Rebecca’s Healthy Living Journey
by Cascade Ice on February 9, 2011
The Flavorful Life is featuring several “healthy living journey” stories from Cascade Ice fans around the country, where guest bloggers tell us their thoughts on how they face challenges and come up with new ideas to pursue better health and fitness lifestyles. The following is a guest post from Rebecca Warren of Dublin, OH.
It’s the beginning of 2011, which means only one thing – it’s time to convince myself once again that I need to use the gym membership that I am committed to for the next seven months. I’m paying the money; therefore I need to use it to my full advantage, right? As luck would have it, I was traveling with my family through the New Year and I did not come back home until late in the evening of January 3, which means getting up early to go to the gym is out of the question for January 4 and I’ll start going the following day when the jet lag has slowly worn off and it’s easier to wake up. January 5: Alarm goes off at 5:00 a.m. If I get up now, I can be at the gym by 5:30 a.m. and back home by 7:00 a.m. and in the shower. Instead, I hit snooze over and over again until 7:00 a.m.! Looks like I’ll start the gym routine tomorrow morning. Yet, January 6 rolls around and it’s the same routine of hitting the snooze button.
This trend has unfortunately continued, and I have yet to get up at 5:00 a.m. to go to the gym! To be honest, I blame the Ohio winter weather. Snow storms, ice storms and every other winter blast imaginable have made it nearly impossible to get out of bed so early. I know what you’re probably thinking. Becca, why don’t you go to the gym after work? That’s a great question, and don’t worry – I have an excuse for that too! After sitting all day at my desk at work, working away for hours on end, the last thing I want to do is go get on a treadmill with a gym full of people waiting to get on the exact same treadmill I want to be on. Personally, I love nothing more than going home after work, making dinner and watching The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills on Bravo. Doesn’t that sound like much more fun?
It finally hit me yesterday – this Spring, I have a deep desire to participate in the Columbus, Ohio Komen Race for the Cure in support of one of my best friend’s recent diagnosis with breast cancer. In my love and support for her and her family, this is my opportunity to go back to the gym and make a difference for society, rather than just wanting to better myself. I understand that my own well being should be an important factor in choosing to go to the gym, but I am much more of a person who puts others needs ahead of my own. In this case, I am going to put the 1.3 million people diagnosed annually before myself and on May 14, I will be joining 50,000 other participants in the downtown Columbus Race for a Cure. Starting tomorrow morning at 5:30 a.m., you will find me at my local gym!