My 2010 Goal: To be Fit

I’m not the most athletic person. In fact, I don’t have a pair of rubber shoes in my closet. The last pair I had that I wore more than twice was a pair in high school when it was mandatory to wear them for PE. I did buy a pair or two for team building activities at the office in the past decade, but promptly gave them away after.

I never had any reason to exercise as I would always reason out that I can still fit (although barely) in my clothes and just when would I find the time to do it?

Now that I’m 33, I’ve realized being thin isn’t exactly being fit. Not that I am still thin. But thank goodness I’ve finally found the right motivation to stay fit: my son.

1. An active toddler needs a mommy who can keep up with him. His joys lie in playing hide and seek, and being chased around the house. Even if the house is small, doing it again and again throughout the day will tire you out. And I only do this on weekends when we’re home. I want to have the stamina to run after him and hear him shout in glee.

2. I want to be with my son. Being sick before is just a matter of drinking a pill to make it go away, or staying at the hospital, which will be taken care of by the heath card company anyway. Now being sick means precious time away from my son and since I am still breastfeeding him at night, and for most of the day on weekends, he’ll pine for dear old mom.

3. I want to see him grow up. When I look at my toddler, I want to be there for him and be the best mommy for him. The emotional me even cries at night for fear of dying young. So, I owe it to him to be as healthy as I can so I can live to a ripe, old age.

So given the above, here are the baby steps I’ve been doing to achieve a healthier ME.

- Exercise. I bought cheap but nice exercise wear (Athleta) overruns and it makes me doubly motivated to work out. That said, I don’t want my outfits to go to waste so last weekend, I joined an exercise group at SM MOA by the Bay. It was tiring but fun.
- Walk more. It’s said you will live longer and gain two hours of life expectancy for every hour of speed walking, according to the American Heart Association. I walked around the village with my son yesterday. We’ve covered just a short distance, but at least I have started to actually lead a life that less sedentary. I’m usually just on my buns when I’m at home.
- I’ve started packing lunch for the husband and me. This I am proud of. I need to wake up 30 minutes to an hour earlier but at least I know what is in our food. I try to prepare healthy meals. Baked or steamed, and if it’s fried, I use olive oil. I also include veggies and fruits for one complete meal.

And here are my future fitness plans:
- Draw up a walking path. So I can walk regularly, I need to find a way on how to fit this walking regimen on a daily basis, without lessening my time with my son. I might need to wake up earlier so I can walk a few rounds in a village park where we pass by every morning or have the husband drop me off somewhere and walk the rest of the way to the office.
- Find an exercise buddy. And I do hope it will be my husband. We both really need to be healthier.
- Make it a fun and enjoyable habit. I don’t want it to be a chore. I want to enjoy walking so I will look forward to it.
- Join a 5k marathon. I’ve tried it before with friends, and without any preparation. I was able to run to the finish line, yes, but it felt as if my head and heart will burst out of my body. I was that tired and that is not healthy.

Wish me luck in this new journey!