health | BulgingButtons

May 16, 2015
by BulgingButtons 7 Comments

What Could You Give Up?

I could probably give this up forever.

My sweetheart went to the grocery store and bought chip dip. It wasn’t the kind in the plastic tub, it came in a glass jar. I was immediately suspicious. I come from the land of chip dip in a plastic tub. You know, the good stuff. Still, it was chip dip. How bad could it be

Surprisingly bad, it turns out. It had a weird taste to it, and a faintly greyish hue. And no, it wasn’t past its expiration date (I checked). Did I eat it? Some of it, but the rest got washed down the drain without a second thought. It was that bad.

I was just thinking about it and thinking to myself, if I never had that particular type of chip dip again I would be very happy. Then I thought about not ever having ANY chip dip again, and I was significantly less sure of my long-term happiness with that particular scenario. People do it, though. They give up all sorts of things for all sorts of reasons. Continue reading →

February 14, 2015
by BulgingButtons 2 Comments

I Feel Like a Failure

After four successful challenges, which I’m still completing each week, I’ve hit upon the one that broke me. Exercise. UGH. I just don’t LIKE it. I’m too BUSY. I can’t possibly do it ALONE. Does it even really MATTER? Do I HAVE to?

In a nutshell:

1. Too bad.

2. No I’m not.

3. Yes I can.

4. Yes it does.

5. Yes I do.

I JUST DON’T LIKE IT

This statement is only partially true. I don’t like the idea of having to exercise, but once I get going I actually don’t mind it all that much. There are lots of types of exercise that this body isn’t built for, but I don’t have to do those. I have a bellydance DVD that I enjoy (although it’s murder on the shoulders, but I modify) and I can certainly take a walk in the park. I also have gorgeous pink boxing gloves that are gathering dust. Just putting those on makes me want to get up and move (and maybe jab at something too, just saying). And when the weather gets warmer, I’ll be in the water walking my laps, my favorite exercise of all. So no, I’m not going to be doing burpees or running marathons, but I don’t have to. I just have to move.

I’M TOO BUSY

As if I’m the only person in the world with a full-time job and a family. I could be exercising now, but I’m sitting comfortably on my well cushioned backside instead. I live directly across the street from a lovely park. As in walk to the end of the driveway, look both ways, and cross. It’s RIGHT THERE! A walk around it is about a mile. People walk it all the time. I see them from my house. As far as I can tell the only difference between me and them is that they actually took the time to get to the park, and most of them probably don’t live directly across from it. I can walk after school. I can walk all weekend. No, I’m not like my wonderful colleagues who wake during the dead of night to exercise, but there are certainly enough waking hours for me to find at least twenty minutes to spare. My brain knows this, but my lazy body is in denial.

I CAN’T POSSIBLY DO IT ALONE

This one is really a double lie. First of all, yes, I can. Even if it’s too cold out or too scary out or too anything out, I have a treadmill. It’s in the house. It’s plugged in. It works. I know how to operate it. It doesn’t take two people to get on a treadmill and walk. In fact that would be a problem. It’s hard enough to walk on it with the dog. It’s actually her treadmill and sometimes she wants to join in when I’m on it. I let her once, but I was so concerned with our safety that I didn’t stay on for long. Now we take turns. Although in reality, she gets about ten turns for each one I take.

Now here’s the other part of that lie. I don’t have to do it alone. My son walks the dog every day that he’s here. I can go with them if I choose. Even if he’s not here, my sweetheart will always drop everything to go for a walk with me. He’s also ready, willing, and able to field my jabs and kicks if I happen to want to get on my pink gloves and go all pugilistic on him. I bet he would even go to a gym with me, if I asked him to. The mere thought sends a chill down my spine.

DOES IT EVEN REALLY MATTER?

Well of course it matters. I know that the more sedentary I am the more weight I will continue to carry around, negatively impacting my quality of life. When I move I feel good. I feel powerful and in control, not to mention that I lose weight. When I lose weight, I don’t huff and puff as much, and I feel more comfortable in my own skin, not to mention all the good things that happen inside my body. My doctor confirms these for me with my regular visits. I take medication that requires regular bloodwork, and it’s quite obvious from the results that the effort I put into my body is directly affecting how efficiently my body works. I really want it to work for a long time, so I need to put in the effort. I know this. Now I have to live it.

DO I HAVE TO?

I suppose the answer to this one has to do with the type of life I want to life and how long I want to live it. If I want to keep being sedentary I guess I don’t have to exercise. I could just keep sitting on the couch and allowing time and age to take their toll on me. I can imagine a scenario where it gets more and more difficult to do anything, so I would do less and less. All those minor annoyances of being fat would compound and eventually I would have some really serious health problems. I’m not excited about that prospect. The opposite scenario, the one where I get my butt in gear and get moving, seems far more attractive. In that scenario I have fun being active and do all sorts of neat things. There have been times in my life where I felt great, and moving was a part of it. I’ve never been a real athlete, but just putting in SOME effort makes me feel good. Why is this truth so difficult for me to remember?

THE NEXT STEP

I’m done beating myself up over this “failed” challenge. After all, I did put in one good day of exercise, and that was more than any of the days in the previous week. I’m not giving up. I’m not quitting. I’m going to try again. And again and again and again if that’s what it takes. I have to. I want to live a long and healthy life, and what I’m doing now isn’t working, so here I go again.

February 7, 2015
by BulgingButtons 7 Comments

I Drank Two Sodas and I’m Not Ashamed to Admit It

It happened yesterday. I was working away quite diligently when I realized I was thirsty. It happens. I drank a water bottle in the morning, then enjoyed my delicious Diet Coke (with lime, of course) at lunchtime. By around three pm I was really thirsty, specifically for a cold refreshing soda. What to do?

I could have taken a drink from the drinking fountain in my classroom (the one that all the germy little students use) but for some reason that just didn’t seem appealing. It was soda I was after, particularly soda with a little boost of caffeine.

You see, I had just come from a training session that was slightly less than exhilarating. It was nobody’s fault. The information was valid, it just a) wasn’t really new to me, and b) didn’t really have a practical application for what I do. That combination of factors, plus the sleep deficit that generally catches up to me by Friday afternoon, caused to be feel, shall we say, slightly drowsy.

I wanted a Diet Coke.

But the challenge. The “only drink one soda a day” challenge. What about it? Would I be able to live with myself if I drank two whole cans of soda in one day?

Turns out the answer to that question is, “yes.” Here’s why: I made a choice. It was a conscious decision to have a soda. I was thirsty. I was looking for caffeine. I thought over my options and decided that an ice-cold soda from the vending machine was the best choice at the time. Should I start bringing along extra water bottles as the weather heats up? Absolutely. But am I worried that I’ll fall back into my mindless soda guzzling ways because of one can of Diet Coke? No, I am not.

The whole purpose of the challenges is to help me change habits one step at a time. So far it’s been going surprisingly well. Since I began this nonsense, yesterday’s soda situation was the first time I’ve “broken” any of the “rules.” My one failure? An extra 12 ounces of soda. No biggie. My successes are way more important in my book.

Each week I’ve declared a new challenge and each week I’ve succeeded. Not just for the week, but for the long haul. So far I’ve quit Starbucks cold turkey (and saved a bunch of money), upped my intake of fruits and vegetables (and discovered that my sweet tooth is a demon), and curbed my soda habit (making me appreciate each one, but lessening my desire for it). I’ve also gone a week without a single trip to the drive-thru; any drive-thru. I did stop in to McDonald’s for oatmeal and an iced-coffee one morning, but I parked and got out of the car to do it. It was a deliberate action, not a mindless whim.

What are some of the health and eating habits you have that need tweaking or replacing? How are you handling them? What are some ideas for next week’s challenge? I’m taking small steps, but they’re all going in the right direction, and they add up. Come along with me, and share your successes, I’d love your company.