Friday, March 27, 2015

Changes

When I started my journey at nearly 230 pounds, I was honestly overwhelmed by the thought of exercising regularly. Growing up hating team sports and gym class meant my physical activity was mostly limited to riding my bike on country roads by my house in the summers. As a teenager and adult in my 20's, the thought of "working out" seemed intimidating. So I never did. 

It was hard to start exercising. Both physically and mentally, it was hard. I started small - Step, hula-hooping, and running in place with the Wii Fit. I slowly worked my way up to exercise videos. Then we got a treadmill and I started running (10 seconds at first. 30 seconds. 1 minute. 5 minutes. 10. 20. And so on).
The rest is history. I lost 90 pounds and changed my life. I changed my body and my mind. 

The body changes were the most obvious. I lost inches. My face became thinner. I went from a size 22 to a 6. My improved eating habits + exercise are to thank for that.

But along the way, I fell in love with running. If you want to get fit, it's important to find balance and variety - but definitely identify at least one thing that you really like. That thing is different for everyone. And for me, it's running. 

Why running? Because it makes me feel strong, confident and capable. It makes me proud to finish in a time, or a distance, that I never imagined I could. It's a great stress reliever....it calms my crazy mind. The only person I need to worry about or compete against is me. I've met some of the most amazing women through my running group.  

I could go on, but my point is that none of those reasons for loving running have to do with physical things. It's all mental and emotional. I may physically look like a different person than I did 4 years ago, but running has changed me WAY more on the inside. 


No comments:

Post a Comment