Thoughts on exercise...

FYI these are my own thoughts about my journey and whatever works for you may be different.  First off, I love exercise!  It is now the first thing I turn to if I am sad, angry, discouraged.  It also makes this journey feel more interesting.  Despite the fact that I have little control in how quickly the scale moves - I can set, push, and achieve fitness goals daily.  There are things with exercise that I have to mentally keep in check, however.  5 years ago I lost about 75 pounds and got to the best shape of my life.  I was at the gym 1.5-2 hours a day.  Then, life got very busy and stressful.  I thought it would take 2 hours in the gym a day to keep what I had - and that was not possible.  Eventually I started to give up..and you can probably fill in the rest of the story up to now.  

The thing I am keeping in mind with my exercise now is that it has to be sustainable.  Yes, there are many reasons why it is important during the weight loss phase, but there are many more reasons why it is important in maintenance.  I am an overachiever and have struggled with all-or-nothing thinking.  Those are the thoughts that I am trying to change as they come up.  For example, yesterday I was going to lift legs and do walk/jog intervals but my back was very sore.  In the past I would have either risked injury and done it anyway or done nothing (because what's the point).  Instead I was able to change that thought around and go for a nice walk outside.  Today, I was able to lift legs but then 20 minutes into my cardio after lifting, my legs and back were DONE.  I have this kind of mental stopwatch that says, "if you don't do cardio for at least 30 minutes, it isn't worth anything." I was tempted either to push through for 10 more minutes or else feel defeated - like I hadn't done anything worthwhile.  Then I thought about what I need to do in order to succeed - I need to make everything sustainable for the rest of my life.  I have to make it so that, when life gets busier, I can still say to myself that a hard 20 minute workout will be enough.  It is also hard when I see on here people doing 2-3 hours in the gym - I naturally think, "oh, I need to do that." But one way isn't the best for everyone.  Sure, I will always want to push my fitness goals - but I am trying to do that with the idea of it being sustainable.  

I have been learning about how to improve my fitness in smart ways - focusing on interval training, valuable strength training, and doing things that I enjoy! I will need to keep watching out for those mental defeating thoughts...but the more they come up now and I can rephrase them, the better chance I think I have. 

Good luck on your goals!

Jen

PS - as I write this, I am amazed by the fact that 1 year ago, I struggled to walk for 5 minutes!  This life is so great

Yes.  I love this post and relate to it so much.  

I love exercise too.  I also have historically had an all or nothing attitude.  I love the progress I am making, but am also working towards accepting success even when it isn't my exact plan or a new record but the best thing for me at the time.  

I really love this post. I too have an "all or nothing" view in regards to my life, and well that hasn't worked out so well for me. I need to find that balance and make it sustainable. Thanks for posting this.

We are a lot alike. I love to exercise and start every morning on my treadmill and stair stepper. Then I do an hour and a half of Yoga most days. My doctor has warned me not to use exercise to eat more calories but to use it to feel better. That became important when I pulled a ham string in Yoga and had to stop for 6 weeks. That was really difficult. I try keep track of my calories as though I don't exercise and avoid giving myself permission to splurge because I exercised a lot. This doesn't always work and I do splurge now and again, but I have been able to maintain my weight without much trouble. I recently bought a FitBit because I was going to France for 2 weeks and knew I couldn't exercise as usual. I was able to track my walking and everything else and didn't gain any weight. I love the FitBit because I now park farther in the parking lot and walk a lot more everyday just to get the damn little thing to vibrate when I reach my goal. Kind of silly but it does work.

I love this post.  I'm also amazed at how my fitness has changed - and how quickly.  And how much I enjoy it!  It's amazing.  I'm still trying to figure out what will be best for me long term, but I'm enjoying the experimentation.  

Wow, reading this was like reading something I wrote myself.   Same story different name.

I am working to find the balance.  2 hours in the gym is not sustainable, been there, done that.

I am learning to work smart not longer.  I am focusing on things I love to do, bike riding, walking the dog, snow shoeing and such.  It's important to spend time doing some strength training and I enjoy that as long as it does not get out of hand.

As my weight loss has really slowed at month 9, I am fighting the urge to go extreme on the exercise and food to rip these last 35 lbs off my body. 

BALANCE AND PATIENCE!  Just work the plan and the plan will work.  :)

Thanks for this post!!

Thanks for sending me the link to this on the other thread!

I have to say I see a lot of similarity in our thinking. I have been very much the same way (If I can't do 30 minutes of cardio, why bother??? type of attitude) On Monday I had to cut my cardio part of my workout short (by only 5 minutes) and I immediately went to the why bother attitude. Had to get my thinking in order and remind myself that any amount of physical activity would be beneficial.

Like you, three years ago walking more than a few minutes became painful and caused me respiratory distress. Now I'm in better shape than most of my friends and colleagues. It's a major change and pretty damn awesome!

Cheers to us!