On Toddlers and Treadmills

On Toddlers and Treadmills

I had the good fortune to be born in January. Which makes for a nice, extended, celebratory season that begins with Thanksgiving and ends sometime after my birthday, once all celebrations have occurred. My dinner with my family was this past weekend, ending the season of Deb.*

36/365

These wonderful celebrations always involve major amounts of yumminess, and while I’m not complaining, it does turn out that I’m much more adept at consuming calories than I am at burning them. I gave myself Monday to get over any post-Stupidbowl bloat, and had my moment of truth this morning – 5 lbs gained. Now, that may not seem so bad to some of you, but considering how difficult it was for me to lose even 10 lbs this past year, and I kept yo-yo-ing in that same range, I knew it was finally time to get back to business.

After lunch, I donned my workout gear, brought the child down to the basement with me (where she has a playhouse, a princess “castle” and toys aplenty to keep her occupied), and got on the treadmill. To pass the time, I found a Tivo’d episode of Gilmore Girls. Always a joy to watch, and appropriate “enough” for the girl to watch too.  Then, the inevitable. Just as I was getting into my groove, the girl wanted her diaper changed. Seriously? Now? After one little dribble? The kid really needs to learn to use the potty (a whole different post for another day) (maybe).

Fine. I climbed off my hamster wheel, took her upstairs, and changed her. I thought I’d get to hop right back on where I left off… but no. Little miss adorable decided she didn’t want me to get back on the treadmill. She went so far as to block the basement door. Together, we decided that perhaps a nap was in order. She gave up napping this past summer, but since she’s getting over a cold, I figured maybe she needed one. I put her to bed, and got back on the treadmill. Yay!

Um, guess not. In about 5 minutes, she was at the top of the basement stairs, screaming that I needed to put her sock back on and carry her down the stairs. Again, I ask, “Seriously?” I tried to convince her that she was perfectly capable of putting on her own sock, as well as walking down stairs. Two activities I’ve witnessed her perform quite well (ok, sometimes the socks are backwards). Apparently, she didn’t believe me. So, up I went to retrieve her. Cuddle her some, and then finally, I got to finish walking around Stars Hollow. Not quite the time with a sustained heart rate that I was looking for, but better than nothing.

Were this disjointed workout an anomaly, I might be motivated to exercise more often. But, alas, this seems to be the norm, and really quite frustrating. But, I’m trying.

Now, I have just one question. With the amount of friction created during this workout, wouldn’t you think all that rubbing would reduce the amount of material I have to work with? Ahhh…wishful thinking.

* Oops – I forgot – I have one more b-day dinner coming up with an old friend. Mmmm… Mexican food and margaritas!

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