Falling Off the Fitness Wagon

by Karla Carrington (Subscribe to Karla Carrington's posts)
Nov 4th 2009 10:00AM

Categories: The Good, The Fat and The Hungry, Motivation

Fell off the wagon. Slipped off the wagon. Jumped off the wagon. Which one sounds more innocent? Then that's the one I am. No matter which one you picked, they all end off the wagon, which is right where I am. Running is something I used to do. P90X is something else I used to do. I haven't done either in nearly a month.

It started with the ending of Jake, the trainer. Our sessions began later and later and at some point, he just got too comfortable. Maybe it was just being in my home but either way, it wasn't working out for me anymore, literally. Jake was the glue that held my fitness together. If I didn't do anything on my own in between, I was guaranteed three days with him which would more than make up for anything I missed. But even after I let Jake go, I continued to work out and run. For a little while.

I guess not having anyone's eyes on me and my scale made way for complacency. I have been quite comfortable -- actually, way TOO comfortable. Oh, the creative ways I've justified this spell of laziness would both astound and amaze! I've sat on my couch with my feet up and come up with a new reason almost every day: My body deserves a break to my body needs to rest. I'm on a streak but this is certainly not a winning one.

I've given myself pep talks and set a few start dates, however, thus far, nothing. I'm not motivated and the only thing that's even been a hint of an inspiration is my co-worker, Jennifer Fields and That's Fit running columnist who ran the NYC marathon on Sunday. I practically interviewed her on Friday as to what her motivation was, how long she'd been running and how long it took her to go from zero to 26 miles. She patiently answered my questions as I gawked in awe. Before I could ask my final question, she said, you can do it too, Karla.

All I could think was that she'd be running the same distance I drive to my aunt's house in N.J. But Jennifer is such a gentle soul, I actually believed her when she said it. I believed her so much that I went running on Saturday and again on Sunday. I'm hoping I keep believing her until her words are true. Even if I'm not marathon ready today, I agree with her that I can be, one step at a time.

Comments (2)

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Jacki 11-04-2009 @ 10:49AM

I'm still reading, Karla. Keep up the hard work -- you CAN do it!

catluver42 11-04-2009 @ 11:01AM

I think we all cycle like this as I have been doing the same over and over again. I exercise faithfully for a few weeks or months and get proud of myself then take a break for whatever reason and it is hard to start again. I like to think of cleaning the house as exercise and simply motivate myself to walk around for a few as a small step in the right direction until I get motivation to start exercising faithfully again.