Saturday, October 19, 2013

Discovering Running

Okay, post number two.  Where to begin? 

I love running.  Our relationship is still in the honeymoon phase and I am petrified our first fight is just around the corner.  But, before I dive into where I am today, let me begin by sharing a few tidbits from my fitness and weight loss history…

Years ago (sigh… I hate to admit how long ago it really was) I lost a lot of weight through running and eating healthy food.  During that year I was happy and was kept busy with the different areas of my life (school, work, friends, boyfriend, LIFE).  Before I knew it I had lost twenty pounds and was in great shape without really trying!  When I say I wasn’t trying, I mean I hadn’t been fixated on calorie counting.  Instead, I focused on being active and making good choices, and, eventually, the weight came off.   

Flash forward a few years and I wouldn’t have been able to run a mile if $1,000 was waiting for me at the finish line.  From that point on I battled with fad diets, binge eating, spurts of living at the gym to not moving a muscle, and I never really got back to where I had been previously. 

Flash forward some more and it is January 7, 2013 (yes I remember the exact day).  It was a new year, and mentally I had committed myself to losing weight.  I was sick of feeling chubby and out of shape.  I gave up drinking, and sticking to a very strict calorie reduced diet, and exercising at least four times a week, I lost weight over the following weeks.  However, like all extreme diets, I eventually fell off the wagon and ended up gaining some of the weight back.  And that was when I met my new love, running.

It was the summer and I was becoming frustrated with my life.  Freshly graduated from university I found myself unemployed and unsure of what was ahead of me.  I was unhappy, worried, anxious.  And then one day, instead of continuing with my normal gym routine and hitting up the elliptical machine, I hopped on the treadmill.  And it was as simple as that.  Sure I started slow, but I kept with it and before I knew it I was following a half marathon training program!  I still remember completing my first five miles and the amazing feeling of accomplishment that came with it.  In September of 2013 I ran my first race ever, a half marathon. 

So today, as I write all of this, I am still not satisfied with who I am quite yet.  I still have some growing and changing ahead of me.  I know my weight doesn’t dictate who I am, but my heavier self is not the individual I want to portray to the world.  I want to live a healthy and fit lifestyle so that I can take advantage of all the opportunities that come my way, and to continuously feel that amazing sense of accomplishment that comes with reaching your goals – regardless of how big or small they may be.

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