A Few Days Off

There's no denying it -- I have a cold.

But after loading myself up with hot tea and a decongestant this morning, I'm actually not feeling too badly. I can still tell I'm not 100 percent, though.

I didn't exercise yesterday, and I don't plan on it today. I've read that exercising can actually make you sicker when you're ill, so I'm just taking it easy until I feel better. Of course, I start worrying that if I'm not doing cardio every day I'm going to blow up like a balloon, and I'm already preparing for the worst for this week's weigh in. All I can do is be as mindful as possible with the food, and soon this will pass and I'll be back on track again.

I was sorely tempted to get on the scale this morning, but I resisted. Hubby must be checking his weight regularly, however, because I keep putting it out of sight and it keeps reappearing each morning. I think his current weight loss total is 7 pounds, which is great. He says he can already tell the difference and notices he feels better. My hope is that he can stick with it for a while. He still hasn't signed up for the gym yet (he said he was going to Feb. 1), and I'm sure if he started working out he'd lose even more. So every few days I ask him if he's done it yet. Hopefully he'll soon get sick of my reminders and go do it.

But I know how hard it is to get started on a fitness routine. Even though today I feel like an important part of my day is missing if I don't exercise, it wasn't long ago that I dreaded the thought of it and couldn't imagine liking it. Most of us have (or once had) tapes and equipment that seemed so good at first, then wound up collecting dust or turned into a drying rack for our laundry. We all have procrastinated, come up with our excuses and told ourselves we'd start over tomorrow, next week, or next month.

I don't feel superior because I've made exercise a habit and a pleasurable part of my life. Lord knows I have lots of other areas of my life that could use plenty of improvements. I feel lucky that I've found a way to alter my old, very sedentary way of life into a more active one that I enjoy. What I find most surprising is how other people think I've got this super human willpower and motivation to do it. I know darn well I'm not any more motivated than anyone else. The key was what I mentioned above -- making it a habit. It took time, but now it's as normal a part of my day as brushing my teeth or brushing my hair. No one who flosses daily is described as having incredible willpower, are they?

I really don't know where I'm going with this. Maybe I'm trying to reassure myself that if I take a few days off because I'm sick, it doesn't mean I'm going to quit or have a hard time getting back to it. I've managed to start back up after surgery, so I'm sure a little cold isn't going to completely derail me.

I'm going to try to get back online this afternoon and type in a few more old journal entries from 2004. It's been great so far looking back to the very beginning of this adventure and seeing what's changed and what hasn't. You're more than welcome to go to my 2004 archives and check it out.