Taking Fun Breaks
If you follow my page, I am sure you noticed my absence last week. I am not going to lie and come up with a silly excuse as to why I took the week off. It was a long weekend for the 4th of July and I pretty much took the weekend off to just relax. Last Sunday when I usually post I spent the day baking cookies for one of my bosses' birthday and I binge watched season three of Stranger Things. I was feeling a little bit of writer's block as well, so I figured instead of forcing out an entry that my heart wasn't fully in, I would just take the week off. Here I am feeling refreshed and ready to go for this week!
The plus side to taking last week off was that it gave me a great idea (as well as some time to brainstorm more future ideas) for this week's post. I have talked in the past a few times about listening to your body and taking time off of your routines for recovery. I still stand by that. I took around three weeks off of the gym after having my wisdom teeth surgery and do not regret it. I have felt like I have been overtraining a bit at the gym in the past and I have taken a few days off. I still think listening to your body is extremely important. What I wanted to talk to you about today, however, is a little different. What about the times you want to just take some time off of your routine? Maybe you don't want to go to the gym one day for a reason other than a physical reason. Maybe you just want to take a vacation day from work just to sleep in and relax. Maybe you want to postpone posting on your blog to binge watch a show you have been waiting almost two years for (wink wink). I am a pretty firm believer in taking the time off you want for these things, but I will explain further.
Let's start with the gym. I have mentioned so many times you are probably getting sick of hearing about it now that I actually love working out now. I've been waking up at 7 am every Saturday morning now to get to the gym. That does not mean I do not have days where I blow it off though. Last week I actually decided to skip out on my workout on Tuesday after work so I could go to my niece's softball game. There was no reason other than just wanting to do something for fun. I felt fine and got out of work at the normal time. I could have gone to the gym, but I wanted to finally go to one of my niece's games. I do not regret that at all. I want to suggest that you do the same but warn you to tread lightly. Do not do this too often as you will likely start to let it be a habit and blow off your workout more and more. Take it from someone who knows.I used to blow the gym off any chance I got. This doesn't just go for the gym either. If you can take a break from certain routines from time to time for some fun I would suggest you do it.
Another big one to go on would be your diet. I don't say diet in the terms of a fad diet, but just your every day healthy eating and making sensible choices. I am sure you can all guess how I feel about all the fad diets. I think it is safe to say that anyone who makes a conscious effort to make good choices with their eating has come to a crossroads with those choices from time to time. One great example would be a wedding or some other big function like that. If you are someone who is constantly thinking about their food choices and counting calories, counting points, etc. then I am sure you've felt conflicted at one of these events. I am a firm believer in cheat meals. I personally am still working on cleaning up my diet so I am not going to act at all like I know it all, but I personally feel like cheat meals are essential to success. If you are never allowing yourself the things you love, you really are only setting yourself up to fail. So with that being said I would say to enjoy yourself at a wedding or party. Allow yourself to have a piece of wedding cake and the steak entrée. Not to even mention it would be pretty rude to not eat at a wedding when your place probably cost the couple around $100. Don't be so hard on yourself. If there is something fun that involves food don't stress about it. Let yourself go off track for that day just as you would blow off the gym for a family function as well.
The most important part of this equation is getting back on track. Sure I didn't go to the gym the day I went to my niece's game, but I was right back at the gym doing my crazy rowing exercise my trainer wrote for me the following day. I went to a wedding with a friend recently and enjoyed myself but the next day I was back to eating sensibly. I am fully planning on taking some days off of work next month just for a few mental health days but I will get right back to work the following Monday and into my routine. The biggest part of this as I have preached about in the past is to get right back on track as soon as possible. Needing to go off of your routine for recovery purposes is necessary of course, but going off of them for fun is okay too. Always remember that life is about balance. Enjoy your life. Have some fun on top of all the hard work you put in every day. Just remember to do the work again once the fun is over!
The plus side to taking last week off was that it gave me a great idea (as well as some time to brainstorm more future ideas) for this week's post. I have talked in the past a few times about listening to your body and taking time off of your routines for recovery. I still stand by that. I took around three weeks off of the gym after having my wisdom teeth surgery and do not regret it. I have felt like I have been overtraining a bit at the gym in the past and I have taken a few days off. I still think listening to your body is extremely important. What I wanted to talk to you about today, however, is a little different. What about the times you want to just take some time off of your routine? Maybe you don't want to go to the gym one day for a reason other than a physical reason. Maybe you just want to take a vacation day from work just to sleep in and relax. Maybe you want to postpone posting on your blog to binge watch a show you have been waiting almost two years for (wink wink). I am a pretty firm believer in taking the time off you want for these things, but I will explain further.
Let's start with the gym. I have mentioned so many times you are probably getting sick of hearing about it now that I actually love working out now. I've been waking up at 7 am every Saturday morning now to get to the gym. That does not mean I do not have days where I blow it off though. Last week I actually decided to skip out on my workout on Tuesday after work so I could go to my niece's softball game. There was no reason other than just wanting to do something for fun. I felt fine and got out of work at the normal time. I could have gone to the gym, but I wanted to finally go to one of my niece's games. I do not regret that at all. I want to suggest that you do the same but warn you to tread lightly. Do not do this too often as you will likely start to let it be a habit and blow off your workout more and more. Take it from someone who knows.I used to blow the gym off any chance I got. This doesn't just go for the gym either. If you can take a break from certain routines from time to time for some fun I would suggest you do it.
Another big one to go on would be your diet. I don't say diet in the terms of a fad diet, but just your every day healthy eating and making sensible choices. I am sure you can all guess how I feel about all the fad diets. I think it is safe to say that anyone who makes a conscious effort to make good choices with their eating has come to a crossroads with those choices from time to time. One great example would be a wedding or some other big function like that. If you are someone who is constantly thinking about their food choices and counting calories, counting points, etc. then I am sure you've felt conflicted at one of these events. I am a firm believer in cheat meals. I personally am still working on cleaning up my diet so I am not going to act at all like I know it all, but I personally feel like cheat meals are essential to success. If you are never allowing yourself the things you love, you really are only setting yourself up to fail. So with that being said I would say to enjoy yourself at a wedding or party. Allow yourself to have a piece of wedding cake and the steak entrée. Not to even mention it would be pretty rude to not eat at a wedding when your place probably cost the couple around $100. Don't be so hard on yourself. If there is something fun that involves food don't stress about it. Let yourself go off track for that day just as you would blow off the gym for a family function as well.
The most important part of this equation is getting back on track. Sure I didn't go to the gym the day I went to my niece's game, but I was right back at the gym doing my crazy rowing exercise my trainer wrote for me the following day. I went to a wedding with a friend recently and enjoyed myself but the next day I was back to eating sensibly. I am fully planning on taking some days off of work next month just for a few mental health days but I will get right back to work the following Monday and into my routine. The biggest part of this as I have preached about in the past is to get right back on track as soon as possible. Needing to go off of your routine for recovery purposes is necessary of course, but going off of them for fun is okay too. Always remember that life is about balance. Enjoy your life. Have some fun on top of all the hard work you put in every day. Just remember to do the work again once the fun is over!
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