Your Attention, Please

I haven't been here in a while. But the idea for this post has been bouncing around in my head for a few days and the early morning stars have aligned for me to get it down. Here goes.

I've been thinking a lot about my exercise lately, or rather my lack of it. After the half ironman last September the foundation of my routine began to crumble. Even when I was training my diet slipped into disrepair, something I discussed over the summer. I took time off when the race was over and never established an overwinter training plan. I stopped blogging. School started and my job changed. I lost focus. I woke up one day and was fat. Aw Jeez.

I asked myself, "how did I get here, again?" When my clothes didn't fit I tried on the old excuses, "I have no time," "the kids make me busy," "I'm working too much." The last item might have some merit but time is constant and the kids sleep 13 hours a day. So what happened?

A friend told me she is using "The Biggest Loser" cookbook to make healthy foods for herself and her boyfriend. That got me thinking about how that program works. An overweight person goes on television. With the support of coaches, nutritionists, doctors and millions of viewers they attempt as a team to lose weight and beat the other team in a weight loss race. Brilliant. Such an environment would allow me to meet my weight loss goals in about 3 weeks. Why? It would hold 100% of my attention on my goals to lose weight and be fit.

Training for the half iron held my attention last year. I was so worried about it I made sure I met my training goals. I read my daily plan, made sure I had all my workout stuff, and ran, swam, and biked to my heart's content. I've lost weight before. We use terms like "willpower" to put a label on one's ability to stay on a diet. When you slip, or don't work out, you can feel like a failure and think you don't have willpower. I disagree. The diet or activity chosen may be too difficult to hold your attention. Other things in your life may be so profound they draw your attention away. Right now I'm involved in two huge projects at work. I travel up and down the east coast to work on them. They are SO exciting and fun. The work is difficult and I haven't used my brain like this in years. They make me tired. So tired I must wring out enough energy to enjoy my family, and spend time with my husband and kids.

"Make time for yourself." We hear that a lot. It's a nice idea. "Make exercise as simple as brushing your teeth." That's where I'm heading. Instead of making my training require 40% of my attention I have to dial it down...keep it low level, easy, a no-brainer. I need my mental energy and focus for my family and work. I wish it wasn't like that but I accept it.

So what's the plan, Stanley? I'm going back to my exercise "snacking." The weights are back under the sink in the upstairs bathroom. A pair of sneakers are in the desk at work for quick lunchtime walks. I make sure to pack my swim and exercise stuff when I travel and ALWAYS get a workout in at the hotel. I'm composing a mail in my head to my bike buddy - I trade home cooking for maintenance. A freshly tuned pair of bikes for riding is good incentive to get outside. I'm trying to draw my attention back to getting the workouts in and setting some boundaries for my work.

As for my diet I'm working to make better choices. The airport Starbucks sells cups of gorgeous fruit salad. At 140 calories it made me feel good and was delicious. There is much fattening fare on the road but only if you pick it. I'm so overfed lately the rich food doesn't taste good. Portions are typically huge but I'm looking hard at the plate and deciding what I'm hungry for. I leave the rest. I say, "no french fries, please."

I'm writing today because Spring is here. Well, not here in Maine but calendar here. I'm uncomfortable in my skin. I will be racing this summer and need to move it, move it. My clothes don't fit and that has my attention, bigtime.

Yours in training,
Annette