40 FOR 40

So you know Monica on Friends? You know how she's like mega competitive? I'm like her - times a million. It's really proven to be mostly detrimental rather than helpful as a trait to possess. I can't just do things - I have to be the best at what I do. So I make almost everything in my life some sort of a challenge that can be won or lost. In other words, I have the need to make everything measurable for myself so that I tell myself how awesome I did at it. But mostly it's not like that, it's more like me telling myself I should have done better and that I failed. Like I said before, it's really not a positive attribute. 

BUT for the sake of making myself feel better when trying to lose weight - I make up challenges so I can feel like I'm succeeding on days (or months) that the scale doesn't move. So for this purpose I created the 40 for 40 challenge! It started after a friend and I had a conversation at the park. After disclosing to her how discouraged I was with my weight loss, she suggested incorporating an effort to increase my exercise routine. She said "Shan - just do 10 minutes. Even if it's just 10 minutes of yoga." 

I pondered what she said and I got real with myself. I KNEW I could do more, a lot more than 10 minutes, even though I didn't want to admit it. It was a legit moment in time to stop making excuses. I spent a few days mulling over numbers in my head and decided 30 minutes and 30 days seemed doable. Then I thought about bumping it up to 45 minutes so that the challenge so it could end on Thanksgiving. But 45 felt overwhelming. I sat on the idea of 45 for 45 for a few more days and it still felt like "I know I'll never do that...." So I settled on FORTY MINUTES OF EXERCISE FOR FORTY DAYS. A challenge with the perfect amount of "challenge" to it. 

I asked people to join me but it was really just a way for me to make a measurable goal that didn't relate to the scale. I'm taking steps to regaining my healthy lifestyle that I once fell in love with from 2008-2011. 

The rules were:

1: No "banking" or "making up" time. 40 continuous minutes of activity, each day. You miss a day - you start over. 

2: The 40 minutes has to be more than what you would normally do - so 40 minutes of mowing the lawn doesn't count. But 40 minutes of mowing the lawn with a push mower when you usually do it on the riding lawn mower counts. 

3: Have fun and get moving

It's simple and it has made a big difference in how I feel about myself when I go to bed at night. It has totally motivated me to do things out of my comfort zone like working out at a hotel gym while on vacation in Vegas! It has also started a habit of getting up before the family and walking our dog around the neighborhood each morning. I've been craving movement now instead of dreading it. I crave a treadmill work out now and I find myself looking for chances to be more physically engaged including adding a few weight routines to the end of my workouts. I can't say I've seen a change on the scale as the numbers are still very very slow to drop. But I can say I FEEL better, my body has been happier, my mind clearer, and I go to bed a night feeling proud of another day I refused to fail. Today is  day 20. Join my challenge and by the time I'm done you'll be where I am today - enjoying the benefits I'm telling you about. Get moving, thank your body for all it does for you on a daily basis and give it the gift of health. A tiny bit more health than you gave it yesterday - that's all it takes. 

SEVEN - PLUS 999

Seven plus about nine hundred and ninety nine, is the number of draft posts I've written and the number of times I think about things each week to write about. I fear I've neglected my little space on the inter-web and that makes me sad. It's not a matter of not having totally super awesome topics to write about - it's been a matter of discipline.

I am a very disciplined person - some might not think so by the looks of my outward appearance. But the focus of my so called skill depends on the season of life I'm in. Pre-kids, I was a really disciplined blogger and in total control of my diet and exercise. Then with Layla I maintained my writing focus and geared it toward the topic of parenting. The boys surprised me and all discipline for writing and heath sorta flew the coup, but flew right back in - just into a different location.

Over the past two years I've been very disciplined in keeping a tidy home, feeding balanced meals to the children, spending time with the kids outside, teaching them important skills, and loving them for their individuality. And lets be honest - posting a picture to 1nstagram or writing a quick post on FB really IS more convenient doable for a busy mom. But lately I don't feel like it's enough for me. I want to think hard again, I want to dig through my feelings and sort out my thoughts - now that I actually HAVE thoughts again :) Not sure I had many variable thoughts with a 2 yr old and 2 newborns, but again, now the desire to write is tugging at my brain cells. I feel like there is room now for me to add a few more areas of discipline back into my own self care routine. Over the past year I've been trying to learn about healthier, "cleaner" ways to prepare food for my family and beginning to find more discipline in my own diet. I started my 40 for 40 Challenge that I'll post more about tomorrow. It's time to crack down and make time in the day for my space here again and become a more present person each day in order to turn those drafted posts into published words. I forgot how good it feels to focus some of the control on myself instead of just on my environment.