Time to Get Moving!

One of my oft-pronounced but rarely followed through upon New Year's Intentions is to get more exercise. I was always a really active person, for most of my life. Even when I was the mother of young kids, we were out walking constantly, and I found time for yoga and occasional running. But as my kids got older and I started working full time, it became harder and harder to fit exercise into my day. This lack of movement, along with the normal downward spiral of aging, has left me woefully out of shape. Although I eat far healthier now than I ever have, My 42-year-old self is carrying around an extra 30 lbs that just weren't there in my late thirties. I currently weigh more than I did at 9 months pregnant (yikes!) and my waist measurement has increased by 4 inches. I am very aware that eating well is not enough... I know that I need to get back into some good exercise habits, too, if I am to be truly healthy.

But... knowing and doing are two very different things, no?

This is a very popular topic among my fellow Mom Friends. We are often lamenting about our changing bodies and our busy schedules and how to find time to take care of ourselves. In order to support each other in that goal, one of these friends organized a Zumba class for a group of us last night. I have never done Zumba before, and I will say it was an eye-opening experience! First of all, it was really fun. Second of all, it was really challenging, much more challenging than I expected. This definitely drove home just how how of shape I've gotten, as a few years ago that class would have been pretty easy for me. I may kid myself that I'm pretty healthy, but seeing my doughy middle-aged self struggling along through that class in the wall of mirrors was quite humbling. Perhaps this is just the motivation I needed to make a real commitment toward finding the time to work out, no matter what.

I am enlisting the support and encouragement of friends and family, to keep me honest and keep me moving. I have plans to start walking with a good friend once a week after work, plans to attend Zumba once a week, plans to run with my daughter a couple of times a week. Another big step toward getting myself into shape: I signed up for a mud run obstacle coarse in the summer, to give myself a goal to work toward.

No more excuses. I need to do this.