- You've either bounced yourself into unconciousness (and really, it's a minor miracle there isn't a shred fainting pandemic given how often this workout asks we workout-ees to jump around with our heads hung low ), or
- You're about to have a serious light-reaches-your-cave-brain moment.
So I'm bouncing around (head hung low over shaking arms while my bottom half does jumping jacks) when I realize three things:
- I can shred muscles all I want, but I'll never be shredded until I lose the 30-pounds I have left to lose.
- I probably need to boost my cardio to burn through the fat.
- As excited as I am that I get to put on a fitted shirt I could have never worn three months ago, if I keep prioritizing exercise over all else, I run a very real risk of getting to the end of this, fit, healthy, and bookless.
Bookless. It thudded in my ears as the DVD--and me a half-second behind the ball--transitioned to double jumps.
Normally I opt for the the single-jump modification, and today is no exception. But my head was back on epiphany number three, and I was through the set before I realized that my single-jump modification had been more like a demi-jump modification.
Here's the thing: Fit and healthy are great things--fantastic things!--and I've dropped 30 pounds with the express goal of getting healthier (sub-basement-low cholesterol and trigliceride levels--check!). But all this focus on physical milestones isn't really a focus on health. Because while I'm absolutely grateful for the current status of my phsyical health, true health is really about balance. I want to be fit and trim, yes. But I've wanted to be a writer long before I packed on all the weight I'm in the process of unpacking (I'm the blonde on the horse). And yet I've put the revision of my book on hold while I tackled my physical self by fostering healthful habits. I think it's fair to say those habits have taken root. I think it's also fair to say it's time to broaden my focus from physical health to true health. It's time to remember balance.
Which is not to say that I'm bagging the shred. I'll finish it, I swear. In the past I've piled on the pounds as I've piled up the pages. For once in my life, can't I integrate writing and healthful living? If I kick the devil slug to the curb, won't there be plenty of room for dual priorities? And what's the matter with promising myself that the cardio I want to add won't come at the expense of renewed focus on the book? Here's what I figure: If I can animate characters with nothing but my brain, 26 letters, and a handful of punctuation marks in my toolbox, I can figure balance out, too. And if I can interpret the wave above as a salute, it's looking like my skinny-me, baby-faced self agrees.
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I know what you mean about balance. I used to wake up at 4 AM to workout 5 days a week. I burned out and regained 25 pounds that I had fought very hard to lose. In August I got back to the gym but I only committed to 3 days a week and I started going after work. I try to get in 4 days but 3 days is a sucessful week. I also hired a trainer so that my workouts could be as efficient as possible. The result- I have lost a pound a week, every week, since August. Not breaking any speed records but I am making progress and I am still able to have a life.
ReplyDeleteOh man, this is precisely what I'm dealing with at the exact same moment—dusty, old draft one sitting on the chair in the living room, but can I just say that I have abs now? ABS! But like you, I've always wanted to be a writer before I wanted to be a non-fighter with a fighter's body (damn you, popularity of Gina Carano!). But since the abs are both hard work and immediately satisfying, and the "novel" is hard work and more hard work, guess which gets most of my time?
ReplyDeleteI know I need to make the change, but it's a easy one, for obvious reasons, to keep putting off.