life gets in the way

Several times during the contest, life got in the way. I would be doing really good and then we would go to a family reunion, family would be in town, I would pick up an extra shift, or my sister-in-law would have a baby and need help with the other kids. It was a little frustrating to get side tracked and it took a little effort to get back on track, but I realized sometimes there are other things at the moment that are way more important that getting to the gym or tracking everything I ate. You do what you can at the time and try to watch what you eat or do a little something for exercise. I didn't lose much during those times, but I also didn't gain like I did during those times in the past. I always figured before that it was a free time that I didn't have to watch what I was eating or have to exercise at all. I thought I would just make up for it later, but that would never come and the weight didn't usually come off. I've realized now, that I always need to be aware of what I'm eating and my exercise, but I don't need to beat myself up over when it isn't a priority for awhile. I just need to get back in there and continue when I can.

Keeping It Up

I've been thinking about how to keep up the exercise and eating habits when the contest ends. I was doing the exercise for a few month's before the contest, but I wasn't keeping track of what I ate very well. I think this contest has helped because it gives some accountability. It does motivate a little to know that the results are going to be published. It has helped to have a friend that that I exercise with sometimes, but she doesn't always go. They have us tell them how many times we tracked the food we ate for the contest, but there's not really any consequences for not doing it. I was thinking one day while running, that the person that I really need to be accountable to is me. It is me that benefits or doesn't. No one else can make me do it. I don't want to look back in 30 years and be in poor health, with my family having to take care of me, and know that I might have prevented it. I was thinking more about this as I was typing and realized that I also need to be accountable to my husband and kids in this area. They deserve a wife and mom that tries to stay healthy. I think this will be my motivation after the contest is over. I'm sure I'll need reminders sometimes, but I think I'll be able to do it.

I Can Run

OK. So I was supposed to have been blogging during this entire contest and I am not much of a blogger, but I also couldn't find the paper that told me how to get on my blog. I just found it, so now I'm going try to make up a little for lost time. The other day, I was chasing my kids and my son stopped and turned to me amazed and said, "Mom, you can run now." It was a nice feeling to realize I could run. I can run upstairs and not feel out of breath. I can keep up (well sort of) with my kids hiking. They aren't always turning around asking me if I need a break. I love what I can do now and how good I feel.