what does exercise do for me? so are we talking mentally, physically, what? well for me, i mainly continue to work out for many reasons. first, i dont even want to think about what my body would look like if i didnt. i know a couple of things- when i was pregnant with my son, i was put on rest- pelvic rest for the whole thing and on and off bed rest. so after like week 7- no exercise for me. that was ridiculously hard for me to grasp- working out is what keeps me sane and healthy and not fat! so i was terrified to feel what 8 months of sedentary lifestyle would feel like. so 65 or 70 pounds later (i weighed more than my husband who is about 10 inches taller than me at the end of my pregnancy), i found out. i, quicker than i thought, fell into a sluggish lifestyle- it became easier and easier not to work out. and along with that, i noticed my eating habits got worse. great combo! i felt worse about myself than i ever had. well day 1 after getting the OK to resume excercise i did. i really did. i lost 40 pounds in like 4 months. but then i got pregnant again. oh man was i scared! i still had about 30 extra pounds on me to start this one. but luckily, i could keep working out throughout, and i managed to only gain like 25 pounds. but after that pregnancy, there i was again having to lose a bunch of LBs. but i did. in fact, after that baby girl, i got down to a lower weight than ever- about 104 pounds. that was a bit extreme. but it wasnt intentional to lose that much. it truly just dropped right off- well with running about 5 miles a day 6-7 times a week. getting back into running was really hard- if youve ever run with excess weight- man it sucks! you feel every jiggle, wiggle, and bounce! but it is what works to shed pounds, so i kept going, and going, and going! i really fell back in love with running. it helped me to feel better about my body- i couldnt believe how quickly my body responded to my hard work. and every day it got easier and less and less jiggling! running also was my respit from hectic work and kids and husband and all the stresses we have. many people dont understand that running and yoga and meditation have a lot in common. once you get your stride, running is a very rythmic exercise. the pounding of your feet, your breath, its all very rythmic and calming. not to mention the hormones that get released into the brain a bit into your run. these "feel good" happy hormones elevate your mood and reduce stress. this is often what runners refer to as "runners high". and theyre not kidding- many a run i have hit my stride and literally sighed as i felt the calm wash over me. a lot of people view running as hard, and let me tell you, it is sometimes! but there is nothing, i mean nothing, like that feeling. and that is what gets me out there- day after day- to RUN.
"dont ask me why i run. ask yourself why you dont."