Well I'm winding down the first month at my new job and things are going well. I'm still in training and things are progressing slowly but that's to be expected, and to my surprise encouraged. I can't say that I've ever experienced such an employee focused company that goes above and beyond to keep their workforce happy and content. As I eluded to in my previous posting, this new gig has already yielded significant benefits for me on a personal level. First and foremost I'm getting to be a lot more physically active in general, just from being back to work full time and doing so on a large campus the requires a lot of walking. To further this benefit I have joined the fitness center and have started on a course of working out three times a week. I hesitate to use the term workout because I don't consider what I'm doing to be much at all, but it's a place to start. I was even surprised, well shocked actually, that they provide workout attire that's even stocked in my size so there aren't any excuses! My first couple of visits I was able to do twenty minutes on the treadmill. Initially I just walked at a normal pace but increased that the second time around by ramping up both the speed and incline, still at twenty minutes but uphill and at a greater clip. My last visit yesterday included fifteen minutes on the treadmill and then fifteen minutes on the stationary bike, so I'm up to a half an hour. That may not be much at all for most people in moderate shape but I have to say it's a pretty big milestone for me! Granted, I sweat like some kind of farm animal, or as I'm most fond of saying like a whore at a tent revival, but I have to admit I'm finding a great sense of satisfaction and accomplishment. It's a great start for me. I'm not yet doing this for weight loss and admittedly I haven't really done a lot about my overall diet yet, but I do tend to eat a bit more healthy at work. Right now it's all about building the habit and increasing my stamina so that I'm not horribly winded or dropping dead from merely walking up a flight of stairs anymore. I'm already sleeping a bit better and I'm starting to feel the improvement when I arrive at my cubicle after the long trek from the parking garage and not gasping and wheezing as I felt like I was the first few days. I had actually considered the idea of needing an oxygen tank at the ready, but that is slowly wearing off. Again, for me that's a huge step in the right direction!
The entire campus is smoke free, which I knew in advance of even applying for a position there, and it's been an adjustment to be sure going nine hours or so without a cigarette. That, too, has been very good for me in a couple of significant ways. First and most obviously I'm cutting down on smoking overall and that's led to decreasing the expense that comes along with the habit. My cigarette purchases are lasting me for a longer period of time. I'm not yet ready to take on quitting but I am giving it a lot more serious thought at least. I just don't think I'm up for taking on too many things at once quite yet. I'd like to get more fully entrenched in the fitness center habit and further increasing my stamina and comfort level before adding anything else into the mix. It's hard not to see, though, how one thing leads to another. Working out has made me much more conscious about my smoking and my eating habits, even though I haven't really done anything about either as of yet. I'm lucky that I found a new friend from my new hire class who has taken on the role of drill instructor and life coach. He works out with me and encourages my progress. He smokes too and so we both have things we want to work on. He has challenged me to come up with goals for 30, 60 and 90 days and I'm working on doing that, but right now I must admit that it's just one day at a time, at least at first. Yes, I have a laundry list of things that need to be improved, changed or gotten rid of altogether, so as time progresses I shouldn't have much of a problem adding things into the mix in small doses at a time. I have to celebrate the small victories and not beat myself up for not being wholly transformed overnight. I used to think that I couldn't do much of anything without first kicking the smoking habit, that I wouldn't be able to breathe during exercise or build up stamina while still being a smoker. I'm glad I'm finding that not to be true even though I know the day will come when that will be the next logical step. Am I ready to run a marathon? Hardly! But I've started down a road that will get me to a better place. On top of everything else my doctor will be so pleased. He's a big proponent of physical activity, like so many doctors are, and I assume he'll be even more happy that this increase in exercise has also had a pretty significant and positive impact on my blood sugar levels. Once again, it's just more evidence that everything is so interconnected. I guess I just needed to take the leap and start making an effort, any effort. I don't have to tackle everything at once and I don't have to be overwhelmed by all that needs to be done. I just have to start enjoying the doing, whatever it might be!
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