I’ll be in Nashville this weekend at Blissdom09, hoping for 2 nights of uninterrupted sleep and a few sessions on the treadmill surrounding what looks like a really fun blogging conference!

Here’s to a better next week!

Good intentions

See this picture? That’s how I’m feeling today. The baby’s been sick, which means both I and my husband have gotten even less than the 5 hours we usually clock. This is the biggest reason why it’s mid-January and I have yet to get to the gym. I’ve done some yoga and pilates at home, but putting on actual clothing and driving to the gym seem like things other people do. People who sleep.

So: my “no excuses” motto? I need to figure out just how to put it into practice without joining the cast of the Living Dead. Do zombies get exercise? I mean, I know their diet is like sweetbreads-meets-Atkins, but maybe there’s some sort of graveyard health manual I don’t know about….

exercise demons -- what's holding you back?

Approximately 6 minutes into my yoga program this morning, the baby woke up and wouldn’t go back to sleep. Hey, at least I got 6 minutes in. But this year’s motto is “No Excuses!” So here are my personal exercise demons, with suggestions on how to overcome them:

Demon 1: Lack of sleep. Frankly, my 2nd baby hasn’t slept much since she was born. She’s almost a year old and she still wakes up at least 3 times each night. I’ve gotten about 5 hours of sleep max for a year now. Needless to say, this leaves me perpetually exhaustedzzzzzz. See?

Solutions: Put baby to bed in minivan outside Take turns with my husband to get up with the baby, on the one night on, one night off principle. Go to bed earlier. Nap when the kids nap. Sleep-train the baby (we’re doing this, but it’s slow going).

Demon 2: It’s cold outside. You know how it goes: who wants to get out of a warm, cozy bed to run in the dark or do yoga in an ice-cold living room? (Imagine that I’m saying this in a feeble voice from under my down comforter.)

Solutions: Sleep in workout clothes. Drink tea or coffee before exercising. Set small goals, like “just 10 minutes” — inevitably, I keep going once I start, but the minimal expectations lowball me into getting out of bed. (Shame! it’s the new black!)

Demon 3: No time. I have 2 kids, both in diapers, whom I love to death but who would suck everything out of me if they could. This includes exercise, recharge time (a pipe dream, but still), mealtime, and sleep. It’s the nature of the little beasts.

Solutions: Hey, you know who *also* has 24 hours in his day? Michael Phelps. So take back your day, in as small increments as you need. For me, this means getting up a minimum of an hour earlier than my kids, around 5-5:30am. My husband is still sleeping, so I can head to the gym for a quick workout. If the morning goes badly, I can exercise in the den while the kids eat lunch in the kitchen (it’s all one big room, so put down the phone). If there’s no getting away from the kids, throw them in the stroller and head outside.

Of course I have more than three exercise demons, so expect more tomorrow. What keeps you from exercising? Share, share. And if you have more solutions for me, bring ‘em on!

I was rarin’ to go: I signed up for a fitness bootcamp. I bought new sneakers. I bought some workout clothes. I bought copies of Shape, Fitness, Women’s Health, and more. I got up at 5am, ate a banana and drank some water, and went to the local Catholic school campus to run, do jumping jacks, bear crawls, star jumps, pushups, situps, stretches, more running, more pushups, planks, more running… you get the idea. On the 4th day I was able to button my pre-pregnancy jeans! They were my former “fat” jeans, but still. A nice jumpstart to my weight loss efforts.

Then, 3 weeks into the 4-week bootcamp, I got a stress fracture. Y’all, I died. The pain was bad, but I also had to spend November up to Christmas hobbling around in a boot or just lying on the sofa. 6 weeks of doing nothing but catching up on the last season of “Lost.” I was distressed and depressed.

But the boot came off just before Christmas. No more Frankenstein-like gait! Now I’m climbing gingerly back on the exercise wagon. Join me!