I think everyone- at least most women- are aware of some physical trait (or many) that they don't like about themselves. Some people may weigh themselves constantly, or wear tons of cover-up make up. Some may slavishly straighten/curl their hair every morning, or obsessively pull out the premature grey strands they find creeping in.
I've generally not been one to obsess over such things, but of course there are a few things about my own physique that have mildly annoyed me through my life. The most notable is the weird way my hips tilt forward, when I feel like I'm standing perfectly straight. This makes it look like my stomach is sticking out weird; even back when I was quite skinny it drove me nuts to see pictures of myself like this. The only way to alleviate this tilt is to consciously tilt my pelvis at an unnatural angle and kind of curl my shoulders forward, so that I feel like I'm stooping over. I don't do it very often.
 |
| 1999-ish? My kids asked who this was when they saw it! |
Luckily, ever since I got married eight years ago, I haven't really worried about it much at all! Then I had four babies. Many women obsess over loosing the "baby weight" after they have given birth. I have been lucky to usually loose most of my pregnancy weight within a few months...and I don't own a scale so I only discover this when I go in for a checkup or something.
After the first two I lost it all quickly; after Jonah I did retain, oh, about 10-15lbs, but I didn't really care. Then after this last one, I did get back to my "post-Jonah" weight without much effort. However, while I don't have much extra weight, pregnancy does affect my body shape a lot!
I have never had much core strength, and after being stretched out for four babies, and then cut open for two c-sections, my stomach is having issues. Combine this with that weird pelvis tilt thing, and danged if I don't look like I"m about 5 months pregnant still!
Now of course I know how to take photos of myself so this isn't noticeable, and I have some clothes that hide this flaw, but dang it, I'm tired of being too embarrassed to wear some of my favorite shirts!
So because I don't feel like I have a "weight problem", I've concluded I don't need to modify my diet. I need to exercise. Shoot.
 |
| I'm just dreading some stranger asking when I'm due! Ugg. Nice door-nob behind me too. |
Now on to my second problem. I hate exercise. Sure, I love a good walk with my family, an occasional game of catch, but the second it feels like exercise, I'm out. I think it has to do with my bad psychological association with PE classes, which I have loathed since middle school. I excelled at every other subject in school, but I always felt like the biggest moron in PE. I don't understand the rules to most sports (probably because the teachers assumed you already knew the basic idea of various sports, which I didn't). I hate anything to do with a team, because they'll all be mad at me for making them loose.
On top of that, I have weak joints so my ankles pop when I run, my wrists can't support my weight when I do pushups (This is much worse now that I'm older) and my shoulders also pop during said exercise. It usually took the entire semester to work up to doing ten sit-ups, because my abs are so weak! (I'm lame, I know.)
I hate working out in front of other people (so mortifying) so even if I lived somewhere where there was a gym (I don't) and I didn't have kids to watch all the time (I do) there's no way I'd go to one. Same thing with running in public places. I would die of embarrassment if I tried to do zumba or kick boxing or something that sounds cool, before you actually do it. I know this because I felt that way when we had to learn line dancing in PE! (Yeah, what's that all about?) Besides, at the moment I score a zero in stamina, so I wouldn't last five minutes doing something that intense.
Ever since I've cautiously concluded that I need to get over this aversion to exercise, I find myself making even more excuses. I don't have anywhere to work out (my floor is too hard, my bed is too soft). I don't have workout clothes or sports bras, only jeans and shirts I don't want to sweat on. (I know, stupid, right?)
So, I've been bookmarking stuff on pinterest trying to motivate myself, things like workout mats, nice sweat pants, special routines that target abs, etc.
But then I realize, oh yeah I don't ever have money, and even if I did, why would I use it for this? Then I start thinking, "I never cared what people thought about my looks before, do I really care now?"
And I'm back to square one. So...I guess I posted this picture to motivate myself further. Because if people know you're working on something, you're more likely to do it, right?
Is anyone else working out? What do you do to motivate yourself?
5 comments:
I go the the gyms several times a week because I find that I'm much more likely to work out if I'm going to a class than if I'm doing it on my own (also because I have a babysitter that watches my kids so I can get away). If it's a class, then all I have to do is show up and do what they tell me. At home I have to think about it. Also every time I try to work out at home the kids think I'm playing and get in my way. They climb on me while I'm doing sit ups and walk right up to me when I'm doing kickboxing stuff and get hurt. Usually everyone is crying/yelling and mad by the time I'm done, including me. But, I do have some videos that help me exercise when I have to from home so that I don't have to think of some things to do. But even if you just start small with a few exercises while watching a show at night or something that will help. (Exercising while watching tv is awesome 'cuz you don't have to just sit there thinking about how much exercise sucks) My teacher always says that the main thing is that you're up and moving, not how many reps of a certain exercise you can do our how heavy a weight you can lift. Maybe you should get a pedometer. They're only like $6 and then you could wear one and make sure you took like 2000 steps a day or something. I've heard that just doing that can really help a lot in weight loss. (yes I know you said you didn't need to lose weight, just work on your stomach, but you can't really spot reduce like that so it's an all over or nothing kind of thing) :)
kiera-yeah those are good ideas. I guess I could see myself more likely to do stuff if I'd actually paid for a class or something, and I could see getting frustrated trying to exercise with the kids all around. Which is another reason I haven't really done it yet.
Yes, I exercise every day and really enjoy it. I don't do anything strenuous or structured; I walk the dog twice a day (she's lazy so we only go 15-30 minutes) and sometimes I ride my bike in the evening or go with Steve when he walks Sadie. Walking is great because it's cheap - just the price of a decent pair of shoes - and you can do it anywhere. If I have to get in the car to go somewhere to exercise, I won't do it regularly. Which is kind of too bad because I could use a little strength training. Oh well.
Another good thing about walking is that you don't have to learn how to do it (unless you're a toddler) and you can take your kids with you on walks! When I was in elementary school, my mom started taking me on evening walks with her. It was great to talk to her about stuff without my brothers around. We walked together off and on until I was in high school. I attribute my love of walking and the ease of developing a walking routine after my surgery to those evening walks.
I like that you don't care what others think about how you look. Exercising to change your body because of others is not good motivation, but exercising for your health (mental as well as physical), your body, your self-image is the best. I track how long I exercise, how far I went, and what I did each day. Each week, I total the days' amounts and at the end of the month I get a monthly total. I have a goal to exercise 100 miles a month. It helps motivate me when I'm feeling kind of blah.
Whatever you decide to do, have fun with it. If it hurts or is boring/not fun, you won't stay with it. Life is too short to not enjoy what you're doing!
I don't really have anything different to share than what Kiera and Julie have shared. Those are good tips. I guess I just wanted to say... I completely understand your feelings of once you focus on it, suddenly it becomes that much harder. That's how I feel about watching what I eat. I generally do a good job, but I've noticed that when I'm conscious about eating well, I eat a whole lot worse!
thanks everyone! I appreciate the advice. Julie-thanks, you make me feel like I do more than I do...I guess walking around the grocery store carrying the baby in the front carrier and pushing the cart with Jonah in it can count as exercise, right? I wish we could actually "walk" as a family. With our smallest ones, it usually ends up as standing and waiting or pulling and fighting than walking. Maybe I should buy myself a bike?
Post a Comment