Evolution of a Sedentary Writer

Welcome to the New Year! How many of you have committed the annual faux pas of a resolution?  Hum?  Well, I did. Again.  Although this year I feel I may have gotten it right.  I did not write on my bathroom mirror my goal weight or inches.  I did not post on Facebook an unattainable fitness achievement of a triathlon.

What I DID do was join a very friendly fitness website that is FREE!  My Fitness Pal.com As an aspiring writer I tend to spend a lot of time sitting.  You would think this wouldn't be a big deal since I'm also the mother of  two little boys, 5 and 3, with enough stamina to put the energizer bunny to shame.

My resolution for 2012 is simply this: I want to become fit and active enough to keep up with my children.

I'm thinking this should be simple enough.  I already chase, fetch, climb, & crawl after them as necessary.  I should get faster as they do, right?  Wrong.  The more they can do for themselves the LESS I have to therefore the slower I seem to be getting.  This point was driven home the day my oldest rode his bike without his training wheels.  He got faster, a lot faster, in a matter of seconds.  A curve loomed up ahead on the sidewalk, I saw disaster fast approaching and ran to grab his bike seat.  I wasn't fast enough.

Thankfully, he didn't get hurt or scared but hoped right back on and took off again screaming "Let go Mommy!"  But, the fear was already instilled in my heart.  I hadn't been able to catch him. And as all good paranoid mommies do, I thought about bigger fears.  What if a car stopped and a man jumped out to nab my small child?  I would lose him because I had become to sedentary.  Guilt swamped me.

Now, I realize my thought was a bit far fetched and reason has returned but I still want to be able to keep up with my boys.  So, my husband and I have implemented a few small ways to tone and strengthen our fluffy frames.  My Fitness Pal has wonderful and very easy tools that help you track your weight, measurements, food and exercise.  You can put in as much or as little info as you want.  My favorite function is the Track Food option.  You can enter ANYTHING.  I mean that.  I typed in Knorr Pasta Sides and up popped every flavor they make.  Easy peasy.

Another great site I use is Livestrong.com. I only use the mapping function because it is awesome.  You input your starting location and up pops Google Maps.  You trace your route and the system calculates the distance and calories burned.  Amazing! We go on lots of walks and bike rides and something about tracking my progress keeps me accountable.

And lastly, we bought an Xbox Kinect.  I have long sworn off video games for a myriad of reasons but we fell in love with this system.  The games are entertaining and exhausting.  My boys take naps again for crying out loud!  How could I not love a product that resulted in wearing them out?  Last night we played Just Dance 3.  My husband showed off his stellar lack of rhythm.  My boys, well, the oldest gave me a run for the lead score and the youngest he hopped until he collapsed onto the couch for a nap.  Success all around!

I think I'm going to achieve my goal this year. How about you?