Off Screen

The Players, Miami, Florida, USA.

Much of my time is spent in front of a computer screen, sitting down. When I go to work, I spend about 9 hours in the dark, on the computer and when I come home, I spend time returning emails and time on the internet. In the winter, this is particularly downright depressing. While I'm not a couch potato, my work days always drain my energy, and getting a workout in is hard when you have to factor in eating, commuting plus other chores. You might be just like me. I've lamented in the past about my behind getting bigger from my mostly sedentary lifestyle but now I've finally taken a move in the right direction to be active and healthy.

In January, R and I joined a Y in PA. We both like exercising (when we have time to do it) and love having access to a pool. We had a fairly open schedule so we went about 5 days a week. If you tack on all those walks for Clyde, we were getting a decent workout. When I returned to NY, I had to figure out a way to maintain a workout without a regular gym membership. Gyms have to be accessible so that you can actually get to them to use them. If you don't have much of a budget, they can be cost prohibitive. For a while, I used my Y Away membership and when I went to my sister's house to hang out with her and the kids, I used her treadmill.

In one of my 'genius' moves, I also packed one of my Jillian Michaels dvds with me (30 Day Shred – an oldie but goodie) and was using it on heavy rotation. Her videos are great – you don't need much to workout, just some space, a set of light weights, and a yoga mat. I looked for more online and have since developed a routine for working out to her different programs daily. JM's more recent workouts are less repetitive and more dynamic. I've also started listening to her podcasts at work (R makes fun of me for devoting so much time to her) and they keep me motivated. I've since cleaned up some of my eating habits based on some of the suggestions and information I've learned listening to those podcasts. Calories in, calories out- maintaining healthy weight is adding and subtracting. Counting calories is something I've never really been aware of and now trying to be conscious of while eating.

I'm now waking up early to exercise before work (I'm a morning person anyway), eating a primarily vegetarian diet and heading to work on a good exercise high and have great energy throughout the day. Now that the weather is nice, I'm also taking walks after my lunch break and after dinner. I've also cut out lots of screen time at home. While my email correspondence is slower, I am living a happier life, off screen.

What do you do to stay healthy? I'd love to hear your thoughts and ideas.