A New Start

I've been taking about a month making up my mind to make a new start. I want to cut out sweets from my diet and be more consistent working out with my Kettlebell. It seems every time I say to myself, "Okay, today's the day I'm going cold turkey on any sweet thing besides fruit," someone says, "Well, I made some cookies. Would you like one?" I eat one (or two or more) every time.

I don't feel too bad about today, though. I had two fried eggs (over-easy) with carrot and parsley for breakfast. I took Ella on a walk and was exhausted. I got back and took a nap. For lunch I had refried beans and cheese and coriander/cilantro . . . and two small choc chip muffins. I snacked on about a fourth of a banana. I did a legitimate Kettlebell workout, three rounds. I cooked dinner: porterhouse steak marinated in red wine and rosemary and thyme from our backyard; a veggie medley: spinach grown at Unanderra community garden, tomatoes, carrot, mild garlic, and red capsicum/bell pepper seasoned with thyme; and red potatoes in dill and olive oil. Beautiful! Then, Nicole made delicious choc chip cookies and I ate several.

My Kettlebell workout:

SWINGS: standard two-hand swings with 25 kg KB
ABS: mountain climbers and other ab exercises
PRESSES: two rounds lying down and one standing up with the KB
SQUATS: two handed
PULLUPS: three sets of 7 reps each

I'm taking a four-week break from climbing for various reasons. I want to stay consistent with the KB until I get back into climbing.

I remember Jesus saying about his followers: "The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak." But I often feel like, "My body is willing, but my will is week." I know that my body gets rewarded for taking on healthy pleasures even when there's a bit of pain involved, but the hardest part by far is getting motivated. One thing that helps is when Nicole says, "You should go for a run or something; your legs are getting soft." That type thing is very motivating. Another thing is when I have a workout partner. Lately, my main rock climbing partner moved to Qatar so, . . . I wanted to take a break from climbing rather than just let my climbing fizzle out without that accountability factor. When I start back I'll seek a new consistent partner.

Probably the biggest motivating factor is my daughter. I'm 34 and I realize I really want to be able to keep up with my children when they're teenagers at least. I want to be a leader in health in such a way that they'll enjoy the healthy pleasures. Health is such an amazing gift that I want to revel in it rather than treat it with disdain and sloth.