It took longer than I expected, but I’m finally back to the
blog. Back to a lot of things, actually. Once I stopped blogging, I stopped
exercising regularly (this was my first week at the gym in at least 6 weeks),
stopped writing in my diary, stopped focusing on healthy eating habits.
Basically, I stopped doing everything that had helped me get closer to being
the healthy person I want to be.
Not wanting those lost weeks to be completely wasted, I ‘ve
spent this week not only getting myself back on track behavior-wise but also looking
for lessons I can take from the experience. This is what I’ve come up with:
1.
Newton
was right. A body at rest does indeed stay at rest. Each day I didn’t go to
the gym, it became easier not to go. Getting that body at rest to become a body
in motion? Putting a man on Mars seemed easier. It took all of last week for me
to psych myself up to go back to the gym this week.
2.
The
gym is the key. Every building needs a foundation if it is going to stand. Going
to the gym is apparently the foundation of my building of healthy habits.
Without it, the building collapses. Last week, I tried to get back to
practicing healthier choices. It didn’t stick. This week, as soon as I finished
my first workout on Monday morning, those healthier choices became easier. Maybe
it’s an instinct not to damage whatever progress I made at the gym. Maybe it’s
a rise in endorphins from working out. Whatever it is, I get it at the gym and
nowhere else.
3.
I
need this blog. On those weeks when I was overwhelmed with work, this blog
felt a like a burden: one more thing to do on a list that was already too long.
I discovered during my “time off” that
blogging is a necessity for me on this journey. Like the gym, it keeps me on
track. It keeps me motivated. It’s where I find accountability and
encouragement. Without it, I feel perilously alone on this journey.
I can’t say I’m excited about being “back in the saddle.” I
feel like I’m treading the same ground I covered six months ago. (Because I am,
but let’s save that for another post.) I can’t say I feel especially motivated
to get healthy, either. I can say that I feel the ship of my life is being
righted again, and after six weeks of listing, that’s a good way to be.