Wednesday, May 9, 2012

Becoming Active = My Daily Vitamin

I was reflecting last night on how different my life is in so many ways now that I'm half the size I used to be. One of the the things that stuck with me as I was mulling this over was the difference in how active I've become.
Looking back, it's sad for me to think of what a slug I was. I'm not meaning to say this to put myself down, but it's the truth. That's how I lived from day to day - lazy, unmotivated, tired, and so out of shape I barely had motivation and energy enough to accomplish the simple things around my own house. Everything was a chore! The sad part of this equation is the fact that I must have thought it was okay to some degree. I know I wasn't 100% happy with myself, but I obviously didn't let it bother me enough to do anything about it for many years. I guess I wasn't sick enough of my body and lifestyle to do something about it sooner. My heart is crumbling in some ways looking back.  It's almost as if I wasn't that person, and I think, "How sad for her. I was wish there had been something I could have done to help her sooner."

I'm not really even sure I can tell you when or how I came to fall in love with being active. I do know that it didn't happen overnight and I do know that for the longest time I felt like it was a chore. I wasn't enjoying it, but I felt like if I wanted to lose weight, I had no choice. (I was in diet mode.) Once I started to see my own progress, even in the smallest way, it motivated me to work towards taking a little more weight off. (Never in my wildest dreams did I think that would include over 130 pounds.) I think I got to the point of enjoying who I was becoming when I wrapped my head around the idea that this was a lifestyle - something I wanted to keep doing the rest of my life. I learned that what I was doing for myself made me feel good. It made me look at things in a different light, and really, it become easier. Easier not only to move physically, but easier to eat better and give my body the fuel it needed.

As time went on, not only have I fallen in love with getting to the gym and having sore muscles, but I've discovered a love and passion for hiking and running. Two things I never dreamed I'd participate in like I do now. The last two summers all I can do is look forward to hiking and getting outside as much as I can.  And the fact that I ran my first  half Marathon last summer and am currently training for my second here in 6 weeks almost makes me giddy. Like I'm a normal person now. I love the fact that being active is like my daily vitamin. Not a day goes by that I'm not thinking about what I'm going to do that day to be active. 

What a wonderful life it has become!

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9 comments:

  1. I'm so glad you posted on this because it's nice to see things have changed as you've gone along. I have a question for you...is this ever going to get easier? Like you, I've already fallen in love with walking/hiking...been at it for two years now. But I recently joined the gym and started strength training and meeting with a trainer once a week. It's SO HARD!!! Am I enjoying it? No, not really. Not that this will stop me, but I'm so stinking tired ALL THE TIME! I was just talking to my husband last night about it. Will this ever get easier? Between the pain and exhaustion, I'm fairly miserable. I keep hearing other people say how much energy they have from exercise...not me! After a hard workout, I need rest and on some days...a nap. It's making it hard for me to get other things done. Ugh!

    Okay, enough rambling. I could sure use any words of advice as you've already navigated your way through all this. Thanks Paige!

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  2. Paige! I am loving your blog! So full of useful info! I am in the early stages of my healthy lifestyle. I have fallen back in love with running, pilates, hiking and biking. I wake up with SO much energy that it my body feels like it is wired up until I expend some energy. ok, I have always been a morning person but I am like Libby on fire!! It feels so good to go to bed at night and be tired, sleepy and a little sore from the activity that I have done during the day!

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  3. Im new to your blog and I was wondering.... if you dont mind me asking...... after losing weight, didnt you have loose skin everywhere? I dont see it in your pictures..... did you have skin removal surgery or are you just good at hiding it???

    cindie

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  4. I love this post, I can relate to it so much. I couldn't have said it better! I never dreamed I would be skipping work to go hiking or be super sad if I missed getting outside. It is a far cry from the days I wouldn't leave the house!

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  5. Another great post! I have very recently fallen in love with running. I just love how it makes my body feel. Even though I curse myself while I'm doing it, the way I feel when I'm done is definitely the pay-off. I can't beleive that a year ago, I was gorging myself on carbs and sugar and never dreamed I'd ever run a 5k race. Thanks for the continuous inspiration Paige. Love the photos, you always make me smile:)

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  6. Thanks Paige I appreciate your thoughts. What was it that got you started in this direction? I understand the lack of energy and motivation, sometimes it all I can do is do my homework for school and my house shows it. Your post really helps thanks!

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  7. Thanks for the motivion Paige!

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  8. This is awesome. You inspire me

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  9. I'm lovin' your blog!
    And I just met your running buddy, Tammy, a couple of weeks ago. By "meet" I mean in the blogging world. I teach grade 1 and we follow each other's blogs.
    Good luck with your half! I have one in 3 weeks :)

    My Running Shortz

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