It's Scary Friday

I love a good scare. Horror movies are my favorite, as are horror novels. I regularly pop out around the corner at my son with a loud BOO, and I love watching Ghost Hunters. There's one scare I don't like, though, and that's the fear of failing or watching others I support fail.

And I feel like I failed today: I didn't walk this morning. I'm not sure how I justified sleeping in to myself... maybe because of annoying Aunt Flo, or maybe because I'd gotten to bed late after working one of my other jobs. I don't know. (And maybe the fact that I don't know means I need more sleep.) I also know I'm frustrated because of hormonal water weight gain, even though I'm still eating clean and meeting my calories goals.

But after I did fully shake myself awake, get ready for work, and get logged in for a super early meeting, that's when it hit me that I felt bad. Emotionally, I was beating myself up for missing my walk. Physically because my body is finally getting used to exercising and missing the exercise makes it rebel.

I almost didn't even do a blog post today. I thought it was because I was so wrapped up in a priority project today that I forgot, and while that does have a lot to do with it, I kind of think some of my avoidance had to do with feeling I failed myself today.

The problem with setbacks is they can often cause us to set ourselves even further back. If you've had trouble meeting your calorie goals, or your activity goals, don't throw up your hands and give up. Fight. Schedule time for yourself because you are important. If you are healthier, not only you, but everyone around you benefits.

The most common challenge I've heard from folks in my 12-Week Shape-Up! group at work is that there's no time. There's time. Really. There is. Here's my Mon-Fri schedule:

• 5:30 - Get up and take the dog for a walk.
• 6:00 - Load laundry, pick up the living room, or other quick chores.
• 6:30 - In the shower.
• 7:00 - Out the door.
• 8:00 to 4:00 - Work
• 4:30 - Stop at the store for today's dinner (I like to buy my fish/chicken/meat and fruits/veggies fresh to prepare and eat the same night).
• 5:00 - Get home.
• 5:00 to 7:00 - Spend time with my son, make dinner.
• 7:00 to 9:00 or 10:00 - Work one of my other two jobs (one job two days til 10, the other job three days til 9). 
• 9:00 or 10:00 - Walk the dog.
• 9:30 or 10:30 - A toss up. Some nights I work one of my jobs more (like last night), some nights I watch a show or two, some nights I read, and all nights I catch up on Internet news and funny stuff. Basically this time until bed time is my time to myself.
• 11:00 or 12:00 - Bedtime. Depends on when I'm tired.

On the weekends, I work on Sundays. Saturday is my only real day off, so I spend every minute of it with my son.

Since I started wearing a pedometer to work and finding ways to do more walking at work, and walking the dog twice a day, I'm up to 45-60 minutes of walking a day. It doesn't have to be all at once. If I can do it, you can do it. So get moving.

I'm scared everyone in my group may not all meet our goals, and I don't like being scared.

So if you're having trouble meeting your own goals, rally! A new week starts Monday. Time to keep it going, and start fresh if you need to!

Today's image brought to you by Tough Love. Let's all succeed!