October Surprise

I’m snickering at the title of this post.  It has nothing to do with the usual meaning of “October Surprise” (as in something to do with the elections).  No.

Instead, when I checked this site, I was surprised that I hadn’t updated it since June.  The past several months have gone by very quickly.  I’d thought I’d posted a few times later in the summer, but I guess my memory was playing tricks on me.

The reality is, I started working again (outside the home) and have lost what was left of my vigilance with respect to working out.  Sigh.  I’m having to find new ways to fit exercise into my schedule, which already feels way too busy.  I no longer have entire long mornings to go on leisurely 4-mile runs.  Instead, if I do work out, it ends up being crammed in, either hastily in the morning on the treadmill, or after work in the afternoons.

I’ve also fallen off the wagon in terms of incorporating fruits and vegetables into my diet.

There’s no real excuse.  I wouldn’t even say there are reasons, beyond the fact that I’ve gradually slipped out of my hard-won healthy habits and slipped back into my old habits.

I’m reading a great book right now, though, that is making me feel an odd sort of new hope.  The book is The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business, by Charles Duhigg.  Considering how the subject matter – research into how habits are formed – could easily be dry and boring, I am amazed at how entertaining and engaging the book has been thus far.  Also, its main message – that habitual behavior takes on a life of its own, creating new pathways in the brain involving pleasure and reward centers, which then help to perpetuate the new habit – is one of hope.

For me, getting in shape and losing weight have always been about turning the tide of my habits…of sticking with reduced portions, vegetables, and exercise until those things take on a life of their own.  I spoke of it as momentum before.  The Duhigg book confirms my thinking.

So I’m working on some new habits.  Right now, the big one is to work out again, either first thing in the morning or right after I get home from work.  I had success on Friday.  I am going to do it again tomorrow.  I also made plans for what I will eat tomorrow (another suggestion in the “Habits” book).  I cut up some carrots and have them ready to take with me.

My “October Surprise” is that I’m back and going again.  I called this blog “Fitgirl4Life” because it is a lifelong process.