Friday, January 18, 2008

inspiration

Yesterday, in a moment of being very open about my weaknesses (which actually doesn't happen often on a serious level), I confessed to my best friend, K, that I need help with this whole exercising thing. K paused for a moment and then said, "When you did this before, when you were all super active and lost all that weight, what inspired you then? What kept you going then? How did you do it?"

I've been thinking about her questions since she asked it, and I've come up with three answers ...

1. To be totally honest, I don't remember how I got into the habit of exercising and eating well. But once I was in the habit of doing it then it was easy to keep going. Or, at least, easier than it seems to be to start up again.

2. I had company, every step of the way. My darling Lauren and the divine Miss A (who is now Mrs. A), were my workout buddies. The three of us did yoga together all the time. Miss A and I took a couple ballet classes together. I wasn't alone on the journey.

3. And finally, this is embarrassing to admit, but I was competitive about it. Miss A was also going through a period of weight-loss and I was very jealous watching her get thinner and thinner and admiring her body and envying her fit-ness. She was in the best shape of any woman I've ever known and was constantly striving to be in better shape. It was amazing and made me jealous enough that I got my butt in gear and worked out harder and lost more weight than I would have otherwise. In retrospect, of course, she lost much too much weight and was definitely anorexic, but now she's better. (And, if you still read this ever, I think you look MUCH better now than you did then.)

So how can this help me now?

1. I know that I just need to start. If I start then it becomes habit sand if it become habit then it's all so much easier. That's actually pretty simple.

2. I need company. I need friends who will support and encourage me along this journey, who will joke with me and congratulate me and make me go and offer me support and help and love along the way. Maybe if I can learn (again) to do this with other people then I'll start to understand how to do it alone.

2 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

I've been following your blog for ages and never written. but have a suggestion of inspirational reading. It may shake your foundations of healthy and unhealthy, on the other hand may make you revel in your love of cheese and coconut milk. "nourishing traditions" by sally fallon. I've firmed up and been more energised than ever since reading it. and your city of shoulds kicks ass.

4:09 PM  
Blogger Catherine said...

Hey Margaret,

I was an avid runner, tennis player etc., but once I had kids I found I just couldn't get out there alone with all my responsibilities. My solution was working out to videos/DVDs at home. The great thing about this is you don't need to have someone watch your kids (they'll love to join in), plus, when it's cold outside (which can be offputting), it doesn't matter! Now my kids are older and I have an ex that has then "occasionally", I'm back to running twice a week. The rest of the time I use DVDs and it really works for me.

cheers,
Catherine

1:37 AM  

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