The Struggle of Staying Fit

It seems like it takes a fair amount of effort to stay fit in our society. Obviously more so if you have a rather sedentary job that requires little to no physical labour. It’s a fact that the more active you are, the more energy you have to be more active. In my opinion, having a sedentary job is a pretty big determining factor if you have the energy to workout after work. That being said, it sounds like the best solution is to workout before work to get it out of the way, but then you have to wake up earlier to have enough time to do a workout and shower… after a terrible sleep from being stressed and inactive. It’s easy to be stuck in a cycle of excuses and negative thinking. Not to mention, not having a strong reason as to why you need to stay physically active makes it even harder to stick to a routine.

Know your “why”

If you don’t have a very convincing and good reason as to why you want to keep up with your physical health, I guarantee that you will not do anything. Think of the reason why we go to work. We must have a pretty convincing “why” since we do our best to go in every day of the week. Maybe it’s because you need to make money to survive, or you don’t want to get fired, or you are working with a coworker on a project – these are just a few reasons why we go to work.

I have struggled with having a solid “why” for staying physically active. I genuinely enjoy sports for the social and competitive aspects, but as an adult I have to go out of my way to find and pay for a sports league. I have paid for gym memberships, yoga classes, other fitness classes, recreational sports etc because I know that if I don’t have all of these obligations, I will not stay active. I used to be a personal trainer for a few years so I would workout between clients because I was already there and had nothing better to do. Now that I’m in quarantine, it has become very apparent that I don’t have a strong enough “why” to stay active.

I am not overweight, I don’t have any health issues, I am fairly strong (which may slowly diminish if I don’t do anything about it) and there is no need for me to have good cardio as I don’t have physical labour to do. However, there is still a little fire inside of me that thinks that if I don’t create good habits now, I will not be healthy when I am older. The small little voice I have in the back of my head will whisper the “why” to me every now and then to get me back on track. Ashley, you do not want osteoporosis, heart disease, or to be confined to a wheelchair when you are older.

Make it a habit

Somehow, I manage to brush my teeth every morning and every night. I have been doing this my whole life and thus, it has become a habit. So why didn’t physical activity stay as a habit? Well, in high school you sit in desks all day, then plan to drink with your friends on the weekends, and only some people stay in organized sports. When I was in school, there were only a few people that consistently went to the gym, and I was not one of them. I stuck to sports which is good, but I didn’t do it for the reason of being fit. I just liked the game and hanging out with friends.

In university, you sit in class all day then plan to drink with your friends on the weekends… or weekdays. It’s strange to me that growing up, we never really cared about each other’s physical health. I’m not sure what it’s like now, but it would be amazing if it was “cool” to go to a Zumba class on Friday night with your friends, or to ask your peers what they have been doing to stay physically active.

I think in order to make a habit out of physical activity it’s important to make it a part of your routine at the same time every day, but I think it’s MORE important to surround yourself with supportive people. I have a few friends that I can rely on who enjoy being active or who count on me to do something active. If you currently don’t have a support system with the same desires as you, maybe find people online who constantly support each other in their weight loss journey, or who just generally want to stay fit and healthy.

Do whatever it takes

When I find myself in a sedentary rut, the first thing I do is reach out to my fit and healthy friends, and ask them what they’ve been eating, what they’re doing to stay active, or even just ask them to go on a hike to get started. I will look at healthy recipes, google some workouts, or watch some inspiring YouTube videos on how to stay fit and healthy. Once I am fully convinced as to why I should continue to work on my physical health, I am a lot more likely to get up and do something to get back on track.

The other day, a good friend of mine who I often turn to for fitness advice said to me “just do something simple for 10 minutes – squats, lunges, push ups – as soon as you wake up.” This sounds really simple to do, but I needed her to say that to me because of how I overthink things sometimes. In my head, I need to eat beforehand to fuel my body, do a proper 30-60 minute workout, have something to eat after my workout, shower, and eat healthy for the rest of the day otherwise it wasn’t worth it. That is A LOT of pressure to put on myself every single day, which is why I get into these inactive ruts. The most important thing for your physical health is literally to just move. It’s not a big deal if you don’t eat before, or if it doesn’t make you sweat, or if it’s not a proper workout regimen with sets and reps… just do whatever it takes to move every day.

Support each other

I think that anything is possible with the support of others. I would love to read your comments about how you are staying physically active, especially during quarantine, and any other tips you may have to maintain a consistent routine.

Take Advantage of Quarantine

If you are laid off like me, or at least have reduced hours due to COVID-19, take advantage of this time you have to yourself. Yes, it’s easy to get stuck in the rut of fearing what the future might look like, but it’s likely to get back to normal, or at least a “new” normal. I have been surprised to hear from quite a few friends that they secretly are loving this time. I think right now everyone is feeling obligated to be stressed out and hoping things will get back to normal, but it’s totally okay to actually enjoy the “break” from your normally fast-paced life. If anything, I think what we learn from being in quarantine will actually help us in the long run. Let me tell you why.

1. Spending less money

For us, we are saving a ton of money just by cooking at home. We usually go to a restaurant to eat at least once a week, especially when our sports leagues are up and running. Yes, it’s still possible to order in right now, but our problem was we went just to get a different environment, be around people, and to get out of the house. Now that we can’t do that, we are forced to cook at home. This is something that will teach us that it is easier than we thought to make things homemade and prepare meals ahead of time.

We are also not driving as much since we can’t go and visit friends and family and thus saving money on gas. Obviously we miss being able to do this but the upside is saving the money. Again, on road trips we would usually stop and get food along the way as well.

We are unable to go to the movies, go bowling, or any recreational center so we need to depend on other things for entertainment. I think this will really benefit us in the future for when we are bored and need something else for entertainment. We have tried a bit harder for watching movies at home, making “nests” and homemade snacks instead of going to the theatre. We have also been filming YouTube videos as a source of entertainment which we are having a lot of fun with, and it’s something that we would have never done before. I think in the future we will try harder to work with what we have and think twice about spending our money on food and entertainment.

2. Planning ahead

This mostly has to do with getting groceries. Normally, we would have to go a few times a week because we would be craving something, or forgot things for the meals we want to make, or ran out of something that we didn’t expect to. Now that we are trying to only get groceries once or twice a month, it takes a bit more planning ahead. It turns out that it’s not that time consuming and it’s pretty easy. We look at everything that we have already, and think of meals around that.

We are getting much better at using what we have instead of loading up our pantry and forgetting about half of what is already in there. We are also more cognizant about how long fresh food can last and how we can make the most out of it. I hate to admit it, but an example I have is with spinach, we would use it a lot at first, forget about it for a few days, then it would get all wilted and we would throw it out. Now, if it’s starting to get a bit old, we have just been freezing it so we can use it later for spaghetti sauce or casseroles. I’m sure this sounds like a no-brainer to most people, but we honestly just didn’t pay enough attention to what was in our fridge.

There are also a few things we have figured out how to make last longer, such as growing store-bought green onions in water, or storing asparagus or celery in water will make them last longer too. We have learned how to make your own kombucha and sauerkraut, and have pre-made snacks that can be stored in the freezer.

3. Relaxing

Sometimes without trying, I’m sure that everyone ends up with a busy schedule. With work, recreational activities, meeting up with friends, baby shower invites, birthdays, meetings, phone calls, along with household tasks and trying to squeeze in your own hobbies – it’s easy to forget to slow down.

At first it was a bit shocking to go from 100 to 0 in a matter of a few days, but now that I’m settling in, I have found ways to take “me” time that I never gave myself before. Whether it’s cooking or baking something I never have before, colouring or painting, looking back at my old travel pictures, or doing yoga, I am realizing that I have been neglecting both my mind and body from what it needs. Of course, this is from the perspective of someone with no kids and no pets to worry about – that would be a different story.

Usually on my days off while I’m working, I am constantly thinking of what I should be doing to be productive. I am used to completely exhausting my mind by the end of the day to the point that all it can handle is watching TV. My boyfriend would quite often say, “you’ve done a lot, you don’t need to do everything in one day, just relax for the rest of the day.” This is something that I just couldn’t listen to. You could argue that it’s good to be busy to get ahead in life… but this also leads to spreading yourself too thin to the point of burnout.

I have found enough to keep me busy that I feel productive, but I have also allowed myself the time to breath especially now that I have so much more free time in my day. It actually feels wonderful giving that time to myself, and I feel like a better, happier version of myself instead of a stressed out stress ball that’s anxious all the time. I will definitely be more mindful of how I’m treating myself in the future.

4. Time to reflect on life

This sounds deep, I know. I think it’s important to notice what you take for granted every day, what isn’t working in your life, and what you’d like to work on for the future. Like I said before, I have learned that it is much more fun to not stress about everything and to dive into self-care. I also wrote a blog on being a creator and not a consumer, which I have been taking very seriously now. I didn’t realize how much I was consuming – on my phone particularly – outside of work. In the first couple days of quarantine I didn’t really know what to do with myself so I would just go between watching videos and scrolling through memes. I made the decision to delete some apps and took up some hobbies that I could do instead. I think this made a world of difference on keeping my mind busy in a more positive way.

I hope that despite the circumstances, you are able to take this time for yourself and make minor improvements for your day to day life. Now is the time to reflect on your values, make some positive changes, and exercise your creativity in the process.

The Joy of the Morning – Where Did it Go?

Source: https://www.poynter.org/tech-tools/2019/in-praise-of-the-morning-newsletter/

When I was young, my favourite time of day was the morning. I would immediately spring out of bed as soon as I opened my eyes, full of energy and excitement. I loved waking up to the sun shining in my room and knowing that my parents were already awake and starting their coffee. I loved all breakfast foods – breakfast used to be something I needed to have as soon as I woke up. I got to start a new day and choose what I feel like wearing, how I want to do my hair and I would think of all the things I can play all day. The smell of the fresh air in the morning especially in the spring and summer brings back so many memories and can be considered a part of my “happy place”. I definitely didn’t need coffee as a child because I had all the energy I needed. Even when I was at sleepovers, I would always be the first one awake and would have to sit and wait for everyone else to wake up. Going on trips with my family I was definitely way too excited most of the time and would easily wake up early and keep everyone on track.

Now, as an adult, I’ve experienced far too many sleep deprived, stressed out, anxious mornings where I absolutely dread waking up and starting my day. I feel tired, ugly, unmotivated and would rather just lay in bed all day. I don’t want to think about what to wear, my hair sucks and I couldn’t be bothered to wear make up. I skip breakfast a lot of the time now, partially to shorten the amount of hours I am eating, but also to save money. Most of the time when I am on my way to my car to drive to work, I just walk directly in a straight line and I don’t notice anything around me. Not the smells, the flowers, nothing – just dreading about how I have to show up to work and do the same old thing. On the weekends all I want to do is sleep in and go to bed early. The only thing that seems to remain from childhood is the fact that I get excited to travel and will still happily wake up early – the only difference is now I have room to stress out about my flights and everything that could go wrong.

If it’s not obvious at this point, the morning seemed a lot happier as a child. So what happened? You could say as you get older, your energy levels change among other things that happen in adulthood. I think that it’s a result of all of the baggage that starts to weigh you down. Anything and everything that has contributed to fear, anger, embarrassment, guilt, shame, or any negative memory definitely makes it difficult to want to jump out of bed and take on the world.

Now that I’m laid off and in quarantine, I have had a lot of time to think about things. I refuse to accept that my life will look the way it does in adulthood so I’ve been brainstorming how to bring back my love for the morning. I have really started to break down my habits to see how I can improve upon them. This is what I would like to share with you.

1. Phones are for Alarms Only

Yes, it feels good to wake up and see all of your new notifications and to check all of your favourite apps. It’s extra good when you are nice and warm in your bed and know that you have 15 minutes before you absolutely NEED to get out of bed. However, this also runs the risk of all the negative things you might accidentally see on your phone whether it’s news, someone’s highlight reel, or even just the temperature outside. So perhaps if we just don’t look at our phones at all, other than to turn off our alarm, nothing bad can happen to our precious mornings.

2. Gratitude Actually Works

Now that we have gotten rid of any chance of getting negative thoughts in our heads, begin the morning with thinking about what you are grateful for. You can even say it out loud. If you have a partner/spouse you can take this time to tell them what you appreciate about them. Usually, we would both go on our phones and/or complain about how we hate working. It makes a world of difference to just wake up, look each other in the eyes and say why we love one another. But gratitude can be anything really. Maybe you’re happy to have functional hands, or that you have food in the fridge, or that you are alive and breathing! This can be a very humbling experience and leaves no room for negativity.

3. Routine is Everything

I’m sure most of you know that your body functions much better when you stick to a routine. Going to bed at the same time and waking up at the same time helps regulate your circadian rhythm. Even doing this throughout the weekend is important. When I am working this is definitely something I find to be quite difficult. I honestly think it comes down to my routine at night which is also something that I’ve been working on – I might have to make a separate post about this. The more overwhelmed with work I get throughout the week, the more I want to stay up drowning myself in memes or TV shows until late at night when I should really be taking more drastic measures for relaxation – baths, yoga, dim lights etc. More on this later, but for this post, waking up at the same time every day will eventually lead to not even needing an alarm. When I am going solid on a routine and going to bed at an appropriate time, I find myself waking up a few minutes before my alarm every day. This is definitely more ideal than hearing the sound of an annoying wake up call.

4. The Perfect Morning

Instead of thinking about how the mornings used to go and how much they suck now, I’ve had time to realize that I can make my mornings go the way I want to and to figure out what my perfect morning would look like. This is as easy as writing out the problems and coming up with solutions.

Problem #1 – Feeling exhausted
Solution – Stick to a routine, make sure to get enough hours of sleep

Problem #2 – Feeling unmotivated
Solution – Insert gratitude here and everything else will follow. You don’t have to be motivated for something specific every day, as long as you keep moving forward.

Problem #3 – Feeling “ugly”
Solution – Take the time to wash your face or shower, brush your hair, wear something nice, anything that might make you feel better.

Problem #4 – Nothing to look forward to
Solution – What’s something that you would look forward to on a beautiful morning on the weekend? For me, it’s a nice cup of coffee or tea. For some reason, it’s a guarantee that I will have a better morning if I can to sit and enjoy the flavour of a nice warm beverage. Most mornings I am driving or at work while I’m drinking my coffee… both not ideal to truly enjoy it. I also love food… giving myself enough time to make a meal and find time to enjoy it makes a world of difference.

Problem #5 – Tunnel vision
Solution – Stop and smell the flowers. You don’t literally have to do this exact thing, but make a habit of noticing something around you. Stay in the present moment to get out of your head. For me, I need to remember to smell the fresh air and enjoy it the way I did as a child. It’s a quick reminder about all the good things that life has to offer.

I hope that you can find ways to appreciate every day, and enjoy each and every morning among the chaos that can be overwhelming in every day life. We all deserve to live a happy fulfilled life, so why not start to give your mind and body what you deserve. I truly think changing some habits and having a different mindset each morning will only provide positive benefits. If you have other ideas on how to make each and every morning the best one yet, please leave your ideas in the comments below.