Pookies!
Marlene wrote a great comment recently and I can’t find it, but the jist of it was that she doesn’t WANT to put away her winter clothes because she loves the sweaters and layers of the winter, and that she does not look forward to the annual “unveiling” that spring brings where one regards oneself in the mirror and goes OH MAH GAH I AM SO PASTY/ASHY AND BLOBBY AND I’M GONNA WEAR TIGHTS THROUGH AUGUST.
PeaceBang is already anticipating this moment in her own life and has brought out the barbells and begun the Fruitless Stern Admonitions To Self that begin every year around this time. She has already begun the dire murmurings about the gym and short sleeves and not hiding in blazers and how uncomfortable it is to wear Spanx in humid weather.
Which brings us to … PEACEBANG’S LENTEN/SPRING SELF-CARE DRIVE!
We need your pledges now!
Keep them simple!
Keep them realistic!
What commitments can you make between now and Easter Sunday that will get you started on a more confident, relaxed entree into the brighter season (I know I refer a lot to the four seasons on this blog and that doesn’t apply to all of you, but I assume you can translate, and aren’t the days getting longer for all of us except for readers in Australia? I failed science, so don’t tease!)?
In the name of the Creator, Redeemer and Sustainer, the Mind, Body and Spirit, the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit, I invite you to choose three things you can do weekly (Monday to Monday, we’re talking pastor schedules here!) to enhance wellness, confidence and beee-yoo-tee!
Example:
ONE: I will do my utmost best to be a good steward of my bod by taking a nice, long walk 3-4 times a week and more if time permits. Preferably out of doors for the fresh air.
TWO: I will stretch and breathe every morning and make it a time of body-prayer.
THREE: I will work out my upper arms with weights every evening so that I will not hate that part of my body with such passionate intensity when summer comes.
FOUR (bonus!): I will eat my stupid vegetables, admitting that popcorn is not a vegetable.
Keep it simple. Make it a commitment. And we’ll check in once a week to whine or cheer, how about that?
Good idea.
Just a thought, my physical therapists tell me not to do weights/arms every day.Muscle recovery is just as important as exercise. So I do my arms, twice a day, then a day off ( I do a longer walk on the days I don’t do PT)
I’m drinking water. Lots of it. At least 60oz per day. In a few days, once I get through the peein’ every 5 minutes stage (pardon me, dear patient, I do so want to hear about your spiritual crisis, but I’m just going to scamper off to the loo… AGAIN!), it will feel good and cleansing and hydratey.
And taking the dog for longer walks, because there’s light now, and a nice breeze, and buds on a few trees.
Thanks for this.
I will be doing what Lisa is doing. Drinking lots more water and taking the dogs for longer walks. I’ll also be doing the rest of my Bradley exercises to prepare the bod for childbirth, including deep breathing, squats, back exercises, Kegels (what, TMI?), and visualization of a beautiful, happy, healthy baby who arrives AFTER Easter (I am due Palm Sunday).
Thanks, PB – it helps to write this down and commit to it. [My dear friend who had a baby in September is still doing those core and pelvic region-strengthening exercises and they are awesome for my bad lower back, too! I’m so excited about your baby! A tiny pigeon!! Please let us know when you go into labor so we can start praying! – PB]
With my wedding fast approaching in November I started talking last December about losing 40 pounds to look fabulous in the photos…well, I know I’ve got a long way to go on that and looking fabulous in photos isn’t just about getting rid of that double chin!
My commitment this week:
1. 64 oz. of water and my morning coffee doesn’t count.
2. Morning stretches with prayer.
3. Eating real meals at normal hours – i.e. not letting myself stay at work until 8 or 9 p.m. and then just snacking because it is too late to eat a real dinner but then never being quite satisfied and just munching mindlessly until 10 p.m. No more! If I have meetings or Bible Studies I will eat a real meal before they begin!
good timing, PB. i am typing one-handed after rotator cuff surgery this morning. so my commitment is less about having flabby arms than about having both arms functional. i commit to doing EXACTLY what my doc and PT tell me to do and keeping me on the path to full recovery and HEALING in all ways.
and if you need a reminder of why we do this, besides for how we look… just note as you are visting homebound members, if they have taken good care of themselves over the years. If not, i bet they are homebound at a relatively young age. I saw one lady recently, who is homebound at age 71. i am NOT blaming her, but some regular exercise would greatly help her conditions. and a lot of my parishioners are very active who are well over 80. makes a HUGE difference.
I’m the maid of honor in my best friend’s wedding. I have six months to less as much as possible; I’ve got an ample portion to give up, mind you. I had to settle my heart on these three principles:
(1) Move more–park further away from the door, do an extra lap up and down the aisles in the grocery store before I do more shopping, get off the blasted couch
(2) Eat less. Don’t go crazy about food and counting calories and fat and all that; just eat less! Yes, I have a cal/fat per day but if I go over, I go over. And, I’ve noticed that since I stopped being high-strung about it, I am regularly under.
(3) No internal yelling or berating. A few fries are not the enemy. A bite of cheesecake will not bump you up four sizes! Enjoy your food, and savor the really good stuff.
Flexibility in mind, body and spirit. I will do yoga at home daily and not just once a week in class.
I started already – i was so digusted with myself for the 5 or so lbs I gained during Christmas, I joined a gym. It’s been amazing. I’ve only lost 16 lbs (which is a drop in the bucket of the 100+ I need to lose), but I feel so much better and the change in my body shape has been amazing. All that belly fat is less droopy and jiggly if you strengthen your core muscles – who knew?
So I’ll commit to
(a)going to the gym 6 days a week (right now I’m going 3-5 times)
(b) drinking more water – any water is more than what I drink right now!
(c) continuing to watch what I eat.
This is a great idea1 It’s good to have someone to check in with!
very good timing – I am not drinking alcohol until Easter – I do it every year, with more or fewer slippages depending on circumstances – this year I am determined to make it the whole way without any defaults – and apart from the spiritual discipline the weight just falls off-
As Linda noted, the Fitness instructor at the gym said you should only do weights every other day — give your muscles a chance to rest and they’ll be stronger. Perhaps that’s permission to give our hearts/minds/ spirits a little rest every now and then, too?
And I pledge to up my water intake; to get to bed before I fall asleep on the couch (where I think I’m learning to make money in real-estate by osmosis, because that’s the infomercial that wakes me up at half-past zombie time), and to admire/appreciate one thing about my physical being every day.
Well we all must be on the same wave length… because yesterday I found and dusted off my workout shoes. I’m ashamed to say it took some digging to find them but we have been reunited and I’m planning to put them to use again.
My commitment:
1) Get my body moving 5 days a week – whether it’s a long walk, an exercise video, going on the treadmill… something that gets my heart pumping and my lungs working
2) Cut out the pop. Yesterday I took a big swig of ginger-ale (my fave) and noticed how it burned as it went down my throat. And all I could think was… that’s probably not healthy 😛
3) Have tea instead of a snack. I tried this once and it really worked… noticing that most of the times I thought I was hungry but I was really thirsty. And having some herbal tea really hit the spot… I have some peppermint tea in the cupboard calling my name.
Good idea PB! Always helpful to make achievable goals 🙂
Autumn in Australia and New Zealand! (I live in NZ) but it’s still short skirts and t shirts weather here. Won’t get coldish ’till May and never snows or even frosts much.
This post reminded me of this excellent article from the Guardian newspaper. Here’s a quote:
“It’s worth considering whether you could invent similar points-based schemes for other personal goals (exercise, hours worked, alcohol consumed), aiming for a maximum or minimum weekly score, rather than total bans or every-single-day targets.” http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2011/mar/05/can-weightwatchers-transform-your-life
I think the point holds for Lenten disciplines too. I don’t think Jesus was about rigid, absolute rituals i.e. the Sabbath being made for man, not man for the Sabbath.
Good on you to everyone making goals! I’ll look forward to hearing how it’s going.
My ongoing goals are to go to yoga and Zumba once each a week and walk 15 min to work every day (and try to walk on the weekends too). This is making me feel SO much better! I never used to believe people who said exercise makes you feel better, but it’s true! 🙂
I am hoping that by putting this out there, I will make it more of a reality.
This week, I will:
1. take my vitamins, because when I do, I feel better
2. leave my work at work, if I don’t get everything done it will wait, my worrying about it won’t help
3. work on not taking compliments or criticims to seriously, I will use my voice and affirm myself
Here’s to a fabulous Lent!
BTW I have a presbytery meeting tonight (and they can tend toward the torturous for a variety of reasons) so I imagined I was applying my make up as war paint!
Thanks for the motivation PB (my comment is under the It’s Time to Get Rid of…) I did schedule my massage and pedicure after that post. I started drinking water (anything is more than I was). I started parking a little farther away from the door. I have not taken second helpings. I will get on the treadmill.
I walk 2-3 miles/day after work going to the subway & go to aqua aerobics on weekends. Easier to do each day as the weather improves
Trying to give up ice cream for Lent but that’s tough
along with the arms, exercise those little muscles in your lower back if your back is up to it. I worked with a trainer who was emphatic that these kinds of exercises along with abs and obliques would help women retain strength and posture and avoid the dreaded “hump”. It doesn’t have anything to do with summer, really, but when I do it I feel better (along with the walking and all the rest).
I’ve lost 25 lbs since the 1st of the year by taking self-care very seriously, but not being crazy about it. I am following an excellent balanced food plan, the Mayo Clinic Plan, working out with a trainer, drinking lots of water (great to read all the commitments on hydration), keeping a daily log of food, activity, and motivation, and adhering to these 2 bright line rules: no sugar or honey, and not one morsel after 8pm. I’m getting much better sleep (who wants to stay up if you can’t munch) and feel great. A main motivation was the study that came out last year that noted the epidemic rates of obesity & depression in the clergy. I can’t abide to go into this career and feel hopeless about my physical self, so I guess what I’m really doing is growing up in my relationship with my body. LOVE the conversation here that I can say that.
I gave up smoking four weeks ago, so I commit to:
1. continuing not to smoke
2. running for 30 minutes three times a week, and walking for an hour twice a week
3. concentrating on maintaining weight until the cravings die down, then losing 10lbs.
This is such a good idea – thank you PB
[You’re welcome and YAY for smokeless you!! – PB]
I feel terribly dilinquent in only seeing this post now…nearly two months late…egads!
I pledge to drink water, to walk more, and to sit less. We had a brutal winter in Southwestern Ontario and walking outdoors was not safe…so now I am pledging to walk at least 30 minutes every day…today a colleague and I went to lunch and we walked…it was GLORIOUS!
I’m looking forward to bare leg season with such glee…yay for longer days, more time to walk before bed, for balancing stressful lifestyles better and for not beating oneself up.
Amen!