One of my goals for 2009 is to get 30 minutes of activity in every day.
Now of course when I was on vacation, this was fairly easy to do. I had plenty of time, fewer commitments, and no particular schedule that I had to stick to. Once school started up again this week, I’ve been finding this goal quite a challenge. In fact, so far this week I have gotten exactly 0 minutes in.
It’s always difficult to get back into a groove the first week back after a long vacation. I’ve been so tired each day after school, and I also think I’m fighting off a cold. Which are not meant to be excuses, although I guess that’s exactly what they are. I like to consider them explanations. (ha!)
I’m not ready to give up. I’ve thought about it, though, because I hate not meeting expectations, even my own. But then I remind myself that challenges are difficult, otherwise they wouldn’t be called “challenges,” would they?
But in order to ease up on myself a bit and allow for some of the realities of life, I’ve decided to think of my activity goal in terms of WW Activity Points (AP). When I went to the Activity Tracker on WW eTools, I found out that on average, 30 minutes of moderate activity = 3 APs. (Disclaimer: This is what I would earn, based on my weight; your results might be different). So, that comes out to 21 APs for a week (30 min/day = 3APs x 7 days = 21 APs).
So, I’ve decided that I’m going to modify my goal and make it:
“Get at least 21 APs per week.”
Which means that I could go on a long bike ride on Saturday or Sunday and earn 10 APs (as I did last week), and get the other 11 APs during the week. Or, I could earn all 21 APs on the weekend. I know that it’s probably better to earn a few each day, but I feel like it’s better to get the activity in, any way I can.
I’m glad that I didn’t let my lack of activity so far this week get the better of me. In the past I would’ve gotten upset with myself and gotten very discouraged, which might have thrown me off my eating plan, as well. Instead, I spent some time thinking of ways I could still meet my goal, but within the realities of my lifestyle. I call that great progress!
Bella on the Beach 