Yup. I did it. I took a walk on Sunday, which means that I have exercised once in May and have four more workouts left for the month. 100% doable! Admittedly my walk was a bit more leisurely than fast-paced, which is fine. I wasn’t looking to burn a ton of calories but to get out, enjoy the sun (and beach) and move my body. Mission accomplished!
Confession Time: I’ve Been a Bad, Bad Girl
Some of you may recall that I’ve been on a get healthy journey that was going exceptionally well. I was exercising, eating healthy and pounds were lost. And in total Tanya fashion, it worked so well that I quit. I’d like to say that I had a valid excuse for stopping but I don’t.
Some was likely self-sabotage on my part because I placed unrealistic expectations on what being “thin” or fit would mean to my life, so I intentionally screwed things up. A small part was due to boredom, specifically with food. I went fairly low-carb, which for a carb-lover like me is not sustainable long-term because it feels like punishment. And I believe a good, healthy diet should not be painful and needs to include a reasonable amount of carbs, especially if I want long-term success. And I do.
Time to Lace-Up Those Sneakers … Again
My friend, Kristen, made a goal to workout five times in April and did it, then set the same goal for May. And you know what? Five workouts seemed reasonable to me. Not too ambitious or overwhelming but absolutely 100% doable. So I set the goal and made it public. Yesterday I did my first workout in months and it felt good.
Beautiful Flowers, Beautiful Day
It was the perfect day for a walk on the beach. The sun was out at least during my walk. (It’s May Gray in LA, meaning part of the day is almost always gray. Boo!) I decided to grab my camera and take some pics along the way because it’s so easy to overlook the beauty you see every day, which I want to stop doing.
So beautiful and colorful, right? I just love that you can always find flowers in bloom year-round in California. I mean not on my patio since my thumb is black as night. ?
Stop and Smell the Jasmine
Jasmine is in full bloom right now and it makes me so happy. I’m like a moth to a flame, just wanting to breathe in its sultry scent continuously.
I accidentally focused on the leaf, not the flower, so that’s why the flower is a little off focus. Oh well. That’s what happens when I try to shoot fancy but I love me some good bokeh.
Sail Away with Me
I love boats, not enough to really ever want to own one but I’d like to be friends with someone who does! ? I live near the Port of LA, which is where Carnival Cruise departs for all their lovely cruises to Mexico and so on. You can also see the Queen Mary, an old luxury ocean liner that also served in WW2.
I actually live quite close to the ocean but the part that is directly in front of me is a marina. It’s fun to look at the various boats (and their names!) but I prefer actually walking in the surf and sand so I probably have to walk a half a mile or so to get to the beach.
It’s early in the season so it’s not crowded (plus, it was mid-morning). The beaches don’t get super crazy until it warms up because Los Angelenos are wusses. It was a nice, relaxing walk, even though I’m a little sore now – clearly I’m out of shape. Yikes! Still I’m so glad that I made exercise a modest goal for the month and am doing the work.
Tanya
You have so many cool sights to take in on your walks! I love those poppies! And the Queen Mary is so cool! If I lived that close to a cruising port I think I’d go on one multiple times a year!! Ha!
Great job completing 20% of your goal so far!
Poppies are one of my favorite flowers. They are just bright, colorful and HAPPY! I love them! It’s funny because you would think I would be cruising all the time and want to go on a cruise, but I’m a little intimidated by them too. Not boats, I love regular boats. But being on a cruise ship for days does freak me out a bit.
Love you made it fun… when you just take a walk as enjoyment instead of labeling a “work out” – ugh, it makes it so much more tolerable. What a view you had too!
Glad you have someone with you to help you along the way on these walks.
Yes! I think because in my head I make workouts to be such a big deal and such an awful thing that I avoid them at all costs. But when it’s just a walk, a simple walk by the beach, it’s not so bad. It’s kind of fun. And sure, I didn’t burn calories the way swimming or a power walk would have but I got out and did it and that counts for something too.
Congrats for completing day 1! I love a good walk with my camera. You are lucky to live so close to the beach! I’m not a big going into the water person, but I do love sitting and reading on the beach.
Thanks, Nancy! It felt good and surprisingly easy, since I’ve been avoiding working out for almost a year now. 😀 I don’t venture too far into the ocean but I do like to walk right next to it and enjoy it when the waves occasionally reach me, but don’t soak me.
I used to do tournaments in that part of Long Beach! I was never on board personally with strict diets or major restrictions. Unless you are training for something specific like you REALLY want to get into that size ____ dress by your wedding or something else, then finding ways to eat for your body that can be sustainable is, IMHO, the best way to go. I get push back on that all the time, but I’m pretty sure 99% of the people who did stuff like that, gain it back. Glad you got out for a walk. Pretty flowers!
It’s a fun area! The people watching is great and I love looking at the homes too. Honestly, I’ve never been a huge fan of strict diets either, although I constantly seem to do them. LOL! But I know that every time I’ve tried one, it’s worked for a bit where I lost some pounds (yay!) but I could never maintain such a restrictive diet long-term. Eventually I’d go back to eating the way I did before and the pounds would slowly but surely catch up with me. I want to stop the diet roller coaster and find the right way to eat for my body. There are areas that I need to put on my big girl pants on and get tough around some areas then find my sweet spot that works for me. Where my diet is overall healthy and good-for-me, but I can also still enjoy food and don’t feel punished 24/7.
Those photos are so pretty Tanya!
We definitely get nice weather here in SoCal 😀
We are spoiled. So spoiled. And I love it!