Hustle--Week 1

Sunday, 2/2--Today, we need to answer the question WHY. Why do I want to set a 30-day goal of exercising at least ten minutes a day? The answer is simple and humiliating all at the same time: I get no exercise otherwise. When people (and by "people" I mean doctors) ask how active I am, I tell them moderate. And I am moderately active as I rise from the couch to shuttle a Daughter to her activity and pick up another. We are very active in that sense. The exercise part? Not so much (for me) anyway. Brian is totally moving all the time--he swims, bikes, walks/jogs. D2, that kid never stops! Softball, pretend cheerleading, tumbling in the middle of the living room, yoga--she goes, goes, goes. D1, well, I've set a really poor example for her. There's my why #1.

In December I was diagnosed with Metabolic Syndrome/Insulin Resistance. Basically, my body makes exorbitant amounts of insulin and uses none of it in the way it should. My body is and has always been very confused. How do I get my body operating in the way it should? Right now, it's with medication. This medication will allow for my weight loss efforts to actually pay off--my body will know what to do when I feed it good food. (I've got a fairly decent handle on that, thanks to My Fitness Pal.) According to all research, my body will soar when I add exercise to that mix. There's my why #2.

This will sound as an excuse, and maybe it is, but we do lead a very busy life. In addition to working full-time outside of my home, I also work almost full time (if the hours are to be believed) on my writing. The Daughters are very active, our family is very busy; learning to add exercise/physical activity is going to involve a great big ol' learning curve. But, I need to work in a work out on a regular basis--that's why I'm shooting for ten minutes a day. There's my why #3.

Today--this very, very cold Super Bowl Sunday--I plan on doing some 10 minute Pilates. If I'm feeling saucy, maybe I'll do two segments.

Monday, 2/3--

Everyday I'm hustling...

A while back, I read about the 30-Day Hustle. This seemed really perfect for me because I knew I would fail if I made a New Year Resolution. But, doing something for thirty days? Easy, breezy beautiful. But, I read about 30-Day Hustle on my phone right before I went to bed, so the details were really sketchy the next day.

I spent the next few weeks trying to find it again. Yeah, I suppose I could have checked my history, but I don't like doing things the easy way--except for New Year's Resolutions. I googled 30-Day Challenge, Issues, Resolutions to no avail and finally it was January and I posted my own Monthly Challenge. I'm not saying I failed because I did what I wanted to do, but I wasn't more productive, which is what I thought the result would be.

Last week, as a new month (or 30-days) approached, my friend Nicole posted on my wall that she'd mentioned me on her blog ... where she was finishing up 30-Day Hustle. Um ... Yeah. That's the word. And then my late night surfing came back to me, and I remembered I was reading Jon Acuff at the time. I enjoy reading Jon Acuff because he's so smooth, like a swimming pool first thing in the morning before anyone has jumped in.

Before I had a chance to forget, I signed myself up, and today is February 1, so it's time for me to hustle!

from my good friend Jon:

1. Find one thing you are going to do in the next 30 days.

I will exercise every day.

2. Make it specific. (Don’t say, “I’ll get in shape,” say, “I’ll lose 5 pounds.”)

I want to do yoga or walk or a 10-minute DVD every day.

3. Make sure its your goal and not someone else’s goal. According to Heidi Grant Halvorson, Ph.D. “People are even better at keeping their New Year’s resolutions when they feel that the resolutions reflect their own personal desires and values.”

This is my goal for me. I will encourage my girls and my hubby to do this with me, but I'm not going to make them do it with me. This is my goal.

4. Write it down and post it somewhere you will see it.

I'm ready to hustle.