MM ~ Exercise, getting back into the groove

Exercise is a part of my life, it is a part of who I am. This wasn't always the case in my life, in fact it has only become the truth in the last few years. When I was younger, especially in my teen and college years, I viewed exercise as something I should probably be doing, but hated. I had given myself a million different reasons and  excuses as to why I couldn't or wouldn't ever take that step to work out.

The habit of exercise that I have developed actually came from a few different things. The first was really out of boredom. I did my student teaching at a DoDDS campus in England. It was an amazing opportunity to travel and meet new people, that's where I met DH, but I had long frustrating days trying to take what I had learned in school and mold it to fit myself, my students, and a supervising teacher who did not share any of my teaching philosophies. So I would get home from school and run straight to the gym. The change in me was amazing. I found that not only was I losing weight that I had been carrying around since my freshmen year, I was happier. That's right, happier. All of those years that I had ignored people telling me that it improved their mood thinking that they were full of it. Oops. The second thing that motivated me was a common thing. I had two babies. If you don't take care of your body during and after pregnancy it can wreak havoc on your figure.

Working out has been a part of my life for years now and it has become a habit that I love and miss when I can't do it. When I miss my exercise time for a few days in a row I see my mood go downhill, especially when it comes to patience. I also start to miss some of the other benefits as well, especially the ability to treat myself to junk food without worrying about what it will do to my waistline.

In January when I had my surgery I was explicitly told that I could not work out at all for 8-12 weeks. That time just about killed me. I am happy to announce that I have been cleared for full workouts for almost 2 weeks and I am loving getting back to this way of life. It's harder than I remember and things that I used to do with ease are tough. I know that it I keep it up I'll be back on track soon.

~DD