LAPS

At the beginning of last year, I took part in a two month blogging weight loss challenge, and even though I didn't win the challenge, meeting the wonderful people I met through the contest was worth every penny of my contribution to the eventual winner's prize. When it was all over, several of us wanted to stay on, to keep going, because the support system we'd formed made the task of healthy living seem less daunting than it had in the past. For us, it wasn't so much about the money, it was about making lasting changes, and knowing that there were others out there trying to make the same changes you were. It was about having somewhere to turn when you were having an off day, when you just needed to vent to someone instead of eating an entire roll of Oreos in one sitting. It was about seeing everyone else's small victories, and being inspired to chase those victories down yourself.

So, we kept it going. And it's been awesome.

It hasn't stopped me from splurging here and there. My weight is still up and down more than I'd like. I don't exercise like I should, and I consume way much more sugar than is good for me.

But, when I fall off of the wagon, at least I know there are people around waiting to pull me back on. And that's a nice feeling to have.

The hardest part of healthy living is always the exercise portion of things. I never have any problem adding fruits and vegetables and lean protein to my diet. I can do a pretty good job of cutting calories when I need to. Yes, I eat too much sugar, but even that is something I can control if I really put my mind to it. But exercise...

Hoo, buddy. There are just so many other things I want to do with my time.

Unfortunately, I suffer from something I lovingly refer to as 'old-lady metabolism', and when that is combined with something else known as 'you've had a baby...your body will never, ever recover from that', diet alone just isn't going to cut it.

So, I guess you could say I'm working up to it. In one of the Facebook discussions with the group, someone mentioned that her plan was to do at least 10 lunges, 10 crunches, 10 push-ups, and 10 squats every day for all of 2012. We call them LAPS, for short (Lunges, Abs, Push-ups, Squats, of course...), and even though it's not much, it's kind of a nice way to start the habit, I think. It's quick and it can be done anywhere, at any time, so I don't have an excuse not to do it every evening.

We actually started in December, and I am proud to say I can actually do the 10 push-ups now (not the knee kind, either), which I couldn't do before. I've increased the number of crunches, I've increased the number of squats. And I plan to start the 30-Day Shred here, sometime soon.

So, I can get there. I can make it a habit. I know that I can. But man...

Exercise still sucks.