Friday, February 18, 2011

Will I Ever Not Hate It?

Believe it or not, I have now made it eight months!  I have been doing weight lifting or circuit training 5x a week.  I have been successful in staying on track through a busy period at work (a first) and a period of grieving/depression (also a first), and through a few minor illnesses and a few injuries (always previously good reasons to quit!). At times I did well with my diet, and at other times less well, but I persisted with the exercise and made it a priority no matter what - so when I couldn't do everything, my food slipped instead of my exercise.  I think this was a good move as the exercise is way harder to start up again than good eating habits.

At the moment, I am swimming 16 laps, a lap being 50 yards.  I will soon be up to a half mile, and my goal is to do a mile (35.2 laps) by mid June.  I have a persistent foot injury (plantar facitis) that has made it impossible to do cardio machines or walk, so swimming is the only safe cardio, which has been a real setback.  I am lucky that there is a new pool though, and with that I am able to swim more than I could before - when I need to most.

Currently, my diet is on track and I am swimming 5x a week and doing weightlifting for an hour 5x a week.  I feel huge frustration with the effort and energy this takes.  Every morning I have to take several bags - my swim bag, my gym bag, my work bag, my purse, and my lunch...and my dog, who comes with me to work nearly every day...and coffee, and breakfast.  That's a lot to prepare every night.  It's a lot to hassle with.  I hate it.

After all these months, I still hate the exercise.  Though I have stuck with it, I never hit the magic "I love it now!" that people talk about.  I actually wonder if I will ever not hate it, and if I thought I had to live every day of my life making all this effort every day, I'd probably quit on the spot.  I try to just take it week by week, a little progress here and there.

I am training up for a big trip in June that I *really* want to be able to hike on, and to be able to do a long walk.  I have to heal my foot, that is priority one, and increase my cardiovascular fitness, and stay with healthy eating so I don't regain any weight and I continue to lose.  Wish me luck!