By Dr Irwin Lim, Rheumatologist
I shared with you my New Year's Resolution to be healthier. The 1st 3 months were relatively easy. I was pretty pumped and was exercising 5, even 6 times a week. And it yielded results (read One Less Fat Rheumatologist).
The last 3 months have been much harder.
During this time, I've travelled overseas 3 times for a mixture of business/pleasure. As you can imagine, lots of food and drink, and negligible exercise. Travelling's also very disruptive to a routine and it usually takes me a few weeks to re-establish my usual "habits".
Work has been busy (pay-back for going overseas!) and our 3 young kids lead busy lives with various activities requiring parental supervision/transportation.
Worse still, my wife, Mary is also losing her motivation. It's much easier if your spouse/partner is sharing your journey to better health as you tend to push each other along. Cooking different meals just does not work long term.
To top it off, winter has arrived down under. It was really hard to wake up this Sunday morning, in the dark and cold, to exercise.
Excuses, excuses, excuses.
I've heard it all before. I'm sure you can appreciate all these reasons.
I think I'm still on track, exercising 3 times a week and still eating more smartly. I think that's because I've managed to make these a habit.
But it's definitely more of a chore.
I'd love to hear what you think, either as someone who needs motivation or someone who motivates.
