Beginning

Goal Post #2

In May 2017 I started walking 15-20 mins on my lunch break and going on bike rides after work. My body was so out of shape I noticed improvements right away.

2015 is the first year in my adult working life that I’ve had the luxury of a whole hour for lunch. Those first two years I positively reveled in sitting or napping in my car alone at lunch (introvert much?) If you barely have the time eat on your lunch break, food is your priority and I would never tell you to limit that for a walk. For three years I also worked nights so I understand your 2am lunch isn’t the best time to take a stroll. If either of these is your situation, look for other places in your day to take a short walk - even 10mins can make a difference in how you feel. For example, when I worked nights I could have gone on a short walk or bike ride after work before going to bed each morning. One of my sisters who used to work nights said she'd take 20mins on her lunch climbing up and down the stairwell.

If you absolutely have no other time free in your day and only have a 30min lunch I suggest eating something portable while you walk. It isn’t ideal, but food in bags helps when I’m rushed for time. Tuna creations come in pouches and can be eaten with crackers, chips, and/or veggies on a walk. Even with an hour, if I didn't pack my lunch I try to walk to a local restaurant. If I’m in a super rush, I select something easy to eat while walking back.

Making the time to exercise when I got home was more challenging. It felt like taking time away from my dogs and partner - I can’t even imagine if I had kids. We all just wanted to eat and spend time together, but I knew once we sat down on that couch I wouldn’t get up until it was time for bed.  

It started with managing two things: expectations and appetite. To keep myself from needing dinner right away, I’d have a snack on the drive home. These snacks weren’t low calorie or healthy, but eating something, anything, before starting the fifty minute drive meant I’d be ready to go on that bike ride as soon as I got home.

Then I started managing expectations. In response to “what would you like for dinner?” I’d say “to go on a 40min bike ride then out to our favorite restaurant.” Yes, we were still eating out often, but our regular place had really good dinner salads and making time to work out and cook was too overwhelming. We were already eating out a few times a week anyway. One issue at a time.

Still, the adjustment was frustrating for both of us. Nic enjoys a bigger meal for dinner while if I was left to myself half our evening meals would be cold cereal and the other half would be salads with bread. Clearly, a compromise had to be reached.

Sometimes it was easier to go along with the usual routine and cook something together, sometimes we ate salad, and sometimes Nic cooked for both of us. As the hours of daylight got longer it became much easier to come home, eat together and then go for a ride after. Even when this meant finishing a ride in near darkness, being outside every day was becoming addictive. Occasionally we’d do the most fun thing by biking to dinner together: win-win!

Mac, our excitable boxer mix, gave me an extra incentive for regular bike rides. He has super high energy and I thought running a few times a week might calm him down a bit. We started slow and short. With me on a bike he ran a mile and a half going no more than eight miles/hour and loved it! We worked up to 3 mile round trips, still taking it pretty slowly. His energy stayed high but it gave me a reason to ride on days I might have skipped.

My favorite workout partner!

By the end of May I’d lost 5lbs and got excited! In June I added 30 min yoga sessions on the weekends, daily planks, weekly burpee tests, plus keeping track of my daily caloric intake. By the end of June I’d lost 5 more pounds, 10 total! I was on fire!