>I'm here to encourage you!
>
>I just spent a year, basically, without working out. My
>weight is the same, amazing!, but my body composition is
>totally changed and my depression got worse. I had loads of
>lean muscle tissue and now I am fat cells all over. I have a
>stomach roll for cripes sake, yuck! And all my jeans and
>skirts' waistbands had gotten too snug for comfort. I have
>just, as of last week, started back exercising and already I
>can tell you that I feel so much better. I am starting off
>using the treadmill for power walking, 6-8 miles at a time.
>Then I am going to introduce runing intervals and upper body
>weight training.
>
>I spent weeks, months feeling awful and planning to come back
>but lacking the courage to take that first step, thinking it
>would be awful, but it wasn't that bad at all. It won't be
>for you either. Every step counts, every day exercising
>counts towards getting you back to where you were. I'm right
>here with you on the journey.
>
>So come with me, start tomorrow. Choose an exercise type that
>is pure fun for you and get out there.
>
>have I helped motivate you just a little?
>
>Clare
This is great! How inspiring!
Clare, I am with you girl! Used to be 100% muscle, now 50% muscle, 50% fat. Like you I haven't gained so much, but have lost muscle and it is no secret what got put in its place! I have belly rolls that weren't there before and the butt sags more than ever. But its crazy how ONE workout can make you feel so much better about yourself. ONE workout and I swear my butt has lifted. It's funny! My husband even commented the day after I did some easy lunges that my butt looked higher. I laughed, and laughed, and laughed......but it sure feels like it!
Where you mind is at, right at that moment, the day after when you feel so good about the day before, THAT is where I want to be again. If I could just keep the good feelings flowing, which means keep the workouts going!!!!! AAArrrrgggghh!
I think the negative self talk can be ruthless for us, much more so that those who have never exercised/been really fit. We know what being fit and feeling powerful feels like so when we lose that we wonder why we are so weak. We feel powerless and disgusting. We disgust ourselves. WE BEAT OURSELVES TO A PULP!!! Self affirmations are akward for us to do (to say the least) but equally important. To say to ourselves, "I have the power to choose. I have done this before and I can do it again!" or "I am confident". Some of these things I say to myself but laugh inside while I am saying them. But no matter, experts say, eventually your mind will believe! Crazy huh? Who'd of ever thought??
I stopped buying books and researching depression. Now I buy books about self empowerment or positive thinking. I still get down, but I want to change. I don't want to play the victim forever. We have the power to change, we just have to cultivate it!\
So get outside, wander around, find a mountain to climb, look up in the sky, breathe the fresh air, and really truly be thankful that you have the ability to do these things. I used to hike mountains on my LUNCH HOUR and when I got to the top I always took a moment to really appreciate nature and what my body could do. After all, how many people are unable to hike mountains and will never experience this feeling??
So come with us, start TODAY. Get out there. Know that you hold the power to get what you once had back, even if you don't take the same route to get there!