Steps

Physical, Emotional and Mental steps on my journey towards healthy living on every level

Friday, January 02, 2009

Empowerment

I realized as I was walking on the treadmill on Tuesday that the whole exercise thing for me is really about empowerment. It's bout how I feel when I do accomplish a goal . . . about how my spirit feels when I conquer myself. I had gotten to the point by July where I was on top of the world and then it all just slipped...... fortunately it didn't slip completely far, as I only gained back 9 pounds...(on the 22nd I used a different scale, but this Monday I went to the Y). in the past it has been gaining back 20 or 30 or 40 or 60 or gaining back more than I had previously lost, so at least I can feel better about catching myself before it was too late.

Now that I'm moving back in that direction again I can already feel some of the emotional benefits. I had sunk into a very unproductive slothful existence just like I had been before I started to exercise. I am looking forward to having some of the energy back that comes from exercising, but most importantly, I am looking forward to feeling the empowerment that comes from taking on myself and winning.

Hey, me, you better watch out! I'm BAAAACKK!

2 Comments:

At 11:12 AM, Blogger Susan said...

Welcome back Claudia-
I have struggled with food issue that impact my weight for the last year. I got back on my food plan in September, but I've been cheating myself since Thanksgiving. For me the issue isn't my weight. My weight is definitely impacted when my food is off, but it isn't my primary reason for eating well and exercising. I just feel so much better when I am eating well. My plan is pretty simple, I eat as much as I want, but I don't eat white food or fake food. No white pasta, rice, bread, etc. No sugar or dairy. If the package has ingredients that don't sound like food, I skip it. It sounds drastic, but I started pretty small, replacing white pasta for spelt, pretend wheat bread for sprouted, things like that. When I was really feeling crummy, I read an article about how a woman's body will store anything that it doesn't recognize as food, just in case it needs it later on. I don't know if it is true, but my body was storing plenty. Once I was really eating only real, whole food the weight came off incredibly fast. I really like Kathleen DesMaisons food plan. (although I don't eat by it completely) She has a website and a few books. The website is here: http://www.radiantrecovery.com/ and my favorite book is the one for kids, Little Sugar Addicts. Since my little one is a heroin addict, the stuff on sugar and addiction was really interesting to me. And since I come from a long line of alcoholics, I realized how much of what she talks about pertains to me too. Well that was a long way to go to give you another resource and hopefully a little encouragement. Keep it up, you will feel so much better if you do!

 
At 11:04 AM, Blogger Ann said...

Good for you, Claudia! I need to undo some of the damage I've done over the last month or so. I'll be thinking of you Monday morning when I'm on my treadmill.

 

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