When I started my fitness journey, one
of the most difficult things I had to face was becoming more active.
I was pretty big, and if you know me at all, you know I'm fairly
uncoordinated. Yes, I had danced for a few years, but beyond that, I
didn't really do anything. Because I had been in school for 5 years,
I hadn't done any activity at all. Just walking up the stairs at the
University library was not fun. Running to catch the bus was awful!
At this point in my life, I was also clinically depressed and on
antidepressants, so my motivation to do pretty much anything was
non-existent.
My other obstacle was my health. And
honestly, it still can be one of my biggest obstacles. First off, I'd
had asthma for years. So I was afraid to push myself too hard because
I didn't want to have an asthma attack. I've only had a few really
bad attacks where I truly felt like I could not breathe, and those
were terrifying. I didn't want to go through that again. Luckily,
these days I generally only have asthma issues when it's very muggy
out or the mold has been bad outside.
Second, I have moderately bad
allergies. As I said about the mold...there's also the grass, some
animals, some weeds, dust, etc. Being outside in the summer generally
does not go well for me. And if I do activities where I end up
breathing deeply, my allergies can really get aggravated.
Third, I do suffer from endometriosis,
which used to be extremely painful and would completely disrupt my
life. Lots of people really discount the pain suffered by people with
endometriosis as not that bad, and that we just can't handle the
pain, but unless your period makes you vomit on a regular basis, you
can't really understand how it feels. Related to my endometriosis, I
also have IBS, and that is aggravated by my period, by certain foods
(mostly dairy), and stress. I also get pretty bad headaches around
the time of my period. Basically, my hormones hate me. Fun!
Those are my basic health problems, but
I've also had problems with my knees, hips, back, and shoulders.
If I sound pathetic, well, just imagine
how I feel sometimes! I had all these problems to overcome, and I had
no idea how to begin, but I did. I've suffered from so many shin
splints, breathing problems, sleepless nights, skipped workouts due
to headaches and other pains...man!
One of the first things I started doing
to lose weight was biking. I'd go biking with my stepdad on his runs,
and he's gone on bike rides with me for the last few years, even
helping me train for a couple 50km charity bike rides I've done. He
has definitely been a big help during my weight loss.
One other thing I did was walking.
Walking is amazing! Walking rivals running for effectiveness in
training because if you're walking fast enough, your body wants to
run, and to keep walking your body needs to try harder to keep itself
on the ground. It's a great leg workout and can be great cardio if
you walk fast enough. I also find walking very therapeutic. Whenever
I've been frustrated and needed to blow off steam, I've gone for a
nice long walk. So calming!
I've also done a lot of swimming (again
with my stepdad, and now with my husband), some running (my shins
hate it though), some bootcamp classes, ballet, and workout dvds.
Most of my workout dvds are Jillian Michaels and Biggest Loser ones.
I remember that after biking for a little while, I had started
watching the Biggest Loser regularly, and I thought, maybe I should
try a Jillian Michaels dvd...I went to the library and rented the 30
Day Shred. It's less than half an hour, and nowadays, I could
probably bust it out no problem. The very first time I tried the
Level One workout, I was dying! I remember doing jump rope, and my
calves were ON FIRE. It was awful. But I got better, and then I did
Level Two one day. And I almost puked. But between that and biking, I
started really seeing results. So I kept going, and now, I workout
for about 8 hours a week, and I look fantastic. Ha!
Part of the point of this post was to
share what I've had to struggle through. And to share what I've done
on my journey. Honestly, I've tried so many things to find something
that works for me. These days, I love weight training. It has changed
my body in ways I never thought possible. I will share in a later
post what I do now.
The other point of doing this post is
to inspire other people! Perhaps you have health problems similar to
mine. Maybe some of them, like asthma, will disappear after you
started working out. Or maybe you have a condition like endometriosis
or IBS or anything else that you know will never go away, but will be
better managed by getting in shape. The question I have for you is:
why don't you do it? I've had issues piled upon issues piled upon
depression and excuses...and I did it. You CAN do it. Just go for a
walk. And then tomorrow, go for another walk. And another and
another. And then try swimming, and biking, and anything else you
want. There are no limits to what you can do for fitness, and the
best kind of exercise for you is the one you love! The reason I still
go for walks even now is because I LOVE to walk. It's not such a huge
workout for me these days, but I still adore it. It's like my
exercise soulmate. Find what you love, and overcome your problems.
Work within your current limits, and soon you'll see that your limits
will expand.
As always, if you have questions or comments, please leave them below! I love to get them!
Next time: Nutrition o.O
<3
Amanda
Hey,
ReplyDeleteIt was great to read your story. I've always felt that weight loss ads on TV are really artificial, and it's frankly a lot more inspiring to read blog posts like this one that actually touch on the challenges inherent to losing weight. I, myself, am overweight (well, obese according to my BMI, but I don't quite look it since the majority of the weight accumulated on my thighs, butt, and lower abdomen as opposed to my upper half). What I feel is the real kicker in my situation is that I'm also a newly minted physician. I know all about the nasty stuff that will happen to me down the road if I keep up with my crappy diet and non-existent exercise regime, but like many other 20-somethings out there, my future life at 40, 50, and 60 seems to have little bearing on my actions now.
I've been trying to eat healthier as of late (fruits and veggies in the place of pastries and crackers), and to be more mindful of portion control. But I've always found the exercise component of the weight loss formula to be more difficult than the healthy diet part. To be honest, there is not a lot of physical activity that I enjoy. My lifestyle was pretty sedentary while earning my Bachelor's and medical degrees (I always justified that by saying that I was far too busy studying to hit the gym), which contributed to me gaining roughly 60 pounds over 7 years. I do enjoy going on walks, which, as you mentioned above, is a great form of physical activity. But whether I take a walk outdoors or hop on a treadmill for 30 minutes to an hour, it all starts to feel like a boring routine after a couple of weeks. I imagine that it's important to switch things up a bit and try new types of exercise (e.g., take a spin class, do some yoga, etc.), but whenever I'm exceptionally busy (which is often), it feels like I can't be bothered to make the effort. However, I know that I can't continually make excuses for myself, and that I need to keep working at trying to lose weight, as difficult as that might be. I always feel like the elephant in the room, both literally and figuratively, whenever I tell a patient that he/she needs to lose weight, all the while being overweight myself.
Anyway, I hope you continue with your blog, and I wish you all the best in your own fitness journey!