This Is How A Perfectionist/Procrastinator Goes Back to Exercising

I probably had my mouth agape while sleeping last night. And I probably was snoring. And it seems like I was stuck in place like an immobile statue to the bed. And I am aching all over. It’s especially brutal when I go down the stairs.

Whatever!

I’ve put it off for long enough …

I am finally exercising again! (Squeal!)  🤗 🤗 🤗

I didn’t think it would be such a feat, but now that I think about it, my worrying about what to wear, where to exercise, how to exercise, how long to exercise, how often … that was just the perfectionist me procrastinating. I didn’t get it at first because I love to exercise. And I have no problem doing it at home. But I guess the body is a sneaky little thing, it likes to be lazy.

Well, lazy won’t get rid of my kangaroo pouch 😤 I’ve lost some post-baby weight already but, this pouch out front that’s just ruining my silhouette, it won’t go away without some deliberate physical activity.

First I had to get me a drill sergeant whose role was to tell me motivation started with getting off my fat ass 💥 (she actually said it like that!) and that, if it’s proving to be such a gargantuan effort to do something, that I should just start with blocking off the time. It didn’t matter if all I did was walk in place. Just honor that time as exercise time. Rinse and repeat until momentum builds up.

Well that’s what I did but the standing in place was a 5 min warm-up video by my favorite exercise team Daniel & Kelli, because as I stood there I thought “might as well”. And I followed that with a 5 minute cool down video because, having already warmed up I thought, “might as well”.

I allowed the first couple of days to not be perfect. To spend time tweaking stuff including creating a routine that would include feeding time for my baby. By Friday I had it down pat 👏 Which brings us to today’s glorious muscle soreness 🤩, proof that all I needed was to start where I was and improve from there.

So what’s the lesson here?

For fellow perfectionists/procrastinators it is this:

1. Get a coach/cheerleader/drill sergeant (whatever works) to motivate you because it really starts with your head. And if there’s nobody in your life that fits the bill (or you don’t want to spend the money) there are podcasts. I first had to sift through a few podcasts before I found Corinne, and her no-bs style of telling it like it is was just the kick in the arse I needed.
2. If necessary, start ridiculously small. So small that you tell yourself, “Oh what the heck, I can do more than that”.
3. Keep doing it and build on from there. You’re looking good, sexy thing! 🤩

A New Hobby

image source Miracle Aesthetic Clinic

I’ve been hit by a strong drive to reboot myself in the image department this year. It might be driven by the fact that I am post-pregnancy, it certainly seems as though I’ve enjoyed the longest streak of “I don’t care about my looks” ever, and now it’s biting me in the arse.  Along with wanting to do something about my clothes (or the lack thereof) came the realization that I can no longer get away with the au naturel look without some outside help.

Enter the mushrooming of beauty clinics in Batam, the newest of which is Miracle Aesthetic Clinic. With their  large attention catching adverts at every major road-side, Miracle Aesthetic Clinic promises miracles where everything about youthful looks is concerned.  Now if you remember this episode, you’ll rightly guess that these adverts were like siren calls to me. To my stoic and change-opposing mind, I justified it as – a reason to get out of the house and expose myself to the language, a chance at some regular quality me-time and that all encompassing “I don’t have time to do it myself so I need to outsource it” 😇😘

Reception and waiting areas. For some reason I’m quite particular about waiting areas 🤩

So last Saturday in order to get a feel for the place, I went in for a consultation. I was a bit dismayed that the reception staff couldn’t speak English.  All their road side adverts, all the headlines on their website & leaflets are in impeccable English so just maybe 🙄🙄 Fortunately the specialist I spoke with, together with an assisting technician, knew enough to help me consider my options.

Although I was interested in the Miracle Power Retinol Facial, retin-A/tretinoin being touted as the holy grail of youthful looks by my beauty gurus on Youtube, the specialist recommended the 3 in 1 Super Facial which also promised to lift my face to reveal better contours.

I scheduled the 2-hour session for the following day 🤩

I don’t know about you but in this example I’m really not seeing any difference between the before and after photos. I think they could use a better model 🤔

And, I absolutely loved the experience! 😘 The 6-step process was administered with great care and enough technical commentary to keep you updated of what was being done and put on your face. There was great emphasis placed on the newness of the materials used, they all came in sealed packs. I didn’t understand 80% of what she was saying but everything smelled so lovely and fresh that I just kept nodding and congratulating myself for having found a new fun and rewarding hobby 😁

I am not yet sure if the hobby part is in the vigilant observation of a monthly facial treatment schedule, or the curiosity to try the other beauty clinics in the process of hunting down the best. I already blogged about the idea of identifying your “special nooks” as a way of anchoring yourself to a new place in this post. At the time of writing, I admitted to not having any special nooks yet. But getting monthly facials could definitely change that!

In any case, here I am typing this with smoother skin that’s feeling a bit sunburned. It’s not actually sunburned it just feels that way. I am staying away from the sun in the next few days, should wear sunblock if outdoors, and might experience some peeling. But definitely looking forward to the next schedule, whichever beauty clinic this might be.

I Have Gone Off The Deep End

Exhibit A: The Mother of All Exhibits

I am extremely worried about me.

I have unconsciously started to wear exhibit A as a staple around the house. Last night, as my husband was taking yet another video of our precious little daughter (with me in the background), I couldn’t help but focus on Exhibit A, how totally ridiculous it actually looked, and the dull-looking woman wearing it.

Dull skin. Dull hair. Dull teeth. Dull body. Dull clothes … Dulled personality.

OUCH!!!

Is this what your 40’s plus being a SAHM/new mom does to you?

WHO the heck is that woman and what has she done to meeeeeh?!! (Meltdown central)

That woman considers a day “outstanding” when she can take a quick shower and brush her teeth! She wears  ill-fitting, post-pregnancy clothes in lifeless colors, eau de spit-up and that abominable headband on hair pulled up into a boring ponytail. She has a new religion called “Practical” which requires her to look like a giant speck of dust wearing silly pink stuff on her head.

And to make matters worse, she has just discovered crafters’ paradise: AliExpress.

There is no hope for her!

(Insert substantially long wailing episode here).

Are you still reading?

(Now the neighbor’s cat is supplying second voice to her wailing. Hmmm, seems like this might take a while, the duet actually sounds interesting).

The alien dust cloud with pink stuff on her head is walking around with a serious expression on her face. She has decided not to give up the fight. Undoubtedly she’s overwhelmed at the task before her but she takes solace in the fact that the trendline on the excel chart of her weight (because she has taken to weighing herself every day, dutifully recording it and creating a professional chart from it) has consistently been heading south. At least that!

 

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