I Dream of ...well, not Jeannie...

A couple of times lately I've dreamed I was doing the splits, showing my church girls that I can do them.  The only problem is, I could not do them even when I was 14 and 15!  I've just never been that limber, even at my most fit.

I wonder what it means.  Perhaps I am indecisive about something, or perhaps it's telling me to split.  I looked it up in some dream sites, just for fun. I found interesting interpretations, but more important is what I decided because of the dreams.

I decided that at the end of each exercise routine and stretching session, I will do stretches that would help if I really wanted to do the splits.  I actually do the splits as low as I can go, and then get on one knee and stretch one leg back as far as I can.  Then I stretch the front leg forward as far as I can.  I also get on one knee and stretch out sideways as far as I can on each leg.  They are really good stretches as long as I do not go to the point of pain.

Similar Exercises to the ones I am doing.  

So there you have it! My dream was a guide to stretch myself a little further!

The Rewards of Exercising

Good health, toned body, fights depression, blah, blah, blah.

What can make it rewarding right now, today?  What can I use to stay motivated?  Those are the pertinent questions.

When I first restarted exercising, I promised myself that when I had done 10 miles, I would buy myself a new DVD.  I did the mileage and then didn't get around to buying the DVD.  I noticed that my motivation slacked off dramatically , so I ordered the DVD.  And guess what?  I started exercising again!  This time the reward is set at 25 miles.  I have about 7 to go.

When we make a promise to ourselves, we have to keep it.  No ifs, ands, or buts.  It's just like a promise to anyone else.  Make it. Keep it.  Move forward.

I got a blue paper plate from TOPS; a member shared that people who eat off of dark colored plates eat less.  I stuck it on the fridge and wrote 25 x's on it.  Each mile I walk, I put a sticker over the x.  When they are all covered, I will get my reward!

I like to reward myself with exercise DVD's because it adds variety into my workouts, and helps fight the boredom that sets in when I've done the same thing too many times.

COMMITMENT--possibly to an insane asylum, but hopefully not to jail.

My dear DIL chooses a word for each year, and I have been pondering what word I would want to focus on this year.  Last year I didn't get past pondering.  This year I decided to make a commitment to it.  I thought of it off and on during the last couple of months.

I had decided on Courage, but it wasn't quite right.  It's not that I lack courage, it's that I lack Persistence and Determination.  Yet when I really want to succeed, I commit to it and do it, so those aren't quite what's missing either.

I then realized that is my word.  Commitment.  I have some things I know I need to do, want to do, should be doing, but I am not fully committed to them, so I am content to ride along day by day, not really accomplishing much and then feeling bad about myself.

So there's my word for 2013: Commitment.

I will choose carefully what I commit myself to, and then I will go for it with gusto.  I may need partners because letting others down seems to bother me more than letting myself down bothers me. When I commit to others I generally follow through.

I have also been thinking about the FLY Lady:  It doesn't stand for just a clean sink; it stands for Finally Loving Yourself.

Finally loving myself enough to commit to some good self care, that's an important and awesome concept. It may include a clean sink, but it definitely includes exercise and daily scriptures, journaling, and meditation.

Dumpster Diving Dieter: How Low Will You Go?

In my last post I mentioned receiving a candy cane as a token gift.  What I didn't mention is that I did break off about 3/4 inch of it and eat it before tossing the remainder in the trash.

The next morning I got up to go to TOPS and as I headed out I realized I had terrible morning breath.  I thought of that candy cane and started digging through the trash for it.  Before you gag too much, let me explain that this was my home office trash, so it was mainly envelopes and papers I was digging through.  And the candy cane was wrapped.

Suddenly I pictured how this would look to an observer, and I stood up and walked away.  Am I so desperate for a bit of sugar that I dig through the trash looking for it?  Well, today, at least, I wasn't.  I went and found a piece of gum (not from the trash) and chewed that as I headed out the door for my weigh-in.