Saturday, January 03, 2009

on work it out weekends: the intro...

work it out weekends.

Okay. So, here's my plan:

Every weekend, I'll write a post about something relating to getting healthy, working out, body image, the fact that scales are basically the devil, how I want to be a vegetarian to sound cool but I totally can't because meat is soooo gooood mmmm meeeeat, etc. My plan is to target one specific topic each weekend, and if anyone wants to post some of their thoughts on their own blog or in the comments, then that's just fabulous, too. The point of this is to hopefully help us inspire each other, challenge each other and encourage each other to reach whatever goals we have set for ourselves this year. Last year I made some great leaps and bounds when it comes to exercising, eating right and getting fit. And I feel like I'm healthier now than I've ever been, but still have many changes to make. I'm ready for it.

Aaaaand I know what you're thinking:

"Um, weren't you the one eating a 50/50 mix of Cheez-it crackers and Milk Duds just last night? For, like, an hour?"

Why, yes. Yes, that was me, actually. Interesting story, really...eh, okay, I don't have a story or an excuse for my snacking habits, but don't hate. I'm working on it; I promise. And that's what this is all about, anyway. I'm obviously not the type of person who should be on a soapbox telling you exactly what to do to tone a jiggly bum. I mean, I could try, but I'm slightly under qualified, I think. This whole project is more of a means to get people talking, to get people thinking, to get people to start taking steps in the right direction. Most importantly, to simply be honest with ourselves, and attempt to be a bit more light-hearted about it all. You know, all that sort of goodness.

I've found that I feel most motivated when I see someone else is working towards my same goals. All it takes is someone saying, "I'm going for a run this afternoon." I automatically think, "Hey! I want to go for a run this afternoon if you are! I may run half the distance you will, but hey! At least I'm running instead of sitting around reading Twilight for the fourth time!" (The Twilight thing is highly plausable, by the way. Just saying.) And I also know that I totally feel better about myself when I hear that someone else is dealing with body issues and insecurities like I am, i.e. the dreaded tummy pooch of doom. (Yes, that's actually a medical term now.)

So, I figure that beginning with my goals for the coming year may be the best way to start:

  1. Start running again. (Two months since last run - gahhh.)
  2. Run a 5k. (So afraid.)
  3. Do not die while running the 5k. (Would defeat purpose of any and all goals.)
  4. Be happier. (Am very aware that pessimism must be defeated.)
  5. Learn to make healthier meals. (Must cook more than once a week.)
  6. Lose 5 lbs. (Strictly vanity and will probably change later.)

I know that many of you out there are busy setting goals and resolutions, too. What are yours?

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37 wrote me a note:

  1. I read this post after I came back from my morning walk/run/jog. I'm building up everyday to running without stopping.

    Yes to getting healthy!

    This is the year, I just know it. And also because it has to be. We're not getting any younger.
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  2. Good for you for being so gung-ho about exercising! It's extremely hard for me to get into the exercising spirit, so I think I might need to stay tuned to your blog on the weekends. For months & months, I have been telling myself, "Okay... you're going to do 45 minutes of yoga in the morning, OR ELSE!" & what happens? I'm eating cold cereal, watching I Love Lucy & it just slips my mind... That needs to change.

    Now, I don't know about this "running a 5k" business, because I loathe running (I loathe exercising!) but I really want my bad feelings about it to go away.

    So... I guess what I'm trying to say is that I'm in. & I'm going to try my hardest. :]
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  3. I'm excited for you to do the 5K! I did a 10K a year and a half ago with basically no training whatsoever, just because I for some crazy reason thought it sounded fun. I almost died about 15 times but the thousands of other people doing it with me were SO motivating. Basically whenever anyone ran past me that didn't "look" like they should beat me, I would get slightly annoyed and speed up to get past them. It was one of my proudest moments when I finished.

    I should try it again, but I was living in a city with no car back then and had to walk everywhere. Now I'm living in the country and drive everywhere, so I'm sure I had a lot more stamina back then. Well, okay, maybe I will try it again. I do have a gym membership included in tuition. Inspire me, Wishcake & friends! :)
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  4. I love this idea! I don't think I can do the running, but I will support you!
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  5. I totally get the whole motivation factor. On the rare occasion that I can con one of my friends into going to the Y with me, I accomplish so much more because we're pushing each other (did i mention i'm really competitive when it comes to working out?? lol). I love this blog idea :D
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  6. Yay, you inspire me with your jolly, you really do;) I am not ready to post any goals on my own site, for fear of failure(i need to work on that!) but I do have them and SO looking forward to reading about yours and taking from them what i can!
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  7. Yay! I'm in DESPERATE need of motivation to get moving and eating (and cooking) healthier. Thank you!
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  8. Hello there!
    I don't think I've posted here before so hello first off. Also I'm totally in! I agree that its motivating when others can relate to your struggles with becoming healthier us! The treadmill has been taunting and teasing me a lot. I think i need to suck it up and hop on it! I need to lose my evil tummy pooch. I agree its a medical term now. I saw it in my nursing textbook. Not really. haha But ya! Lets inspire and motivate each other!! Yippee!
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  9. I was just thinking about doing a post like this. I'm totally in. My goal is to work out 5x a week and to ditch the belly. C-section did not help but I know I can do it! Love this idea of inspiring each other.
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  10. Cute graphic!

    I've run two 5Ks, so far (one on my wedding day. Booyah), and would love to try a 10K this year. As long as my knee doesn't give me trouble again.

    Also - cooking fancier meals. Less same ol' same ol' and more exciting, adventurous meals from Vegetarian Times.

    My entire body has morphed into a flabby nightmare. (Somehow I still weigh 102 lbs. Which: What the heck!? Whatever, body. You're so weird.) So, I don't really need to lose weight so much as, tone up. As horribly woman-cliche as that sounds!

    Let's do this.
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  11. I can't wait to see what you come up with! I am always looking for some support in the healthy lifestyle department--apparently I'm not very good at motivating myself to be productive in this area. I will definitely be looking forward to these posts.

    Aaaand if you ever try to do the vegetarian thing, consider me your biggest supporter. I think it's a pretty awesome thing to do, and I know it makes me feel a thousand times healthier (even when I'm occasionally opting to eat something like donuts for dinner).
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  12. Yeah. Yes. Yes...um...I need to participate in this. I do miss exercising so I need to jump back into it. I just got new running shoes today, so that should help, right? Who wouldn't want to go run when they have fun white and orangey-red shoes? Who?

    I'm totally in for sharing and creating a little sub-community to the one we've all already got going on to push ourselves to be healthier for the sake of (mostly) being healthier! Yay, us! :)

    You're great, love ya!
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  13. Oh honey, 5lbs? My goal is to get to the point where I can have your goals! ;)
    Great idea and I will certainly be tuning in (even though I was totally hooked before this post!)
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  14. I love this idea especially since Saturdays are my long runs in half-marathon training. I ran 6 miles today, longer than I have in the past two years so I'm pretty pumped. I did read Twilight again a few days ago though, had to get that out of the way first.
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  15. Completely inspired! I want to start my exercise regime too. This will hopefully help me to stay motivated! Thanks for igniting my motivation again.

    My fitness and health goals are too tone up and stay toned. Wii Fit here I come! And running. xox
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  16. i LOVE this idea.

    My major goal right now is to lose the ten pounds I've gained since coming back home. I'm not a runner, and I've tried to be, but I think just making an effort to walk more will be helpful (and moving to a warmer climate should encourage that!). I'm also going to seriously cut down on the sugar. If I had eaten the same way for the last month but without all the sweets, I'd probably have lost the weight by now. Just sayin. :)
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  17. Kristi (whom you just talked to via email)Jan 3, 2009 10:04 PM
    I am doing the same things too! I am setting up a healthier diet and looking into gym memberships. And I bought a cute pair of running shorts today from Target for like 3dollars! I support these health posts and myself am reaching toward the same goals (maybe not the 5k, but who knows what the future holds...) =D
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  18. Running a 5k is one of my goals, too! Do you have one in mind? I'm trying to figure out exactly how soon I want to do it. And, hoping I won't die! :) I'm looking forward to these weekly posts!

    PS We gave my sister the adorable wallet you made. Such a perfect Christmas gift. I can't wait to order another. You are so talented!
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  19. Okay, so just realized you don't use your name on your profile. OOPS! Sorry. lol. I will knock it off. Here we go,
    So, wishcake, I didn't see a way to reply to your comment on my blog other than just posting another comment and I didn't know if you would get notified of that (I am still blindly trying to feel my way around blogger and, as you can see, I only have two followers. sigh) so I wanted to let you know that on my blog, I posted a comment in reply to your comment.
    That was a long comment for such a short purpose. Ha! Sorry. Just wanted you to see the reply! Ok, bye.

    P.S. How did you get so fabulous at HTML/templates/graphics??
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  20. I know what you mean--this time last year I hadn't run in YEARS, then I moved from nyc to sf in february, starting running again the day after the move, then by summer ran a marathon! But reading other runners' blogs totally helped me through the pain and long runs. So my goal this year is to keep up the 30 or so miles a week and attempt a second marathon, with at least a half marathon scheduled every other month...
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  21. You know, I set the same goals for this year. I feel like I need to be more about getting healthy than worrying about losing weight. That will just come with the territory.
    In order to train for the 5K, you can typically google something like "training for a 5k" and it will pull up running workouts so you can train.
    Um, foodwise, pick up The Biggest Loser cookbook (Family on a Budget Edition). It has some amazing sounding recipes. I am getting ready to start using it this week for my meals at home, and I am pumped.
    This is the year to make sure we are in the best shape and best frame of mind. We owe it to ourselves. Good luck!
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  22. What a great idea!!!
    My fitness goals are to go to the gym 4-5 times per week.
    Cooking & eating healthier foods and learning to cook healthy versions of my favorite meals.
    Understanding that it takes time and a transformation is not going to happen overnight.
    Short term goal is 5 pounds at a time. Long term goal is to lose 70 pounds.
    Short term goal 5k. Long term goal 10k, half marathon & marathon.
    Ultimate goal is to finally be happy with my body image.
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  23. I am in! My goals are somewhat smaller than yours, but I have blogged(I don't know if it tells you when I linkage to you), and they are there for the world to see!

    Thanks for the inspiration!
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  24. What a great idea! I'm really looking forward to reading these posts.
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  25. yes, love it! im all over this.

    my goals. lose the 10 lbs ive gained since i saw you last :)
    start running again.

    run a 1/2 marathon before the end of 2009.

    be happy and fit into my pants again.
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  26. yep - just like everyone else i'm totally in for getting back in shape. its time. health is just so important. more important that massive plates of nachos and piles of chocolate...maybe? but really, my chubby belly will thank me when its time to bust out the swimsuit in 6 months.

    so yeah - totally on board. we all just need to keep each other motivated!
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  27. Being a vegetarian DOES sound cool, but meat, oh so yummy meat, tastes way too good to give it up. I did read a Vegetarian Times at work and decided to sign up for the two free issues to see if we like it. I figure we can always put meat in them if we want. :-)
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  28. I came in the bedroom to get on the elliptical machine and thought I'd see what was going on in blogland first....glad I found you first because I could very easy get lost in this place and now I'm more motivated to get on that killer machine...Thanks! :)Lisa
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  29. I am soooo glad you posted this and I'm super excited to see what we all start doing! I doubt that I'll ever be able to run for more than a block, like all the cool girls do, but maybe I'll try. :)
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  30. I am totally loving the idea of this weekend work it out topic! I'm in and will try to do an update as well! I just started my blog as a new year's resolution/goal and I'd love to play along! I am feeling really good about this year too! I love following your blog and will keep checking in!! Woohoo!
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  31. funny, i read this right after i hopped off the treadmill. i was a runner, what feels like, a hundred years ago and recently ran my first 5k in forev. it's daunting, but so worth it. you'll be great!
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  32. On being a vegetarian, I had the same thoughts. Many times I thought about it, but couldn't really follow through on never eating meat! So what I decided on was sort of a compromise. We reduced the meat-eating days to 3-4 times a week instead of 7. I has forced us to make much healthier choices, and as a side effect, because pulses and beans (and also pasta and baked potatoes) are cheaper, we have more money in the budget for better quality meat! We have been enjoying things like fillet steaks and organic chicken which is healthier anyway. Win-win!
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  33. Yay! Let's do it!
    You and Ashley are totally my inspiration ... maybe one day I'll be a little runner like you guys. I have my doubts, but at least I can try. I don't think I'll ever love running! Still though ... I think doing a 5K would be freakin awesome! How long is a 5K in miles? Must go look this up!

    And you could totally go veggie! If my hubby can do it, you can do it too! I say, just try it out for a week or so ... see if you can handle it. Dang, I feel like I've already written this comment on your page before. I don't want to be a badgering veggie! :(

    Can't wait to see your next wishcake workout weekend! WWW!
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  34. I LOVE THIS. I might do related-topic blog entries when you choose the theme of the week! I also have lots of yummy vegetarian recipes to share that are tried and true. I can't wait to join you on a journey to healthy 2009!
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  35. Sounds like a brilliant plan. I consumed far too much bratwurst and booze while in Germany, not to mention Christmas dinner and all associated eating and drinking.

    While running is really not my thing, I'm going to make an effort to go to the gym and do more hiking.
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  36. Good luck with your resolutions, lady! Mine resolution is to complete at least 40 items on my 101 in 1001 days list. :)
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  37. I just ran for the first time in like 3 months the other day too. HaHa. It was a sad attempt. I used to be soooo good at it.
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