Friday, December 31, 2010

Patterns: the obligatory end-of-the-year review post


Quote du jour: My life seemed to be a series of events and accidents. Yet when I look back I see a pattern. -Benoît Mandelbrot

Things I've learned:
Looking back from the time I've started this blog, I really have actually learned things.

- Exercise is for every day, not special occasions. If you force yourself to exercise every day, eventually, eventually, eventually it becomes a habit to do something every day.

- Vegetables aren't all bad. And I love the way I feel after I eat a salad -- light, full of energy -- as opposed to how I feel after I eat a McGreasy burger.

- Even a fat chick can train to run a 5k, do 100 push ups, 200 situps, or 200 squats.

- An injury doesn't mean I need to stop exercising.

Things I still need to pound into my thick skull:

- I still react the wrong way to stress and negative things thrown at me. I want to eat bad food, drink wine, curl up in a ball under a fluffy comforter until the mean people go away. I want to be the kind of person who will get on the elliptical and sweat the anger/fear/frustration/hurt feelings away. And then go calmly confront the mean person, who probably didn't mean to be quite that mean, if you see what I mean.

- It's okay to push myself a bit more sometimes. I don't know my limits until I injure myself, but that's okay. I learn, I avoid the problem next time, and I keep going even if it's at a slower pace or through a different form of exercise.

- However, when I do injure myself, I need to stop and not try to stubborn my way through the pain.

- My exercise plan doesn't have to be followed perfectly; my diet plan doesn't have to be followed perfectly. They just have to be followed. I don't have to be perfect.

Exercise du jour: Wanna do the 3 mile jog. The sun is shining, but it's also cold out there. If the asthma kicks in and I can't jog, I can walk. Or I can whine stay indoors and lift weights. One way or another, I'm going to get a gold star up here.
Done! No, not the jog. I walked instead, but to make up for the slackness of not running I extended the walk to 5-1/2 miles instead. Very brisk walking, thanks to the cold. It was exercise, definitely. (HBBC 5)

Happy New Year!


Mandelbrot set courtesy of SiriusB.

6 comments:

messymimi said...

A blessed and beautiful New Year to you and yours.

Now go start the year right, with a gold star.

Cat said...

Happy New Year. I love your bit about the mean people. And understood it perfectly... You do deserve a star for your blog! So, go out and exercise, we blog buddies are cheering you on!

* <--- gold

Cat

Shelley said...

Happy New Year, Merry - it's been a pleasure to follow your journey and I look forward to seeing where 2011 leads you!

rssasrb said...

Go, Merry.

Love your attitude. I'm going to try and emulate you next year.

Happy New Year.

You add interest, humor, and fun to my days. THank you.

Anonymous said...

You have accomplished SO much this year! Can't wait to discuss it all, and so much more. You are an inspiration to this Oregon Slug (not just Inner Slug, but really, a Slug).
Julie

Gina Fit by 41 Maybe 42 said...

Excellent post and reminders. Our fitness journey doesn't have to be an all-or-nothing deal. I like how you give yourself room to not be perfect.

Love the quote.