I know I've been gone for what feels like half a century. I'm going to skip the apologies and just say that I had a wonderful summer full of work, play, travel, family and friends. Maybe I'll recap my recent road trip, but no promises!
Anyway the reason I felt like writing today has to do with exercise. I am going to be 100% honest and say that it has been far too long since I did anything aside from cardio. For a good chunk of the summer, my childhood friend Ali and I tried to meet up in the evenings and power walk a couple of miles. It was great to have some walk and talk time, but it wasn't too rigorous (as in, better for our sanity than our quads, but it was still very valuable.) While I was on my road trip, we stopped at a few beautiful places to stretch our legs and do a little exploring. A couple miles a day, but again nothing major. As the summer progressed I started feeling pretty crappy about my body. My self esteem tanked and I felt myself heading down a bumpy road. I also started taking a new medication that messed with my system and I experienced some of the (expected) weight gain that came as a side effect. My clothes started feeling a little tighter and I really noticed how different my body felt because I just wasn't moving enough.
Long story short (I'm a rambler!) today was the first day in a very long time that I really felt like moving and working up a good sweat. It is crazy how much a 30 minute workout can turn your whole day around. I wound up working late last night and had to be up early again today and by the time I got home I was feeling so lethargic that I could barely keep myself awake! I decided to work out, not because I felt guilty or obligated, but because my body was really craving it (listening to my body, what a concept! ;) )
Side note: Earlier today my good friend Annie asked if I wanted to walk to the grocery store with her. It's only a mile away, but about a third of that mile is a massive hill. Like cardiac-arrest-inducing massive. Yeah. I was kind of nervous because I knew we'd be carrying our groceries back with us, so about an hour before we left I decided to do Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred. Back in high school when I lost about 30 pounds, Jillian was my go to girl. I saw results within days of starting the program, but most importantly I felt incredible. I felt energetic, strong and healthy. I want to feel that way again!
So I did the workout in my room. It was tough, but I was feeling very positive so I just pushed through. Was it the best workout ever? Nope. Did I feel like I was giving it my all the entire time? Yup! And to be fair, I was expecting it to be a lot worse. Moral of the story: My endurance needs some work, but I have had many a workout where I've felt far weaker than I did today. Victory? I think so! #babysteps
(That rambling thing... gotta work on it!) Anyway, lately I've been trying to pay more attention to my body and what it really needs. I've been reading, It Starts With Food, which is the book that the Whole 30 is based on, and it's helped me to take a step back and think about how I fuel my body and how much of an impact food has on our daily lives. I'm slowly phasing into the 30 day "real food" challenge, but as for now I'm really just working on listening to my body and fueling it with premium goods.
Final thoughts: My body is aching in that oh so wonderful I-really-pushed-myself way and I am going to bed truly content with how today worked out. Be back soon!
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