Move it!

Okay so last night and tonight I tried a different way of exercising....  I turned on McKayla's CD player and just started dancing with the kids.  Not only did I get to get my body moving and working off some weight but I got to do it while enjoying the smiles and hearing the laughter of my children.  It was so much fun that we didn't even turn on the tv last night and tonight it didn't get turned on until 8:15.  So I've been multi-tasking lately.  Not only am I exercising but I am doing it while spending quality time with my children, and tonight my husband, AND I am saving on electricity because we are only dancing in one room so there's no need for lights or electronics to be on anywhere else.

There are so many ways that you can exercise without you knowing it and I would like to share some that I have just thought of recently and have begun to apply in my life.

1.  Don't look for the closest parking space at a store.  Instead park in the furthest parking space and walk the extra distance to the store and back.

2.  Dance- whether it's with your children, your loved one, or just alone.  Let yourself move to the rhythm of the music and you will get a work out that you didn't expect to get.

3.  Take the stairs, not the elevator.  It's easy to go for the elevator but going up and down stairs when you are able will work your calves, thighs, and buttocks.  (All these areas I am seeing a wonderful transformation already)

4.  Pick up your pace- Walk a little faster than you normally would.  Leave a couple minutes later than usual so you have to pick up your speed while walking if that's how you can get motivated.  Eventually your body will just automatically walk at a faster pace, increasing your heart rate and in turn boosting your metabolism.

I am not saying that these are ideal for everyone to do, but they are just small suggestions that have helped me in trying to get exercise when I really don't feel like doing it anymore.  Jogging in place can get so boring so I had to look for other ways to do my exercising.  My favorite one, though, is dancing.  I am a HORRIBLE dancer and an even more HORRIBLE singer, but I absolutely LOVE doing both!  I don't care if anyone hears me, as long as I'm having fun and moving it doesn't matter.  There are times when Carlie looks at me and says "Mom, please don't sing....  You're hurting my ears!"... or William will tell me that I look goofy dancing... or McKayla tells me that I embarace her.  That's when I turn it up a notch and sing and dance even worse.  I tell McKayla that I have to practice for when her friends come over.  I normally then get the evil eye and she storms into her room and locks the door behind her.  Oh well....

I guess the point of this is to show that you can still have fun while exercising.  Don't make it into a chore.  If you do, you will probably not stick to it very long.  Now don't get me wrong, I do still jog infront of my favorite tv shows or run up and down my stairs in my house.  I still do all of my normal exercises but I know that if I do other things in the process I won't feel guilty if I take it easy on myself one day.

My metabolism is finally starting to kick back into high gear again.  That is a motivation in itself.  I can feel my body warm and I start to sweat with just the slightest tasks now.  I know now that all of my hard work is starting to pay off and my body is starting to burn more calories in the resting phases of my day.

What really motivates me, besides my metabolism and the fact that numbers are starting to once again come off the scale, is the love and support I have from my husband and children.  I have never felt alone in this journey so far.  If I'm exercising Carlie and David run with me, Dave runs with me, the kids lift weights with me.  My positive attitude is rubbing off on everyone in my household and that makes me feel good.  I am showing that a healthy lifestyle is key to a happy you.  I know that in order to fully love others you must first learn to fully love yourself.  I am starting to feel that, I am starting to see that. 

I want to thank everyone who reads this because without you reading it I would have an even harder time on this endeavor.  Thanks and I hope to tell you the next time that I write I am under 160 pounds.  Only 2.5 to go and I will be out of the dreadful 160's.  Keep working hard and I promise that I will continue in my journey as well.