BellaOnline Forums Health and Fitness Exercise Lori's Exercise Journal-Ongoing

How close are you to Disneyland and how do you get to go there and just walk around? I am soooo jealous.

Hope your daughter's foot feels better. You've heard the old wives tale for blisters? Run a bath with warm water and Epsom salts and let the foot soak. That's what my Mom would tell me to do.

Well, we drove into the parking garage and saw the long line of Spring breakers and we drove out. LOL. We have that option because we do live so close to Dland and have annual passes.

I've lived in So. Cal nearly all of my life. I even worked there while going through college. When I got married and had kids, we had annual passes most of the time. My kids think of Dland as their other backyard.

April 10: 1 mile walk with dogs.

April 11: 1 mile walk with dogs and daughter.

I wanted to go 2 miles but they just can't make it with me. Tomorrow I may go all by myself because it just isn't a "zen" experience when I'm toting along three little chis, untangling leashes, keeping them from being eaten by larger dogs, etc.

I saw your 20-20-20 routine and it sounds good. Maybe I should come up with a similar routine.

You deserve a "Zen" walk. Just don't go to Disneyland.

Not until Spring Break is over at least.

Tomorrow I plan on walking by myself early in the morning. Think I'll youtube Pilates and yoga routines to see if I can fill a hour.

It's just after 9 pm and I took the dogs out for another walk but this one was a shorter one because there were some big dogs roaming around and I didn't want them to snack on my chihuahuas.

A good site for Pilates is Pilates Anytime. You have to pay for a membership but you can try it out for free first.

Today didn't turn out as I planned. So, I took it as a day of rest from the walk/runs I've begun.

April 12: Rest.

Got immersed in writing and finishing one of my ebooks. Before I knew it, the day was gone and hubby was ready for Date Night. I got a lot of work done though.

Hope you had fun on date night!

LOL. For our "Date Night" he took me to get my hair cut. But afterward we got some sushi. Nice time together. I love that floating sushi bar. Not really floating but the sushi passes by on a small moving belt so you can pick what you like.

Anyway, I slipped on my exercise goals:

April 13: 2 mile walk/run while daughter, DH and dogs went on a shorter walk.

April 14: No exercise. Got so caught up in the Masters and family. Plus, it was ch-ch-chilly.

April 15: 1 mile walk/run. My daughter tried to take the chis on their shorter walk but one of them threw a fit to come with me. So I took her but on only a shorter walk/run.

After missing that one day, I found it hard to get back out. I kept telling myself, "Just get out the door. Out the door. Don't worry about how far you go or if you run. Just get out the door."

It worked. I got out the door. Exercise inspires me to eat better, too. This morning I drank some V8 and a 4 oz. Activa yogurt lite with green tea. I wondered if I could be brave enough to post my food journal to really keep me accountable like this exercise journal is doing but then I thought, "Better wait to see if how I feel when this euphoria passes. haha."

For anyone who is thinking about exercising but is holding back for any reason, I can tell you that it makes a huge difference just to start. You get the ball rolling in the right direction because it motivates you to want to adopt new and healthier habits in other areas of your life.

For me, exercise is not about losing weight or fitting into clothes. It is about overall health. Brain health. Body flexibility and strength. Well-being.

And, studies show that it doesn't take much to achieve all this. In fact, one can over-exercise. But even if you're not training as an athlete, you can still enjoy the benefits of exercise.

Gentle exercise. Even semi-regular exercise is fantastic. In fact, it is being touted as the one panacea for all ills, even the true fountain of youth.

I very much appreciate Terri for her inspiration. I hope this journal keeps me going. It's only been a week but what a difference in my mind and body. My pants are looser.

Talk about a rolling ball...my hubby has seen my enthusiasm and now wants to rejoin the gym together. I would like easier access to machine to build upper body strength. Right now, my arms are so weak.

And to think this all began with just getting out the door for a short walk.

Lori, it is so wonderful to hear you talk like this. I have found the same thing to be true. Last week I slacked up on my exercise, not for any really, good reason. It's hard to start back.

I have a cold and I still want to do something today. Maybe I'll do some easy yoga.

I'm so happy for you!