 |
| vintage exercise device |
is damn hard, and not having exercised for, let's say, years, has rendered me not only overweight but painfully out of shape. The kind of out of shape where hopscotch on a laid-out-on-the-ground ladder makes me breathe hard.
It sort of bums me out that all the work I do taking care of Sophalofa doesn't go one iota toward increasing my fitness. In fact, I think it's fair to say that all the work I do taking care of Sophalofa is manifested in a near-constant stream of cortisol that, if you know a bit about biology, is a recipe for metabolic havoc. If you add on three children (giving birth, that is), fast approaching fifty years, inadequate aerobic activity and a propensity to love bread and sugar --
Sigh. And Good Lord. And all that boring stuff.
I find the necessity of exercise to be near tyrannical.
Boot camp is at the crack of dawn, and if I'm going to exercise I need to do it then. I have no problem waking early and getting going and when it's 6:30 am and the tyrant has been appeased for the day, I might not be able to walk very well, but I'M DONE.
So far, so good (how many cliches can I fit into one post?). I've gone four out of the five days, am about as sore as I've ever been, am having a recurrence of plantar fascitiis and hit a wall around 4:00 in the afternoon, but I feel pretty up. That's endorphins for you, I think. Or at least it's Stockholm syndrome.
Hopefully, I'll start shrinking soon -- perhaps for every pound I lose, Sophie might gain one? Is that too much to ask the tyrant?
not at all,
ReplyDeletecompletely fair.
and every day?
ugh.
and the poem earlier... you can imagine how I loved it. thank you.
Proud of you.Really proud of you.
ReplyDeleteOh Elizabeth, I often think of you when I am trying to wake up in the am. I remember you commenting once on my blog that getting up and morning was no problem for you. I love that. I admire it. I want it. I love that you are using it to get your exercise in. I'm wowed actually. Very impressed and psyched for you. You will feel better super fast. Make sure to give yourself a rest day (or two). Or like 2 days on, one day off...
ReplyDeleteYou should be able to give your extras to Sophie. Keep imagining that. I like it.
Sorry I haven't been around lately. Having a hard time just everyday living on my own. I do come here and read. I wish I was a better commenter. I can only seem to manage BOH consistently these days. I like seeing everyone there too.
I want you to know, I wondered after I posted my therapy post if I overshared, if maybe it wasn't a good idea for me to write about that stuff, only because it's really so intense to me, the whole therapy thing. I almost deleted it, because I'm a freak and so sensitive and wondered if maybe people's comments might be too much too. Then I got your comment and everything in me settled and I just felt an okayness that I really needed. I don't know how to thank you for that.
Thank you!
A journey of a thousand leagues... and so forth. Just don't overdo it, and before you know it the body will respond with its wisdom and your efforts, whether or not the pounds migrate to Sophie, are going to show in some ways that will make you feel that all this has not been for naught. Did I tell you that Karen is coming to visit in November? I wish you could join us.
ReplyDeletei'm so envious of your commitment to this new regime. i can't get up that early (and have a million other lame excuses to go with that one.) but then i look around at all these other people who GET IT DONE and they look and feel great. My little run/walk thingy every couple days is not getting it done. you inspire -- keep going!!
ReplyDeleteSeems only fair.
ReplyDeleteI'm wide awake 'cause I stayed up to wait for my daughter to come home from a costume party... and right now the thought of getting up anywhere close to 5:30 am is horrifying. But I admire you for doing it. Tremendously.
I, too, resent the extent to which the care of children and housework does not constitute exercise. By rights it should. All those hours bending scrubbing, cooking and cleaning. Why not? I ask.
ReplyDeleteAnd for you even more so. You should have the body of a marathon runner.
GO!
ReplyDeleteI AM SO PROUD OF YOU!
ReplyDeleteAnd I love you...Mary
Keep up the good work!! You'll break through the pain in no time at all and your body will thank you tremendously when you're my age (I'm on the lying side of 45).
ReplyDeleteI'm almost 6 feet tall and about 25 pounds over my ideal weight and have developed high blood pressure and high cholesterol! I was shocked when my dr. told me last week. I never eat fast food, fried food, etc. and count calories & fat. But I only started back walking a month ago and hope to toss the medicine in a few months. Hang in there!! Blessings!
GOOD FOR YOU!!!! No pain, no gain.
ReplyDeleteAll I can say is press on through the pain. I felt much more able to cope again with Robert once I really made myself exercise regularly about 3 years ago. It takes a few months to really see the benefits and start to WANT to do it, but it's all worth it.
ReplyDeleteAs I tell my daughter as we run together, building up to our 5K: you can do it. Or better yet, Nike's simple but true slogan: Just Do It.
walking is good.
ReplyDeletethe endorphins are good.
you don't have to pay any money or get any special equipment. just be sure to stretch though - even your feet, ankles and arches.
i love that you are looking after you.
ReplyDeletei know it will take you back to everyday challenges fuller, more alive, and in time revitalized, i promise!
slow and steady wins the race.
i get up before dawn every day and walk two miles while most of the people i know are sleeping.
there. all my love and an honest, by experience, cliche.
xoxoxoxoxoxo,
rebecca
please visit me at
I seriously could not exercise that early in the morning but do like to get it over with in the morning. The longer in the day I leave it, the less likely I am to get to the gym. Today for example, I have managed to piss away and not make it to the gym:)
ReplyDeleteI prefer exercising in the morning too... when I can get it in.
ReplyDeleteGlad you are doing this for you. I hear you on the cortisol wreaking havoc.
Sounds fair to me! Keep at it! The rewards will show themselves soon!
ReplyDeleteArghhh! I get up at 4:30 to get ready for work then I sit all day. I will gladly offer my extra poundage to Sophie :)
ReplyDeleteOddly teaching violin to children and playing is a mighty fine way to exercise. That and the fact that this is the year I finally stopped my experiments in delicious baking bread cakes all kinds of goodness. How I miss it! But it's helped.
love,
Rebecca
My wish for you is that you find at least one really good friend in the class that makes you smile and that seeing her to start your day is the impetus. Then, maybe the exercise will be secondary and the benefits will start showing for you and your family.
ReplyDeleteAh, if only we could pass our pounds to the girls. Emily, like Sophie, could use some more and goodness I could use to lose!
ReplyDeleteYou know I feel your pain about the plantar fasciitis. It is KILLER. :(
Go Elizabeth Go!
ReplyDeleteI haven't figured out the exercise thing. Congratulations!
I'm glad you made the commitment, Elizabeth, but as an ex PE teacher/Athletics coach, I do want to make sure you are not overdoing it, particularly since you've aggravated the plantar fascia so quickly.
ReplyDeleteIs the instructor of the class taking into account your fitness level in the activity s/he prescribes for you? Is your warm-up adequate? Do you have the correct shoes for your feet? Are you stretching adequately when your session is over?