push through
Lots of factors can contribute to a setback and I certainly have a list of them.
The biggest factor in this journey is my back. Two years ago, I was diagnosed with a herniated disc in my lower back. It had me DOWN - I couldn't feel my left leg, it was hard to get up and down, and everything hurt. There wasn't any combination of drugs, therapy, whatever to make it better. I chose to have a microdiscectomy in October of 2015, and it was the best decision I could have made. I still have spondylolisthesis, which will require a fusion in the future, but for now I'm able to manage any discomfort with medication as needed.
All that to say - when my back is angry with me, it is ANGRY WITH ME. It doesn't take much to get things aggravated and I've done it. I do workweek challenges via Fitbit with some girls from work, and it can get strangely and fiercely competitive between us. Last week, in an attempt to place second, I overdid it and have been on the DL for the past three days. My poor back can lock up without warning, and the only thing that makes it stop is rest and muscle relaxers. Those things aren't really feasible during the day, obviously.
Another factor has been our strange weather. I walk outdoors, because I can't bear to do laps indoor or on a treadmill. I need to see something, anything, when I'm exercising. I have a planned route that I walk, which is about 3.6 miles. When it's raining, I don't go. Funnily enough, I can suck it up for 20 degree weather, but not for rain. I'm also limited in my timeframe - I have to go before work, because I know I won't have the time or the dedication to do it when I get home. If it's raining before I go to work, there's no walking.
Sometimes, though, the biggest thing keeping me from making the best choice in any situation is just ME. I know I need to get up and exercise. I know eating that food is going to make me miserable. I know doing X is going to cause Y. And some days? I just don't care. I want to sit on my ass. I want that PopTart. I want ALL those PopTarts. I want to complain about the scale. I want to use all my very valid excuses, even if they don't directly apply. But I know that if I get up, if I don't eat whatever, if I quit using all those excuses, I'm going to feel amazing. It might not happen immediately or that day, or even that week or month. But the payoff is coming and I'm going to see a change and feel a change.
We all have our go-to reasons and excuses for why we can't do something. Why don't we ever have our reasons and excuses for why we HAVE to do something?
The biggest factor in this journey is my back. Two years ago, I was diagnosed with a herniated disc in my lower back. It had me DOWN - I couldn't feel my left leg, it was hard to get up and down, and everything hurt. There wasn't any combination of drugs, therapy, whatever to make it better. I chose to have a microdiscectomy in October of 2015, and it was the best decision I could have made. I still have spondylolisthesis, which will require a fusion in the future, but for now I'm able to manage any discomfort with medication as needed.
All that to say - when my back is angry with me, it is ANGRY WITH ME. It doesn't take much to get things aggravated and I've done it. I do workweek challenges via Fitbit with some girls from work, and it can get strangely and fiercely competitive between us. Last week, in an attempt to place second, I overdid it and have been on the DL for the past three days. My poor back can lock up without warning, and the only thing that makes it stop is rest and muscle relaxers. Those things aren't really feasible during the day, obviously.
Another factor has been our strange weather. I walk outdoors, because I can't bear to do laps indoor or on a treadmill. I need to see something, anything, when I'm exercising. I have a planned route that I walk, which is about 3.6 miles. When it's raining, I don't go. Funnily enough, I can suck it up for 20 degree weather, but not for rain. I'm also limited in my timeframe - I have to go before work, because I know I won't have the time or the dedication to do it when I get home. If it's raining before I go to work, there's no walking.
Sometimes, though, the biggest thing keeping me from making the best choice in any situation is just ME. I know I need to get up and exercise. I know eating that food is going to make me miserable. I know doing X is going to cause Y. And some days? I just don't care. I want to sit on my ass. I want that PopTart. I want ALL those PopTarts. I want to complain about the scale. I want to use all my very valid excuses, even if they don't directly apply. But I know that if I get up, if I don't eat whatever, if I quit using all those excuses, I'm going to feel amazing. It might not happen immediately or that day, or even that week or month. But the payoff is coming and I'm going to see a change and feel a change.
We all have our go-to reasons and excuses for why we can't do something. Why don't we ever have our reasons and excuses for why we HAVE to do something?
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