CAUGHT IN SHUFFLE

How can you build a regular fitness routine?

Before my husband and I got married, we used to constantly talk about fitness.

“We’ll join a gym together.”
“We’ll work out together.”
“We’ll motivate each other.”

And you know what we did after getting married?

The exact opposite.

We were basically two toddlers left unsupervised without any parental guidance. We ordered food from outside constantly, drank way too much cold coffee during freezing winters, and slowly watched ourselves fall completely off track.
At some point, we both looked at each other and realized: “Okay, this is getting out of hand. We need to fix this.”

That’s when we joined a gym and actually started working out together.

And honestly? One of the best things about working out with your partner is that you automatically become each other’s motivation system. Sometimes it feels supportive, and sometimes it feels like a mini competition.

“Oh, you lifted that much?”
“Okay fine, now I have to do better.”

Suddenly, we were waking up at 5 or 5:30 in the morning, planning healthier meals, trying to stay consistent, and genuinely putting effort into taking care of ourselves.

But then… life happens.

Because just when you feel like you’re finally getting somewhere, suddenly you’re travelling, visiting family, or sitting somewhere in the mountains eating hot maggi like calories simply do not exist.

And honestly? That’s exactly what happened during our Kasol trip.

What started as a vacation somehow turned into unintentionally trekking uphill for almost two to three hours through the mountains. It wasn’t planned at all, but somehow that trek gave us a better workout than weeks at the gym.
And surprisingly, after coming back, both of us noticed an actual visible difference in our bodies.
Maybe fitness doesn’t always come from perfectly planned routines. Sometimes it comes from unexpected adventures, long walks, random treks, and simply living life a little more actively without realizing it.

👉 I actually wrote about that Kasol trip here: https://caughtinshuffle.in/2026/04/29/a-birthday-to-remember-in-kasol-mountains-cold-rivers-the-dogs-that-led-the-way/

But then there’s the other side of fitness too—the guilt.
The guilt of paying for a gym membership and not showing up.
The guilt of losing momentum.
The guilt that slowly creeps in when one skipped workout becomes two days, then a week, and suddenly an entire month.

And food? Food makes everything harder.

Because how are you supposed to resist good food in this country?

My husband is constantly saying things like: “You HAVE to try the dosas from this place.” And honestly, how am I supposed to say no to crispy dosas, creamy pasta, buttery dal makhni, or random café discoveries?

But strangely enough, somewhere between all the indulgence, there were also salads.

And I genuinely miss them sometimes.

Before him, I used to think salads were just sad bowls of raw vegetables pretending to be food. But he completely changed that for me. Suddenly there were fun dressings, interesting combinations, and meals that actually felt healthy and enjoyable.

I think that’s what I’ve slowly realized about fitness: there is no perfect routine.

We are not machines. We are human beings trying to balance health, cravings, responsibilities, laziness, motivation, travel plans, and life all at once.

Some days I’m the one forcing him to wake up early for the gym. Other days he’s dragging me out of bed because we stayed up too late the previous night.

And then on the third day, we’re eating dosa again.

That’s the reality of it.

And maybe the healthiest routine isn’t the strictest one. Maybe it’s the one that still leaves room for joy, spontaneity, and a little chaos.

Because balancing life matters more than following a perfect routine.”