No running!!! (or reasons i dont move more)

Hello World.

Sorry I've been absentee these past few days. Monday was MLK Jr. Day, and being a holiday. It threw me off entirely. Anyway, here I am ready to report. And what do I have to say for myself in the three day interim; actually, not much. I behaved myself pretty well: Six meals and such, a sprinkle of extras. There wasn’t too much bad behavior. However, I’m back to having to remember to fidget. Ugh…. If you are not a natural-born fidgeter, trying to become one is almost painful. And I’m not. I am truly a sedentary person. I believe in being still with all my heart. Meditation, deep breathing, sunbathing… I’m just sedentary. I am trying though.

This brings me to my next hurdle. I am pretty regular in the food department by now. As you can probably imagine, I am very in love with my routine of mini plastic containers. The next challenge in this new healthy me is moving; namely that E word. You know what I am referring to… Exercise. Now, Chubb Chubb that I am, running is not my favorite activity. However, I am a lot stronger than most people would assume, mostly in the legs and trunk department.

Yes… underneath my cute pudgy belly lies a lot of abdomen muscle. Don’t laugh. I mean it.

I am a very strongly built person. Let’s look at the history shall we? Growing up, there weren’t a lot of boys in the family. So I did a lot of trash hauling and furniture moving. Especially furniture moving…. I was obsessed with moving my bedroom around every season. (Fashionista in the making!) And I never wanted to wait until my mother felt like helping me. So little Me would push whole dressers and lift bed frames. Did I mention that in my resilience and defiance, I was pushing dressers that still had drawers in them? I also played football as a child, and played with little neighborhood boys. Which involved that dreaded activity- running. In my teen years I did a lot of African Dance too. Trunk and legs people… I have a lot of muscle in my trunk and legs. (hmm… Im rather disliking my use of the word “trunk”. Sounds like an elephant.) In college I did work out moderately. I even worked out with friends, which they recommend. In strength and flexibility exercises, my friends were always amazed. It’s that cardio mess I couldn’t stand.

No running, remember?

So… I have a cardio problem. Except…. I love dancing. Love, love, love it. If there’s music on, I almost absolutely can keep moving forever. Well…. Longer than I can run anyway. Running is boring. It’s absolutely boring.

I sound like a broken record.

I think you get the picture. I hate to run. I will try not to mention it again. (hate it!)

Anyway, the point is that I need to get some more cardio in my life. Fidgeting does burn calories, but it can’t compete with my lifestyle the way a good sweat session can. The problem is that in the course of my day, I never seem to have enough time or energy to make that happen. And I don’t mean that I am one of those people making weird excuses. I don’t mean time/energy simultaneously. I mean them quite apart. Sometimes there are certainly thirty minute stretches or longer that I could put to good aerobic use. But a lot of the time when it happens, I am drained. Emotionally, physically, drained. But the Catch 22 is that if I move, I would have more energy. Ain’t that a biscuit …

And when I try to work out at home, I get so very bored. BOOOORED. I get bored a lot at home. Not a conducive environment for motivating minds. If you lived in my neighborhood, you would understand.

So… here are the types of circumstances that lead to me having a good workout

1)      Having a partner: I stay motivated so much more when there’s another person around. And it keeps me from being.. (scary theme music) BORED

2)      Music: If there is some kind of rhythm or beat involved, I am good to go! Even if it’s not dancing. My body just wants a rhythm.

3)      Good clothing: I used to hate working out with those little skinny Nike Divas. You know the kind… they wear head to toe Nike athletic gear and never break a sweat? Hated them…. Like… who uses workout clothes to make a statement? But I kinda understand it now. I’m not a Nike Diva (mainly because I have a long torso and those little shirts never cover my belly). But I do believe in wearing clothing im not ashamed to be in. Im more likely to work out!

4)      Set time: When I exercise on a schedule, I am more likely to stick to that schedule. I don’t like unorganized days. I DO like days with nothing to do… leaves space for adventure. But I don’t like days where I have things to do, just in no particular order.

These are my qualifications. Without them, I may occasionally exercise, but it doesn’t stick very well. So, I am going to try to find that here in my city. It’s not a small city, so it shouldn’t be hard.. Or so you think. I already know I am going to have to leave my neighborhood. Women around here are not overly concerned with working out. And men are all concerned with lifting weights. (trying to prove something, sir?)

scaaaaary...

Ugh….Certainly not trying to look like that... So... Journey ahead…. Got to find a workout buddy. That’s the first step, and the hardest. I wish I could do it with my mom, but she seems so busy these days. Our schedules don’t mesh very well.

Ah well. I will find something, I suppose.

If you have any helpful tips, feel free to offer them up!

I love hearing from you all.

Love you all, my fellow Chubb Chubbs. Remember... good food is delish, but good living is sweeter!