Getting Back on the Health and Fitness Grind

August 28th 2019

I am not giving up that easily…

So at the beginning of the summer, I wrote about my health and fitness journey and what I hoped to gain from working out this summer. However, things changed and life got complicated and work has overtaken a lot of my time so I fell off the wagon a bit and preparing myself to get back into the grind.

One reason for my fall-off is because of the fact that I work 8 hour days at one job that it an hour commute both ways, followed by a remote part time job that takes up anywhere from 30 minutes to 2 hours of my day. By the time I get finished with everything I have to do and get food in me, I no longer have the desire to go to the gym.

Another reason for my fall-off is that fact that I haven’t been taking the time necessary to focus on my diet. At work, I eat like a kindergartner and have mini muffins for breakfast and a granola bar and/or chips for lunch. Or, I go out to eat which isn’t much better for me to tell you the honest truth. I eat okay when I am home, when I remember to eat, but I even find myself going out a lot when I have free time because I like to get dinner with my boyfriend so we can have as much quality time as possible.

So, since the situations listed are not going to change anytime soon, I am trying to find ways to get back into health and fitness in the least invasive ways possible. The first issue I want to tackle is finding time to workout.

Since I can’t motivate myself to go take a solo trip to the gym, my mom and I have been signing up for classes. Starting in September, I am taking 4 classes a week. 2 will be a class called pump-fit which is a combo of hand weights and core exercise to music. The other 2 are yoga classes, one more focused on stretching and the other more focused on power. I think classes will be a huge help in keeping me to a schedule because I will have to go out of my way to cancel if I don’t want to go. Plus, classes offer a bit more structure than independent gym workouts.

In terms of the food thing, it all comes down to better planning. I need to pick healthier snacks to take to work, prep food during the weekend, and make better choices while I am out. I am not going to deny myself opportunities to go out with coworkers or my boyfriend just because I am trying to be healthier, I am just going to adapt my choices to fit with a healthier lifestyle.

Lastly, I think a huge part of getting back on this grind is learning to give myself time to rest. I need to set healthy boundaries with work and my relationships and my social life and just about everything else if I want to start making the positive changes I hope to see in my life. I am focused on making overall lifestyle changes instead of pushing myself to lose weight or to live up to an unhealthy standard.

Overall, I just want to feel good in my body again and I hope that my next update is something positive and that I have some valuable takeaways to share!

Jess~