Distractions

Distractions.  How to tackle them? How to not let them take control?  What are my distractions?  My biggest distractions are my kids, my husband, friends, facebook, Television, crocheting projects, anything on the Internet that interests me, games on my phone, texting, sleep, food, breathing…..haha.  As you can see everything and anything can distract me from working out.  Being as good of an excuse maker as I am, I can take anything and turn it into an excuse to not workout.  It’s hard to ignore all those things that sound just so much more appealing than exercising.

The biggest distraction being my kids and husband make it extremely hard to stick to my work outs.  When I tell them we can’t do this or we need to do that in order for me to complete my workout, I always feel that I’m neglecting them in some way, especially my husband.  We don’t see each other that much because we both work full-time.  We work opposite shifts in order to not have to use daycare.  Roughly 4 days out of the week I only see him for a total of 10 minutes…maybe.  So when either of us gets a day off and we get to see each other for the entire day the last thing I want to do is take the time that I actually have with him away.  It is so easy for me to forget about the workout so I can spend time with the Mr.  The same thing goes with the children.  It’s so much easier to just forget about the workout and spend time outside or watching movies with the kids, or anything to spend time with them.  It kills me a little inside whenever I pick the workout over them.

This time around though, I need to push all of that aside.  I need to keep my long-term accomplishments in mind.  I need to remember that what I do now will help create a better life for myself, my Mr., and my kids. 

The other day my Mr. asked me to watch a movie with him and hang out.  I told him since the kids were down for their nap I needed to workout.  The best time of the day for me to workout is when my kids are sleeping.  Anyway, I told Mr. no, I needed to work out.  He was a little bummed but he understood.  The guilt melted away.  He understands how important this is and how I need to stick to it.  So instead of watching a movie, I worked out and he took a nap.   He woke up very refreshed and I finished my workout. 

Two days ago my eldest did not take a nap.  So I told her she workout with me.  That day I was doing Zumba Ripped.  She got bored with it pretty quick.  However she stayed very amused watching me attempt the moves.  When I got tired and wanted to stop she actually yelled at me.  One of my favorites was “move mom move! More hip!”

This time around not only am I determined to get a healthy lifestyle to stick; my family is determined to see me succeed.  My greatest distractions have turned into me greatest motivators.  It’s easy to turn the TV off, to ignore the facebook posts.  It’s hard to not want to spend time with those who matter to me the most.  But when they’re on your side pushing you to be a better person and to stick to the plan it makes it that much easier to put them on hold for a mere hour while I try to get my life back on track…a healthy longer life track.