HEALTH&
Beauty
Fitness Goals: Keeping up with a Healthy Year-Long Plan Story contributed by Ashley Peitz *Disclaimer – I have absolutely no idea what I am doing, but I figured out what worked for me. I hope some of what worked for me will help you start or continue your path to your best self. 1/8/2021 I walked into the RecPlex at 4:50 a.m. this morning and I was not expecting to see 155 on the scale. Five minutes into my workout, I really thought about that number. When I reflected on the 40 pounds I had lost, I realized it had taken: • 6 Months – with a 5-month break between month 1 and month 2 … because yano … COVID-19 • 375+ Miles walked/ran – good thing my dogs and my mom are good sports, that would have been a lot of miles by myself • 95+ RecPlex check-ins • IDK 200+ times I hit snooze (Sorry Kaity Beaty, I will forever be 10 minutes late, thanks for being my account-a-billa-buddy, yes y’all … I know that is not a real word, but we will get back to how important that buddy is later) • + Countless other things I’m not thinking of All of that made me think wow, I sure wish I knew where to start, when I started. New Year, New Me Month 1, January 2020 Quick rewind to December 2019. I didn’t have a primary care physician, so I hadn’t been to the
doctor in a while, I stepped on the scale and I saw 195, my heart dropped. I have never been athletic, I played sports but was never better than “OK” at any of them, I had always been fairly active and was never much more than slightly overweight, until now. That day, I decided I needed a change. I started working out at planet fitness a few days a week. Shortly after, because I used to be skinny, it should all just fall off … right?! Right when I started to get in the groove of things, I had an injury. Then, after that, COVID-19. Things just kept happening, and you can fill in some blanks after that. New Year, New Me Revision 1 Month 2, August 2020 COVID-19 was still here and getting more annoying again. Work was CRAZY busy, and “adult-ish extra-curriculars” (boards, nonprofits, life in general) were in full swing. After taking full advantage of the ‘Rona, and eating what I wanted, and not moving, I was hating what I looked like more and more. I hated every picture I was in, and I did not even want to think about stepping on the scale. A few friends and I decided we wanted to make a change, we decided we were going to start going to RecPlex on Monday. Slow and Steady Wins the Race Monday was here and before I knew it, the truth hurts, and I hadn’t done my work at home. I had absolutely no idea what I was doing. Monday started with the treadmill, slow, like real slow … But you have to start somewhere … right? I did not let myself step on the scale for the first 6 weeks. At first I was scared. Then I started to realize the
number on the scale does not actually matter, it’s all about whatever “healthy” is for you. Here is what I wish I knew starting out: What does not work • Extreme crash diets • Going to the gym 7 days a week • Eating clean 3 meals a day, 7 days a week • Doing what your significant other/family member/best friend/accounta-billa-buddy is doing in the gym for his/her diet What DOES work • Gradually get STRONGER • Gradually eat BETTER • Gradually walking/running FASTER I highly recommend having an accounta-billabuddy to HOLD YOU ACCOUNTABLE. Someone is going to miss a day here and there, but having someone you know that will be there, makes it so much easier to finally get out of bed when that fourth snooze alarm goes off. Every day is different. Some days you kill it all around. Other days, you are just there – do a lackluster job – and go home. But that’s OK! It is all about balance. Some days you eat better; some days you work out harder; and other days you do neither.
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