Fitness Friday: Embarking on a Fitness Journey

One of the main things I’ve wanted to do for the last several months is get myself into better shape. I live a fairly sedentary life. I have a desk job where I spend an unbelievable amount of time staring at a computer screen. I work from home, so I don’t get out much unless I make myself.

Thanks to my Fitbit, I’ve already lost all of my baby weight and am not interested in weight loss. I just would like to be physically stronger and for my flabby mom body to have a little more tone. If I could finally rid myself of my mother’s apron, that would be fantastic, too, although I recognize that short of surgery, there may be nothing I can do for excess skin. That’s okay. I can keep tucking my belly into my pants, and no one but my husband will be the wiser.

I’d like to run a weekly series on what I’m doing to get myself into better shape or specific fitness issues I’m targeting. The main things I’m doing right now are free pilates and yoga work outs I’ve found on YouTube, Zumba, drinking lots of water, meal planning, and walking a lot throughout the day. I’ll write about all these things at some point and share with you how successful they are, and by successful I mean:

• Do I feel better?
• Have I noticed improved stamina, strength and muscle tone?
• Am I able to do more in my work outs?

I will probably also write about fitness and parenting. I think it’s important that I model for my daughter a healthy lifestyle, which includes eating a healthy and balanced diet, eating for sustenance and not for pleasure or emotional reasons, exercising and being active, and also having a healthy body image. I tend to be very negative about my appearance, and I’d like to remain body positive in front of my daughter, so that at least from me, she gets the message that our bodies exist to enable us to do things, not to look good. Not that there is anything wrong with looking good, but I think it should be the result of healthiness, happiness, and self-confidence, and not fear, shame, and self-loathing.

Beyond that, I also want to talk about how to balance fitness into the busy life of a parent. Our modern lifestyles are so unhealthy–sedentary, dehydrated, and packed with sugary, salty processed foods–and it’s hard to fit fitness into our schedules. It’s something we have to go out of our ways to do. I want to figure out ways to make fitness more central to my daily life.

Above all, this will be a process of trial and error. I am by no means a fitness expert. I just want to find a lifestyle that works for me and my family and promotes overall wellness and health. I hope along the way I can share what’s working for me and what’s not, and that someone else will find it beneficial. If any of you have any tips or requests, please let me know!