Exercise? I Thought You Said Accessorize!

 Exercise? I Thought You Said Accessorize!

I used to be that person, the one who always found a reason to avoid exercise. But I’m happy to say that’s no longer the case.

 As a healthcare professional, I understood the benefits of staying active, yet I was “too busy” taking care of others or at least that was the lie I told myself.

But all that changed during and because of the pandemic. I challenged myself with a goal of walking 10,000 steps a day, and I achieved it almost every day, save for a few here and there.

 For those who don’t know me, let me confess; I used to take my children to the local Y for their activities and spend that time sitting on a comfy sofa reading a book instead of exercising. I simply wasn’t ready then. That’s how I wanted to spend my “ME” time. Here is a picture of me from those days, courtesy of a friend. 

 They say that it takes 21 days to either form a new habit or break an existing one. And I did it. I changed my habit. Now I have started going to the gym and I feel a whole lot better physically than I did a few years ago. I'm genuinely proud of this change and happy to share my journey with others.

And while it was all going well, too good to be true if you ask; life had its own plans. Here come the setbacks.

Heard of those? That’s right, setbacks.

They started in January, when I was out of the country. February and March were solid months, I went to the gym regularly and felt great. Then came April: allergies, visiting family, COVID, and more travel.

May rolled in, moving all three kids back home, more traveling.

June, July, no car.

August- traveling, moving three kids back to campus.

When September rolled around, I was so excited. I told myself, “This is it; I’ll get back to the gym every day!” But life had other plans. There were days when something was hurting, and October is honestly a blur.

Then came November, it started strong, but then my foot started acting up.

And here we are in December. I had a good first week—my beloved Ginkgo tree (yes, I call it mine) was in full fall glory. But now it’s bare, and I’ve lost all motivation. It’s freezing outside, my foot still hurts, and I feel stuck.

Here is a picture of my Gingko tree. Would you not want to go to the gym every day to see this? 

And today , it looks like this.  

I’ve signed up to walk in a charity run/walk (no running for me) this Saturday, and I’m hoping that it helps me find my spark again. But these setbacks—oh, these relentless setbacks.

Are there any positive affirmations to push through them? Have you been held back by the setbacks? Please let me know in the comments.

Steps, Setbacks, and Strength: My Fitness Ramblings.

                                                          Image off of Facebook. 

                                                         

They said, celebrate small victories. On all those days I didn't make it to the gym, there were some days; I did go for a walk outside or while we were traveling, we had either hiked a lot or walked a lot.  

Sharing a link to the pandemic diaries in case you missed it the first time. 

https://www.rekhasrambling.com/2023/07/pandemic-diaries.html