Monday, July 8, 2013

Ack!

I'm no exercise evangelist - you aren't going to see me going on and on about how workouts are my life and I feel!so!good! about them...but I do know that getting some sort of movement in does help with making my body feel more fit - just as you can't out exercise a bad diet, if all you do is diet, you might end up thin but you won't feel as healthy and strong as you could be.  So I exercise, sometimes begrudgingly, because I know it's good for me.

And even though I've continued to run several days a week for about 18 months now, I've been surprised to note how much the addition of the land workouts have helped with not only my physical being, but my mental state as well.  Seriously, we're just walking two, sometimes two-and-a-half miles a few times a week, plus we're doing a bit of body strengthening exercises.  Nothing extreme (well, the lunges do make us whimper toward the end), nothing that feels as hard as when I run 5 miles...but it's enough that I'm noticing a tiny bit of muscle definition coming out in my forearms, and my legs are feeling strong.  All good things, right?  But there's been a bonus, and considering that I've kept up with running several times a week, one that I wasn't expecting:  sanity.

Yep.  Sanity.  Things have been kind of crazy around here - what with the upheaval from the bathroom flood and trying to figure out how to get it fixed, plus all of the running club organizer stuff - and well, I've been a little stressed.  I liked my quiet life.  I'm not someone who needs to be busy all the time, and I really don't like to have a lot of ongoing projects happening, especially several at once.  But this is where I am right now, and it's going to continue for at least a couple more months with the bathroom, and for the next five months with running club.  So why haven't I done a face plant into a pile of coconut M&Ms, or completely lost it and run screaming for the hills?  I blame - er, credit, daily exercise.  I kinda want to slap myself for saying that, because ugh, who wants to hear that?  It's like going to the doctor when your knee aches and being told that losing weight and exercising will help.  Just give me an instant cure, Doc - none of this long-term healthy stuff!  Seriously though, I know that the reason I'm (mostly) keeping it together at the moment is due to doing some sort of exercise, pretty much first thing in the morning, just about every day of the week.  The naysayer in me just shakes her head at this...but it's true, and it's helping.

I'm not an exercise evangelist, but I am becoming a convert.  What's next, spinach smoothies as my post-workout recovery drink?  Ack!

19 comments:

  1. Gross: a green smoothie! I know some people swear by them but I'm a person who has a "no go" of vegetables in her smoothies!

    I found something we have in common again: you and I both love the quiet life. As soon as I don't have a few nights to myself every week or at least a day in the weekend, I get stressed. I need me-time.

    Exercise helps me de-stress too even though I don't always want to go. Happy to hear it works the same for you.

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  2. ((TIP TOES AWAY BECAUSE SHE FRIGHTENINGLY IS A SPINACH IN SMOOOOTHIE EVANGELICAL))

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  3. Try the Green Monster - I swear, you can't taste the spinach!!

    http://mybizzykitchen.com/2012/08/07/green-monster/

    And I agree that strength training does help with running. After just two weeks of doing Insanity, I ran a 33:11 5k, beating my previous time by almost a minute!

    Glad you are staying sane - you can do it! :D

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  4. Your post is so true.

    (Hangs head) I regret the chili cheese fritos I ate yesterday after my workouts. That's one way to cancel out calories lost.

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  5. YESS!! You'll love the strawberry spinach smoothie LOL.

    Seriously, Its good to hear someone who's already embraced the healthy lifestyle say that they've discovered something that makes them feel even better. I might just have to add a land workout to the days I don't get to the gym.

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    1. Yeah, I guess you really can teach an old blogger new tricks, LOL!

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  6. Today is a new day . . . For me, anyway, and a perfect time for me to read this post. I'm trying - little by little. Today, it's mile one. Thanks for the inspiration and reminder that movement is key.

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    1. Awesome, Leanne - hope your mile one is great!

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  7. Great post! If I had been a superhero before losing weight this time, my name would have been Anti-Running Girl ;) I have always despised running - probably since I was 9! In March I decided I needed to get on my treadmill again and didn't want to spend 45+ minutes walking to nowhere, so I stepped up my pace (literally), and ended up jogging. Now I do intervals - walk for a minute, run for two minutes, walk for a minute, run... you get the idea - for 15 minutes total. Running makes me feel great - I'm only up to a 3 minute stretch of running, but I have noticed my endurance improving over time - it's pretty awesome. Last month when my sciatic nerve was bugging me, I actually missed my running time! Ha! Who'd have thunk it from Anti-Running Girl! Thanks for sharing!

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    1. I think you should keep the name "Anti-Running Girl" - it will confuse everyone who sees you run! I did everything I could to avoid running when I was in school; weird how things change, right?

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  8. I know this isn't the point of your post, but I keep going back to this: "you can't out exercise a bad diet." So very true. And something I need to keep in mind.

    I don't love every minute of exercising either, but it does certainly help me find balance and even a little time for reflection when things are kind of crazy in my life. It was a great outlet while I was dealing with wedding stress last year, and I still appreciate it even if my life has slowed down a little.

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  9. I suspect there'll be spinach in your smoothies before too long... it's a slippery slope this whole healthy eating/exercise thing. I NEVER thought I'd be throwing vegetables into a blender and drinking them on purpose.

    Yay you for trying new things and rockin' 'em!

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    1. A very strange slippery slope - blended veggies? That you drink? Sounds so wrong...and yet, I suspect you may be right about where I'm headed.

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  10. Yay for sanity! Can I have some.

    Spinach smoothies. Just say no. You can't taste it, but if raw veggies bother your tummy in any way - stay far away from the green smoothies. Just sayin'

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  11. I have to admit that I love Green Monsters :) Just almond milk, frozen banana chunks, a bit of pineapple and baby spinach!

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  12. I started out my fitness quest by walking and I still love it, for both the exercise and the Zen.

    I like the green smoothies okay, but they don't just rock my world, if you know what I mean. :)

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  13. Exercise is such a great stress release! By the time I get back from a run I've always forgotten all the stupid stuff that had been been raising my blood pressure.

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  14. I've always said exercise is the best anti-depressant there is for me. I just had to get myself doing it for it to do its work. I'm going now -- let's see if I can get on a roll! I need all the help with sanity I can get! :)

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  15. Hey Shelley,Greetings from India.
    I am a college student trying to lose weight(a lot of it). Just wanted to say that your blog is one of the many that has inspired me in this journey. At times when I just feel too demotivated to carry on or have a craving,i come back on these blogs. And then I know I can do it too.

    P.S-I hate exercise too. Always scrapped through physical education class by more desk work. :)

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