First of all, thank you guys for the warm welcome back! I am So excited to reconnect with the blog world and all of the lovely people in it!
Now, let’s talk about something that I am not so excited about.
A while ago (it seems like quite a long while now), I wrote a post about how my food preferences and eating styles have evolved over time.
Essentially, I went from craving greasy fast food to wanting vegetables and hummus. That’s not to say I don’t ever have those greasy food cravings (I mean who can resist some a few slices of pizza or some French fries every now and then), but they’re simply overshadowed by my love for fresh clean foods.
Well, it seems that something quite similar happened with my exercise habits.
I went from dreading the thought of stepping foot into the gym to loving every sweaty second of it. Well, that love was the end game at least. The in between stages were the ones that were really difficult. And it seems that I’ve hit another “in-between.” I suppose that evolution means continual change, but things are going the wrong way. Maybe I’ve just reverted back a bit – either way it’s something that needs to change.
I still love that amazing after workout feeling and of course, I love knowing that I’m burning calories and keeping my body in shape at the same time. It’s the whole motivation to get it done that has a become an issue.
Of course, it’s impossible to be motivated all the time. There are always those times when you need that extra boost or you simply do it because you know you should. But lately, I have been swaying way too far to the ‘do it because you know you should’ side. And I don’t like it.
When I got to the point where I could maintain my weight loss with only a few work outs a week, my characteristic motivation started to wane off. Now, am I saying that I work out only to keep the weight off? The answer to that is tricky – so I’ll say yes and no.
My love for working out developed because of all the wonderful benefits it offered. And sure, losing weight (and keeping it off) was one of those benefits. But would that love for working out have developed if I was always at a healthy weight? I really can’t say and I’ll never actually know, so that’s besides the point.
The point is, I need to get that fire back. I want to get back to exercising because I love to exercise and not because I need to get in my 3 days that week. I firmly believe that if you’ll never keep it up if you only do something because you feel it needs to be done. In order to stick with it, you need to truly enjoy it.
I definitely feel like my blogging break had something to do with this. Especially since this all happened over the past month or two. In my break from blogging, I also took a break from reading blogs. Without reading or writing, I wasn’t always thinking about fun new workouts or ways to switch things up. Instead, I just stuck with what I know works – the treadmill. But damn it, the treadmill can only keep you entertained for so long. Am I right?
Now of course, any overly-organized girl like myself would create a plan to get that fire back – so here goes.
Stefanie’s ‘GET THE FIRE BACK’ workout plan
- First and foremost, think outside of the treadmill. Yes, it’s there. Yes, it works. But it’s time to spice it up.
- Dust off the DVDs (Turbofire, P90x, Jillian Michael’s…etc.) and rediscover new ways to get my sweat on.
- Take more classes! I absolutely love group fitness classes, but it has been months since I’ve taken one. Time to get back to it.
- Get outside! Despite the mild winter weather, it’s been far too long since I’ve enjoyed an outdoor run. I need to rediscover the joy of hitting the pavement, seeing the different scenery, and breathing in the fresh air.
- And finally, go to the gym! Get motivated by others who are sweating their butts off. I mean, hey, energy is contagious.
So there it is. A few simple demands to get myself back in the exercise lovers club. I used to be one of those (possibly annoying) people telling anyone that would listen that “I LOVE TO WORK OUT.” It’s time to get back to that!
Who’s with me?
Also, can you believe Christmas is 3 days away? So exciting!