Sorry to everyone that checks in every day here at FSL. Life has been really busy lately. This happens to all of us, especially around this time of year. Juggling the usual stuff like work, family, keeping up with housework, taking care of myself by eating right and finding time to work out is a challenge to begin with. (I don’t know how you guys with kids do it!!). Add in running a small handmade shop, cookie swaps, family health issues, holiday shopping, figuring out a budget, holiday shopping, etc. and it’s enough to make a sane person crazy.
When my world starts getting too hectic and I don’t have the common sense to slow down, my body has a way of saying “Hey! If you don’t stop stressing out and spreading yourself too thin, I will make you slow down.”. Then I get sick. Like, out of commission sick. For at least 3 or 4 days.
That’s one of the benefits of aging. The older I get, the more in tune with my body I am.
To prevent burn out, I make it a priority to eat as healthy as I can ( I allow myself to let loose a little bit on the weekends…hey, it’s the holidays 😉 ). Lean protein and vegetables keep my energy up and the calories down to counteract those compost cookies.
By nature I am a night owl, but Mr. FSL is in bed, lights out by nine, nine thirty. He’s definitely got me into better (earlier) sleep habits. Sleep is key for me. I try to keep our bedroom as serene as I can. Clutter gives me anxiety which makes it hard for me to fall asleep. I try to keep things stuffed into the closet tidy in that room especially. If I’m not well rested, I am a very weird version of myself, lol!
Exercise is also a big one. As my schedule fills up, my time in the gym usually suffers. This is where I’ve made the most change in the past year. I make it a point to get there. If I don’t have some sort of stress outlet, I get cranky (that’s not attractive at all), make unhealthy food choices (um, chocolate covered potato chips), and I have a tough time falling asleep. I am a huge fan of weight training. I’d choose lunges and squats over a run any day.
However, I want my asthmatic lungs to open up a bit since we are going on our annual ski trip in 2 months. Thin air + asthma = ugly.
I am the Queen of Excuses when it comes to cardio. A few weeks ago, I told myself I need to do cardio at least 3 times a week…NO EXCUSES! If for no other reason but to counteract my holiday eating & pudding shots 😀 .
After about 15 minutes on the treadmill AKA DREADmill, my A.D.D. kicks in and I’m bored. Over it. I decided to try a new approach as an experiment. I am delighted to announce that so far it’s been working! I get my tail on the DREADmill for 15 minutes of sprint intervals (run fast for 1 minute, walk for 1 minute, repeat), hop off, get on the stepmill for 15 minutes of intervals, then finish it off with 15 minutes on the elliptical. No boredom, 45 minutes of sweating it out, and I’m feeling like I accomplished something. Win-Win-Win.
Gym time is 100% MINDY TIME. It’s so important to get that “me” time. I throw my headphones on and escape in the music and focus all of my attention on me. If you don’t take care of you, who will? Plus, you can’t take care of anyone else if you don’t take care of yourself. You need to be 100% to give 100% right?
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How do you handle the holiday stress? Do you love the weights or are you a cardio queen? What’s your workout routine lookin like? Let’s chit chat…
I like your gym idea. That does seem good. I find that switching it up like that really helps me too. I wonder as well how people with children do so much, it really just baffles my mind.