When we bought this house from our neighbors six years ago, it came with a lot of stuff. Our neighbors were elderly and moving in with family, and they left a lot of their furniture and some other assorted things behind for us to keep and use, or to get rid of. I remember them asking me if I wanted this treadmill and I am so glad I said yes. I was 8 1/2 months pregnant at the time and am pretty sure the last thing I was thinking about was exercise, so I am impressed with myself that I had the sense to take it.
Don't think for a second that I gave birth to Griffin and then hopped up on that treadmill. I think I actually piled a bunch of stuff on it, moved it from room to room a few times, ignored it, and then it finally came to live in the spare bedroom. Yes, that is wood paneling and rust-colored shag carpet you see. We are slowly picking away at this house, room by room, but unfortunately for the basement, it is the lowest on our priority list.
Anyway, about two years ago now I had gallbladder surgery. It was unpleasant to say the least, and it was kind of the grand finale result of a bunch of really annoying health problems I had been having. That, coupled with the fact that turning 40 was looming on the horizon finally gave me some ambition and I started using that treadmill. I have never been a great goal-setter, mostly because I tend to set unrealistic goals, then when I don't attain them, I beat myself up and feel bad. So this time (thanks to some advice from Dr. Oz) I told myself if I used that treadmill for ten minutes each day I would be happy. Ten minutes was totally do-able and before long I was in a regular routine. Soon, ten minutes turned to twenty, and not long after, thirty.
I go through spells of feeling like I am in a rut, and life's busy-ness gets in the way at times, and I have to adjust coarse. I am currently in a twenty-minute a day phase for a whole host of reasons, but I plan to bump back up to thirty next week. My treadmill is now sixteen years old, and still going strong. I hope I can squeeze a few more years out of her. I'm thankful to have that old thing because it allows me to get some exercise in each day and to feel good. I use to tell myself that I couldn't exercise because I had little kids, or I didn't have the time, or any other reason I could come up with. Now I know that was never true!
2 comments:
I am a strong believer in the "something is better than nothing" way of thinking...especially when it comes to exercise and practicing musical instruments. Way to go on the treadmill.
Good for you! I used to be in the mindset that unless I did at least 45 minutes, then I shouldn't bother, or if I got on and only had time for 30-35 minutes, then it wasn't enough and I'd feel bad about it. I finally got rid of that thinking about a year ago, and now am perfectly happy to fit in 30 minutes (more if I have time or feel like it), because that's a chunk of time I can easily find and it's enough to make me feel good mentally and physically. We as busy moms/women need to ease up on ourselves--glad to see you're doing that as well!
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