Our Eight O’Clock Habit

They say it takes 21 days to form a new habit. It’s been more than a month now when the hubby and I started jogging for 5km at exactly 8PM during weekdays. Since I clock out from work at 6PM and we normally have dinner at around seven, we went for 8PM and not an earlier time.

The week before APEC, we were able to jog for five days straight! Our plan is to jog M-W-F. We’d do more if our schedule and energy permit. Our fastest 5-km jog so far is 44 minutes. Still slow, but we’re trying to do better. We sometimes alternate between jogging and brisk walking for a more fun experience.There are times also when Mame or my brother joins us. I say the more, the merrier.

We are serious in our efforts to lose weight to be fit and healthy. We’re not getting any younger so we really have to take better care of ourselves. And it starts with what else but our body! Did you know that I record my weight daily in an Excel file stored in my office desktop? It’s one of my morning rituals at work that takes only a few seconds to do. I welcome the new year at 130 lbs. and my weight has gone up to as high as 142. (This is still within normal, BMI-wise, for my height of 5’4″ but nah, my clothes wouldn’t fit anymore so I really had to do something about it.) Now, I weigh six pounds heavier than when I started. The increase may not be considerable and I attribute it to the fact that I choose to be conscious about my weight so I get to somehow control it.

Getting fit and healthy is no joke. It takes a lot of effort and discipline. While the hubby is aiming to lose 20 lbs., I am targeting a weight of 120 lbs. If you’ve read any of my dieting and weight loss management posts before, my target weight remains the same. It’s still a long way to go for us but we are determined to see results. We believe our eight o’clock habit will help us achieve our goal. Kaya namin ‘to!

Aside from the health and wellness benefits, I can name more good things we could get from this new habit of ours. For one, it’s a good bonding activity for the hubby and me. We get to spend more time with each other and talk about many things concerning our marital life (e.g. plans, work, family, etc.). Also, we get to use our running shoes instead of them accumulating dust in the cabinet. And more importantly, we get to avoid spending money because while going on a date or eating out requires money, jogging is a free activity. Haha.

Do you also jog or do some other form of exercise? How do you keep going? 🙂

May you choose happiness always,