My Fitness Story: Before and After Being a Mom

Many people ask me how I keep fit.  I finally have time to sit down and write my fitness story for you.  I hope this can answer most of your questions, and give you a little bit of inspiration.

I personally don’t like doing any individual exercise; I think they are always so boring and it’s easy to find an excuse to quit (for me,anyway).  I prefer competitive sports.  I used to go play badminton or tennis 3 or 4 nights a week with my friends, and play 2 hours every time.  Maybe I did too much; I think my hands got big and rough now, so you won’t see me daring to show them off.

After several knee injuries, some friends recommended I try yoga, so I started doing yoga in China.  But it was too expensive to do it often, so I invested in myself and took a course to become a certified yoga instructor.  I feel lucky I chose that path, because I could still do
yoga for my own fitness, and get paid for it, and have an additional skill for my life and resume.

Life changed 6 years ago, when I became a wife and then a mom.  Taking care of my son Red Bear and the house is a lot of work all by itself, and I considered it a kind of exercise.  I didn’t drive at that time, so Red Bear and I walked all over with his stroller, going to the park or the store.  All that walking back and forth was good to burn some calories, and I was careful not to sit or lie down after a meal. Instead, I like to find something to keep busy, maybe sweeping some rooms or going outside to work in our yard. I like to do those things to keep a flat tummy.  Some people may consider it work, but for me, it’s exercise and I enjoy it.  It all depends on your attitude.

After Red Bear started school last year, I got busier on my blog, and found myself spending too much time sitting in front of the computer.  I tried to get back into yoga at home, but as I mentioned, I’m too sociable to enjoy working out alone.  I did find another way, though.  We bought an elliptical machine and a stationary bicycle, not very expensive equipment, but they do the job for me.

After dinner and Red Bear’s homework and my blog work are all done, I like to play on the machines and watch some television program.  Right now my favorite shows are re-runs of “Criminal Minds.” It doesn’t seem like exercise at all when I’m watching those shows, and they’re just long enough to work off the calories for me.  I take a break during commercials, to check on Red Bear or email.

So, here are the rules I’ve found to keep in shape the easy way:
1.       Be consistent and be active.  Start your fitness habit and don’t break it.
2.       Find exercises you like, they’re the easiest ones for you to do.
3.      Take every opportunity to burn calories – take your child for a walk, walk the dog, walk to the store once in a while, do some gardening, or if you drive to the store, just park in the farthest place from the door.  Every little effort adds up.
4.      Watch what you eat.  More about that later!

What I am wearing: All the sportswear clothing from Athleta, Shoes : Nike ‘Internationalist’ Sneaker