It's about time!

For several months now Jessica and I have been talking about how we need to start exercising on a regular basis, but we have never done anything about it. Most of this is due to the fact of just being lazy and being comfortable in our daily routines.

The past two months have been a change in this routine as Jessica began a new job which means she doesn't get home until 7:30pm or sometimes even 8pm. There have been times were we have been eating dinner close to 9pm. Before this, I was use to coming home and having a nice dinner waiting, and then plenty of time left in the evening to spend together. It's taken some time for me to get use to now cooking most of the meals when I get home from work, as we are now starting to adjust to her new schedule. I say all of this, because we now see the importance of planning meals ahead so that we can eat at a decent time and still have time to enjoy spending with each other. I'll mention more about this a little later.

One of the struggles Jessica and I have about exercising, is being motivated together. There have been times were I am motivated to exercise with my work outs, and Jessica with hers, but usually never at the same time. However, just last night, Jessica and I were talking and I think we are now both at the point were we realize we need to stop being comfortable, and start making a conscious effort toward a regular work out routine.

There have been a few things that have made me realize the need to start exercising and loose a few pounds.

1. Just in looking in the mirror each day, I see that having an office job where I sit at a desk all day has taken its affects over the years. My shorts and shirts don't fit as well as they use to, and I'm starting to become that person I swore I never would.
2. My sister in law Kim has been a big motivation of encouragement as she is always talking about doing something to stay active. Whether it be doing exercise videos at home, mountain bike riding, or going to the gym. Her and I "ran" a half marathon together several years ago, but I know that I would not be able to keep up with her now.
3. A friend of mine has lost 20 pounds in the last 6 months, and reading his blog here http://thejoshuacollective.com/2010/08/11/how-i-lost-20-pounds/ has seen how being determined, setting goals, making the effort is all that it takes. I think reading this and seeing the difference in him has pushed me over the fence.

For Jessica, I know that she can say some of the same reasons as I did for her motivation. At her new job, she works with people who live an active life style from running marathons, to tri-athelons and hiking. She has also started to make more of an effort to eating right with whole grains and more fruits and vegetables.

So last night was a good breakthrough for us, as we both expressed our frustration in where we are at physically, and how we want to break the cycle that we've been in for the past several months. So here is a little recap of what we talked about and realized.

1. We need to plan ahead and set goals: I tend to preach this to Jessica, but sometimes don't follow it myself in certain areas. So for me, the goal will be to exercise Monday - Friday before work. Because Jessica gets off work late at night, the only time we can both exercise together is in the morning before work. This will mean waking up earlier than normal, but if we can plan for this we can do it. To start, this will be our goal as we start out small.
2. Getting out of the house is motivation: Even though we have exercise videos at home, I've come to realize that I'm not motivated to work out as much when I'm at home. This is why we are going to join the gym at our church, as this is close to both of our work. If I go to the gym, I will get a better work out than if I stayed home and did a work out video.
3. Meals: This will probably be the hardest part for me, in changing my diet. Earlier I mentioned that planning out our meals helps. For me it helps in a few areas; one in just that knowing what we are having for dinner saves time, but more importantly it will help us to eat better rather than eating junk food as a snack. I have never watched what I ate before, but I know that this is going to be a key part to getting in shape and feeling more healthy throughout the day.
4. Having a workout partner: Part of the reason why our exercise was so sporadic was because we did different workouts at different times. Knowing that we will be going to the gym together will be more encouraging and motivating, for I'm sure there are going to be days when one of us doesn't want to work out.

As we start our new exercise routine next week, I'll check back in to keep you up to date as to how our progress is coming, and to let you know of any challenges we face along the way. I think that writing about it will also help with the motivation factor as well.

John