Having a husband who has a job that requires him to workout can be intimidating sometimes. While I am sure that everyone reading this has some sort of workout routine, or at least thinks really hard about beginning one, very few military spouses experience that kind of pressure to be physically fit.
Personally, I do yoga and I jog. I try to do at least one of those everyday, but on top of being a full-time graduate student, working/volunteering part-time, and tackling most of the household chores, I’ll be honest, I do not always get to my work out. “That’s not too bad” you may say, at least you are eating healthy…right? Suuuuuuure! Do not get me wrong, it’s not like my husband and I go out for every meal, and inject sugar and fat into our veins, but I do not always make the healthiest of meals. Dinner is often ground turkey spaghetti, tacos, fajitas, and this really yummy steak sandwich thing that consists of a loaf of ciabatta bread, steak, and LOTS of cheese. Neither my husband, nor myself are obese, but, I could stand to lose a few pounds. That’s where deployments, TDYs, and field exercises come into play.
Military spouses get opportunities that other wives do not get. We get time away from our husbands, which absolutely sucks, but can be used to our advantage. While my husband is away, I can focus on myself. I love being his wife. I love cooking for us, sewing on patches and names tags, and exploring new places with him, and I hate when he is away. Rather than mope around (okay, mope around ALL the time), I use the time to reset my body.
I live a low-calorie, low-carbohydrate, active life. My husband is not all about a breadless, pasta-less, life, and honestly, I would not want to be all the time. That is why I do it when he is away. No one really thinks about how much the small stuff: cooking, cleaning, and overall, spending time with your spouse takes. Personally, I like to spend every moment I can with him. Those moments add up, and when I do not get to have those moments I delve more into my yoga practice, jog harder, and eat whatever low calorie, low-carb meal I please.
When my husband first joined the army and went to basic and OCS, I was able to shed the weight that I had gained “treasuring” every moment with my husband, which usually consist of eating and lounging with Netflix. Now he on a 5 month TDY, and while he is away, I am back at my home yoga studio, shedding the weight I lost between last year’s reunion and this year’s departure.
Do you use military separations to make lifestyle changes?
Tamala Malerk is an army wife, graduate student, and avid yogi. She enjoys Starbucks coffee (well, when she is consuming carbs), collecting comic books, and writing her basset hound’s blog Adventures of Otto.
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