Exercise = Happiness

Hi Everyone,

Well it's official, I've finally taken a sip of the exercise kool-aid and I LOVE it! I don't know how, why, or what exactly your body does when exercising but I am so much calmer, less stressed, and peaceful even just by getting in 30 minutes or less of a run. Even though I'm working hard and the hills are brutal I find that once I'm done I have such a sense of accomplishment and even feel relaxed.

I got in a run last night by forcing myself. I didn't want to run. I didn't feel like going. It was about 80% humidity out because it was going to rain and I just didn't want to run. But instead of dwelling on that thought, I just put my exercise clothes on, grabbed my forerunner, and went ignoring all the thoughts in my head that said NOT to.

The run was hard. I tried a different route where you run up a steep hill, it then levels out and begins to descend and then I turned around and ran back up it. It was a lollipop route and it was HARD. Lots of uphill which was pretty steep in some sections. Sometimes I feel like I'm barely moving up the hill but I just remember one foot in front of the other, one step at a time. I can manage about a 12 min. pace on the steep uphill which is OK considering that it's uphill. I know I've been complaining about the hills but where I live there are NO FLAT areas to run.....seriously, I'm not exaggerating this it's all hills. Makes sense I suppose since I live in an apartment complex called....The Hills.

I do one day want to try to run on flat again and see what kind of time I post since I've been practicing on hills I'd like to know if I can manage a faster pace on flat.

All-in-all I have really LOVED getting in my workouts and I'm not even worried about time and length the fact that I'm getting up early and going or going after work and getting ANY exercise at all is a HUGE improvement. Plus the fact that it makes me chipper, calm, relaxed, happy, and feeling strong is a nice side effect too. :0)

I'm just so proud of myself that I'm being good about exercise and I'm doing well with my calories and diet as well. I'm trying to eat more "real food" instead of processed and I'm cutting out the caloric beverages but I did have a glass of orange juice this morning. It tasted great.

In the book I'm reading, Healthy Tipping Point, the author mentions how you have to be true to what your body is telling you in terms of food and feed it what it's telling you it needs. I know I've mentioned this before but part of my healthy changes are I'm also trying to cut back or completely cut out certain foods in the hopes of avoiding trigger foods I have that lead to me overeating or binging. So far by cutting out these foods it's been working and I don't really crave the food I got rid of, so that's also an improvement.

I am still struggling with dinner and eating too much but at this point I'm making healthy swaps so even though I had two dinner plates last night I filled the second plate with salad, low fat dressing, and peas. I had Tilapia with 1 small boiled red potato, and peas. Then I refilled my plate with some salad and another big serving of peas. Again, baby steps but a HUGE improvement for me. The snacks I've been having throughout the day too have really been helping me stay on track. Carrots with hummus, watermelon, oranges, a laughing cow cheese wedge, etc. are all perfect for me when I'm feeling a little hungry.

I've also been try to get a hold on my mindless eating. I still find I'll snack when I'm bored but I've been learning to listen to my mind and body when I eat and see what I notice. Boredom for me is a BIG eating trigger. I tend to eat when I'm bored and have nothing else to do. So instead I've been listening to my body and finding out what it is that my body is REALLY saying. One day I really needed a nap, another day I was thirsty, and one of the days I was actually hungry so I had a little snack. It really is a process....learning how to eat again and learning to listen to your body.

Good news is I'm definitely making progress and I always try to remember that this is a journey and I'm striving for progress NOT perfection.

Anyway feeling good today and can't wait for class tonight with Randi. Tomorrow it's an AM swim and possibly Randi's class again. Saturday it'll be a hike with Paul. Going to be a great exercise weekend! More later friends.