Saturday mornings are my happy place. My husband is off at work (hug your mailman!), my teenage daughter is sound asleep and my ten year old son is watching something that makes me ponder if wine can be considered a breakfast food. Even that cats are napping. All of this adds up to me having a little bit of what every mom I know craves.
Quiet time.
Saturday mornings are when I prep for the upcoming week, do laundry, grocery shop (online – Peapod pick-up, you are my life now), and get mentally ready for what’s to come. And now, I’m adding something back into the mix.
Blogging! And talking to you guys! *pats lap* *passes out cups of coffee*
Last year, I was going to Weight Watchers on Saturday mornings, and after my meetings, I would come home and blog on my personal health blog (insert shameless plug – http://undertwoby40.wordpress.com/). Weight watchers has long since been abandoned, but when Meri asked me to be part of Scoot a Doot, I was hit by just how much I’ve been missing the opportunity to pour my thoughts into a blog post and clear the clutter in my head.
So, here we are!
And what will this Saturday morning posts consist of, you might ask?
EVERYTHING!
Okay, well not everything, but lots of things. Couch to 5K, first and foremost. And cooking (South Beach Diet friendly, at least until I tire of that). And Zumba. And what it’s like to be a healthy person trapped in a morbidly obese body. And my overall plan for the next 650 days.
Wanna get started? Let’s do it!
Couch to 5K – If you’ve never heard of Couch to 5K, it is a training program intended to get you ready to run a 5K in 9 weeks, even if you’re currently a couch potato (which I am, once again). You start out slow, running a minute at a stretch and then walking in between the runs. I almost said ‘running only a minute’ but if you’re fairly sedentary, running for a minute is no joke. When I first started C25K last year, I couldn’t run a minute. I had to start at running 30 seconds and work my way up. But that’s kind of the best part of the program. You make it your own. So whatever you can do, you do. And you push yourself, but not the point of injury. It’s a fantastic way to build up your endurance and show you just how much you are capable of.
I’m starting again tomorrow. Last year’s efforts were met with success, and then success met with me, and the end result was…not what I had hoped. But I did get things out of that experience. I found out that I can run, and that I actually enjoy it. I found out that I prefer running outside, unless it’s disgustingly hot and humid. I found out that when I stopped running, I missed it. So, for at least the next nine weeks, I’ll be doing a weekly recap. Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday are my running days, and I’ll be throwing in a couple Zumba classes during the week.
FOOD – I’m such a foodie. I really do love food. Good-for-me food, bad-for-me food, you name it. I love to cook, especially for other people, and I have a collection of cookbooks that could land me on Hoarders in a hot second. I’ve tried a lot of diets, and I tend to get bored rather easily. For now, I’m doing South Beach (low carb, low fat). When I get tired of that, you guys can help me pick something new, deal?
650 Days – And then I’ll be 40 years old (hold me?). I’ve made a commitment to use the time between now and then to really transform myself, physically, and to make sure I am the best damn 40 year old I can be. Because if I have to turn 40, and it turns out I do, I think I should at least get to be a hot, fit, fabulous 40.
While the plan to get there is definitely a work in progress, I’ve got a goal. Under 200 pounds by my 40th birthday. It’s achievable, which is key. Most of the time, my goals fall along the lines of ‘to fit into the pants I wore as a high school freshman (150 pounds difference) in the next six weeks’. This time, I’m going for realistic. I’ve got a lot of weight to lose to get there, but I can get there. The other part of the goal is to run a half marathon on or before my 40th. I think that achievable, too. But since I’ve yet to RUN a full 5K, this may be slightly cart before the horse. Still, having things to strive for is never a bad thing. And, at some point, time TBD, I plan to do a SheRox triathlon. Preferably in Bermuda with a bunch of my girlfriends (ladies, who’s with me??)
So that’s a lot of talk about where I’m going. But, I think what’s even more important than knowing where you’re going is knowing where you are.
Where am I?
I’m in my happy place. Which, at least for today, because we have to start somewhere, is the couch.
<3 Bec
As you know, Bec, I am among your biggest cheerleaders. Well, ok, not literally, as I’m 5’4 on a good day, in the right shoes, but you know what I mean.
One of the few things I’ve learned about life, other than the fact that it does, indeed go on, is that sometimes, you gotta meander around a bit before you figure out what the hell you really want, and what you need, and what the difference is, as well as how, exactly, to get there. And the thing is, a lot of people never become okay with that.
You’ve never been one of those people, and I applaud you for it. You go for what you need by going for what you want, and if that means you have to change up the program, so be it.
I’ll be training, too, so expect some accountability from m end. 😉
Thanks for sharing a bit of your brainz.
MWAH.
You never stop making me glad to know you. Thanks for always saying THAT THING, Ang <3