I shared a while ago, how I’ve learned the two things I need to do for everything else in my life to fall into place; going to church and exercising. I have been feeling amazing lately because in addition to getting to church regularly, since the first of the year I’ve been going to the gym 5 days a week, eating a bit better, drinking lots of water and really limiting my soda. I’d have a diet coke a couple times a week since coming back from Mexico last month and that’s it. All was going great. Still is honestly, but I had a little hiccup last week.
I will have lifelong issues with my back so I have to be careful. In the gym, I have done very little heavy lifting and when I do lift heavy I’m conscientious about what exercises I choose and make sure my form is spot on. Well, after wrestling with my son and he shoved me off the bed, I tweaked my back that had me extremely, extremely conservative at the gym last week. Let me just stop right there and say, I should have never thought messing around with my 185 pound boy with the strength of a man was a good idea. He barely touched me but his brut strength knocked my right on my butt. I knew as soon as I landed I messed up my back. It’s so frustrating because after 4 months at the gym, my back finally felt strong and I was feeling great.
So last week I babied it and didn’t push myself in the gym. The gym is my place. My place to alleviate stress. My place to do more than my mind thinks is possible. My place to walk out feeling like a BA! When I can’t, it’s frustrating. And that’s when I decided I’d just get one Mountain Dew on Friday cause ‘it would make me feel better’. ha! That led to having 1 liter of Mountain Dew with my pizza on Saturday, two 20 oz bottles at my conference on Sunday and 1 more 20 oz bottle on Monday while continuing to learn at my conference to bring back ideas to implement at Sweet Lemonade Photography. Since I was having soda, I may as well enjoy a burger and fries to go along with it. You bet, I’ll have cheese sauce for my fries. As you might guess, I felt lethargic, fat and like I lost 4 months worth of muscle in 4 days of being absent from the gym.
No more. Done. I chose not to head down that path again. It’s a slippery slope that descends very quickly for me. I wish I could treat myself to that sugary drug that is more addictive than crack on occasion. For the record, I’ve never done cocaine but Mountain Dew sure is a drug for me! I know that once I bring that back into my world, all the other great changes I’ve been making go out the window eventually too. So I woke up on Tuesday and chose not to get another one. I’m making a choice, not depriving myself. And today, I don’t even miss it. Drinking soda is just a habit for me. When I had the urge to drive through Mobil for a Polar Pop Monday night, something I hadn’t done in 11 weeks, I knew I had to make a choice to get it under control now. I went to bed last night feeling fluffy, lethargic, weak and angry at myself cause in my head I screwed up 4 months of work in the last 4 days. We all know that’s not true but that’s how I felt.
Today, after not being at the gym for 4 days because of work and other commitments and eating horrible, I walked into the gym and immediately felt stronger. I hadn’t even lifted a weight or pushed a sled and I felt better about myself. My mom does not understand the high I get from exercising. She thinks it’s sick. 🙂 Exercise might not be what makes you tick. But I encourage you to find what does make you feel great about yourself and keep doing it. Maybe it’s reading the bible every morning, or connecting with a friend once a week for coffee, or being outdoors to soak up some Vitamin D every day. Figure out what makes you feel great and make no excuses. Just keep doing it.
For me, it’s exercise and let me tell you… if you live in Mahomet you have no excuses to find something that works for you regardless of your fitness level or preferences.
NO LIMIT FITNESS
I joined No Limit Fitness (NLF) and have found everything that I need for now, and hopefully for a long time to come. I like to do exercises that most people don’t. Box jumps and sled pushes are different so I like that. I never once felt judged at my poor fitness level when I first walked in the door. I was provided modifications for everything because I knew I needed to take it slow. Variety is HUGE for me. I get bored pretty easily so to come in every day and have the choice of 2 WOD’s (workout of the day) is awesome. We may still be doing a lot of the same exercises all week long but they are in a different format and repetition so I’m always challenged and not bored. NLF definitely has a family environment. The extremely fit were encouraging me… not judging me. I attend at the same time almost every day so I see the ‘regulars’ and if I miss a day, someone is going to be checking in with me wondering where I was. I can push myself past what my mind thinks I’m capable of while still being mindful of my limitations.
For the first time in my life, I feel like I’m approaching exercise with moderation. I have always hit it hard at the gym and drastically changed my eating til I got in great shape and then fell hard off the bandwagon and quit doing anything positive for my body til I hit my heaviest again. This time, I’m going in 5 days a week and working hard for about an hour a day. If I don’t feel like I should do something, I ask for a different exercise. And I’ve made slight modifications to my eating, extremely cutting out Mountain Dew is the biggest change. My body is not changing as quickly as I’d like but that’s ok. I want to try to figure out how to make life long changes. Slow and steady wins the race.
I’ve lost about 10 pounds since November. I use to lose that same amount easily in a month. But I’m fine with that. If I avoided all processed foods, I’d lose it a whole lot quicker. But I’m ok with that. And regardless of what the scale says, I’m ok with it because I’m waking up every day and doing something that makes me feel great about myself.
Felt so good to get back in to the gym yesterday morning. Just walking in the doors of NLF, I felt stronger and better about myself after a few days off. No joke. In my mind, I instantly got fitter. I’ve exercised and have gotten in 6 glasses of water already today. And I have no desire for a Mountain Dew. That my friends is what victory looks like for me.
LAKE OF THE WOODS
We are so fortunate to have such a beautiful place in our own back yard. Lake of the Woods Forest Preserve has such beautiful paths for walking, running and biking, golf course, playgrounds and lots of beauty to enjoy while you’re active. Best part is, it’s all free (well, except for the golf)!
Lake of the Woods even has a variety of trail guides on their website that you can use while you explore the 3.3 miles of trails.
FITTEK
FitTek is a gym I have not been so I pulled these images off of their website. They have a wide variety of cardio and weight equipment. I friends who are faithful about going there and really like it.
TRANSFORM FITNESS
I worked out at Transform for almost 6 months. Class sizes are small. Body Pump was always the highest attended when I was there so it was a packed house. It was my favorite too. All the members are really friendly. They have a lot of different type of classes offered at various times all throughout the week. I really enjoyed working out there. When my membership expired, I took a hiatus from working out in general. Bad idea.
CURVES
I met a friend at Curves last month and after having been working out at No Limit Fitness for about 4 months, I thought Curves would be ‘too easy’ for me. Boy, was I wrong. I was pushing myself on those machines during the circuit training and my heart was pumping… a lot harder than I was expecting. It too was a friendly environment and I enjoyed meeting the owner and other members. Just like any exercise, you get out what you put in. It’s just about finding the right kind of exercise for you, one that you will stick with long term. A choice that might not be a good fit for you now, might be great for you later. Just keep an open mind as you explore your options.
Find something you love and just keep doing it!
XOXOXO
Heather
Heather is the owner of Sweet Lemonade Photography and co-owner of Sweet Darling Weddings. Life gave her a bunch of lemons (you can read a little more here) and by keeping her focus on God, finding the positive in each day, and surrounding herself with supporting, loving and encouraging people she has turned those lemons into the sweetest lemonade. This blog has been created to share her heart, her adventures and find ways to bless others. You can contact her at heather@sweetlemonadelife.com.
