There is one thing getting me through this foreclosure bullshit.
Exercise.
If it weren’t for exercise, I would either be in the fetal position in the corner 24 hours a day or I would be drunk 24 hours a day.
Actually that’s not true. I wouldn’t be either one of those things.
I’d be both of them at the same time.
Even though I was a varsity athlete in high school and a division 1 athlete in college, I had fallen so far off the path of health and working out in my twenties and thirties that exercise was almost completely foreign to me.
If I had been faced with the situation we are in now, I would have turned to sex or booze or weed (or all three) to get through it.
Then three years ago I started working out in order to lose weight.
About a year and a half into it, the working out wasn’t really about weight loss anymore.
I started working out so I wouldn’t kill my kids. Or my husband. Or myself.
It took a while, but the switch flipped, and when I was faced with a tough time, rather than craving something that would numb my brain, I started craving the thing that would bring clarity to it.
Now if I go more than two days without doing some sort of physical activity, I get really bitchy.
Okay.
Bitchier.
It used to be I’d feel that way if I neglected to take my medication.
Now exercise is my medication.
And now my focus has turned to food.
I’ve worked pretty hard the last six weeks to be much more mindful of what and when and where I’m eating.
But one thing I’ve stopped doing is counting calories.
Early on I needed to do that in order to just have a clear understanding of exactly how much I was eating.
Now I don’t.
Because 6 weeks ago I cut out all added sugar from my diet.
For four weeks, I was super strict.
I didn’t have any alcohol or bread or ice cream or rice or pasta or muffins or cookies or pretzels or any of that stuff.
I didn’t intend to never eat any of those things again. But I needed to reset my clock.
And what I’m finding now is that my palate has changed.
This is the first time in my life that I’ve really reined in my eating.
In the past I would have worked out like a psychopath rather than change the amount or kind of food I was eating.
I feel really good about the fact that I’ve been able to take control of what I’ve been putting into my body at a time when every other part of my life feels pretty out of control.
And what I’ve realized is that when I’m eating food that’s good for me, I don’t really have to keep track of it. I don’t have to count calories or even be too crazy about portion control.
When you eat food that is good for you, you can still eat a lot of food. And you will see changes in your body.
See mine?
Despite all the things going on in my life right now, my brain feels pretty good.
I feel good about how I look, but I also feel good about how strong I feel. And I don’t really mean physically.
I mean emotionally. And that’s all due to exercise.
It’s taken a long time to get here though.
Day by day, bit by bit.
A jug fills drop by drop.
Small changes will add up. New habits will stick.
And some new habits will pave the way to other new habits.
I feel really, really, REALLY strongly about encouraging women (and men) to make exercise a part of their daily routine.
Your brain needs it. Your body needs it.
It’s not really a weight loss thing.
It’s a survival thing.
Once you start working out regularly, your brain and body become strong enough to make other healthy decisions.
I honestly believe it is the first step to pretty much um… everything.
If you could use help incorporating exercise into your daily routine, my next e-course starts in one week.
It’s flexible, it allows you to do any form of exercise, it encourages you to find the kinds of exercise you enjoy doing, it accommodates all levels of fitness, it doesn’t require a gym membership, and it works with anyone’s schedule. I’ve had participants from all over the globe — Germany, England, Canada, the Philippines, Australia, Norway, as well as almost all 50 states. It doesn’t matter where you live. It doesn’t matter how old you are. It doesn’t matter how much you weigh.
The only thing that matters is that you are ready to make a change.
Yes, it’s meant to help you make choices and decisions that will help you lose weight.
But it’s really about improving your quality of life. And the quality of your family’s life.
We all need a little help at one point or another.
And this is one thing I can definitely help you with.
CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT MY RUN IN THE BOSTON MARATHON
Audra says
Looking great! Congratulations on your determination and hard work. I love your blog. It’s the only blog I subscribed to. It’s just so real, and funny, and… real. You’re awesome.
jgroeber says
Totally inspiring as I celebrate/lament turning 45 and am suddenly feeling like my body has fallen a bit off the rails. Seeing your Week 1 and Week 9 photos side-by-side makes me realize, we always are beautiful, even when we feel out of sorts, and also, we can work hard to do good things for ourselves. We deserve it. (You go!)