Walk on

Putting one foot in front of the other is a great metaphor for life's journey. No matter what, we are moving forward whether we like it or not. So you'd better stay upright or you'll have some serious road-rash on your ass. Ever since I started working for myself and am at my home office and studio I find that I move MUCH LESS than I used to. When I worked at my corporate design job I scurried around that huge building like a rat on fire. I've always been slim and had a speedy metabolism. I would say my eating habits are pretty good...lots of balanced meals that are small. But over the past year and 8 months of working for myself I've put on about 14 pounds steadily. It has crept up on me and now most of my pants won't button. *sigh* With everything going on with my pregnancy losses I think the depression has held me in its frozen cloud. I kept thinking "Well, maybe I'm just bloated today." or "I'll start exercising tomorrow" and time has marched on. Lately, my idea of movement and exercise has been to take a shower and make my way to my desk chair or the couch. Phew! I always remember to breathe in through my nose and out through my mouth. Having always been not particularly athletic but active, I now realize how little I move during the day. So I'm starting small. I started walking on the treadmill. This morning, before getting ready for the day, I walked 1.85 miles and burned 120 calories. I went at a brisk pace but didn't try to go crazy with it. And you know what? I felt so much better about myself when I was done. I did it for a half-hour (and didn't care how far I went or anything) and watched the Today show while doing it. That Matt Lauer is such a cut-up. Anyway, I thought to myself "hey, I MOVED today...I DID something good for myself." And it's better than not moving at all. I feel like I have some energy right now and I feel a little bit more motivated than normal. So, I think I will try to do this each morning as a trigger to start my day. No more loafing along through the day in my sweats. I will get up, walk and burn off the stress and sadness, and then shower and *gasp* get properly dressed for the day (working for oneself makes it so easy to stay in sweatsuits all the time but this does not help one's state of mind I promise you). This will help me establish a habit and put me in my OWN workplace routine. Just because I'm in my home doesn't mean I have to act like it during business hours. Now, they just need to invent a fake boss--a life-sized figurine that I can position just outside the office door peeking in at me making sure I'm staying on track and not playing around on the internet during office hours. On the other hand, maybe not.
PS, I'm wearing my new shirt! It's this one.