The Next Level of Healthy

LESSONS LEARNED:
It wasn't a hard lesson, just a long one. I don't know why it took so long to register that I have put myself at a disadvantage when it comes to my health and fitness. I used to always look at it the wrong way. I used to always think that me being overweight and unfit gave me the excuse that I was at a disadvantage to people who had a good metabolism, who have always played sports, who are taller, who have athlete's as parents or as siblings, who had more sport opportunities in the school they went to...the list goes on. I did this to myself and if I don't own it, I will always make excuses.

ITS NEVER EASY:
Losing weight and getting healthy is never easy. Let's get that straight. Even worse, its not easy to stay that way either. It seems it does get easier when looking at my progress and how I feel now compared to 2 years ago. And I think I have just this week I felt a new feeling of addiction to exercise that I have never felt in these last two years. This addiction is like any other addiction - when I am walking down the street or driving in my car, I suddenly have an urge to go running and think of all the ways I can make sure that I get my run in. I have replaced my food addiction with a much healthier one but it has been painful. It has taken YEARS.

Let's take Fitprosarah (Sarah Ripple, BS, CPT) for an example. Sarah is a highly educated fitness professional, life time friend, and triathlete. If you put the two of us on a track and asked us to run as fast as we could for 1 mile, it would be unanimous guess on who would win. But who is it harder for? Who feels more pain when pushing themselves to their limits?

I used to think I knew the answer. Two years ago I would tell you that there was no way Sarah would feel more pain than I did. But since I started running and talking to people who are avid runners, I have found that some of them believe that the feeling would be the same for the both of us. Sarah's all out effort may result in a faster time but she will still feel pain. She will still be huffing and puffing at the end of the mile...just like me. Sarah puts just as much effort (if not more) into her workouts. Think about this next time you think the fitness pros got it easy. They have push themselves to higher and harder levels for a long time. Everyone that is trying to reach a new level - either to run their first  mile or to run their 1st marathon - all feel the resistance that our bodies gives us when we are doing something that is new.

This is why I am so amazed by the athletes that I know. They have endured it all for so much longer than I have. They have pushed themselves past new levels over and over again. When I think about this, it reminds me that 30-40 minutes out of my day for exercise, may be painful, but its a small price to pay to get to the next level of healthy.

FOOD FOR THOUGHT:
I now realize that the question I should have been asking is, "Who is it harder ON?". I have learned that losing weight is only half of being healthy. It takes eating healthy to support your physical fitness. I may lose a ton of weight but if I can't sit up straight or run a mile with out feeling fatigued, I am still not healthy.

I have spent the majority of my life destroying my body. I really never knew what being overweight really has done to me physically until now. That one mile run that I was speaking of earlier may feel just as painful as it does to Sarah because we are both pushing ourselves to an extreme effort. However, my body will have no idea what I am trying to do. It will go into protection mode. My brain will do everything to tell me to stop running. My legs, feet, knees and back will punish me for trying such a trick.

BUT - If you start today and take that first step (whatever it may be) you will be one day into your more healthy life...

This is why being fit as soon as possible for as long as possible has become so important to me. I can't reverse the harm I have done to my body. I can't take away my planters faciatis that I developed when I weighed almost 200 pounds. My foot will always be vulnerable to that type of injury. But, I can lose the weight that makes me more prone to the pain it causes. I can stretch and I can run to strengthen my feet, ankles and legs. I can feed my body healthy amounts and types of protein, carbs, and fats. And I can teach my body and my mind, one lap at a time, that one mile at my fastest pace is going to be OK.

Yesterday's Workout:

At the track...
Chi Running 5 min run/2min walk
Total distance 3.5 miles
Total time 42 min.