself news, I am aiming to drink my full litre of water a day. But not just water, slightly (Celtic-sea-)salted water – in order to not be in the washroom every 10 minutes. I just learned this yesterday, and it seems to be working!