Why Fitness Blogging?
Let me share a brief “why” about my decision to start blogging about fitness. In my youth, I was always active and participating in sports. I played volleyball for several years (my dark side comes out on the court…) and I transitioned into track and cross country in high school. I began to really love running. My junior year of college, I joined our cross country team for a season and that will probably always be the best shape I’ll ever be in because I will never again do 3-a-day workouts. I cherish that time of feeling the best I’ve ever felt physically and spending hours and hours running “all of the miles” (seriously, I ran about 500 miles that season, I kept a log). I was also quite young and capable. Now, I’m in my early 30’s and being that active requires a little more effort and consistency to even be in half as good of shape as I was then. Can anyone relate??
After college, I struggled for several years figuring out how to take care of myself. I love sugar and bread, and have a pretty low willpower when it comes to food. If I want a handful of cookies, dang it, I’m going to have some. It wasn’t until I realized that I was 30 pounds heavier than I was 10 years ago and wasn’t really happy about how I looked or felt, that I decided I was going to change my habits. I was driving a lot for work and just not really motivated to do a whole lot. I was always too tired, but didn’t really understand that it was entirely my fault. I was tired because I wasn’t eating right and I wasn’t exercising. Something finally snapped, and I decided it was time to take control of my health.
In January of 2016, I decided I was going to pursue my goal of running a half marathon, and I was going to do it before my 30th birthday. I signed up for The San Francisco Half Marathon and trained for several months. If I’m honest, I signed up for that race not fully believing that I would actually be able to do it, but that trip to San Francisco in July of 2016 was a milestone for me. I cannot even describe to you how I felt when I crossed that finish line. I DID IT, I actually did it! I felt superhuman, like it wasn’t even real or surely somehow I had cheated or something. But, I ran every single mile and crossed that finish line in tears of joy and disbelief, bursting with pride. And you know what else? Those 6 months of training made me feel like I looked amazing. It wasn’t about how I thought others saw me, it was about how I saw myself. No matter what anyone told me, I wanted to feel good about me – inside and out. I knew it was about taking care of my body and soul.
But you know what else happened? A month later, I got lazy again. Yep, I let myself get out of shape because I rested and recovered too long and got out of my good habits. Fact of the matter is, it’s REALLY hard for some people to stick with stuff. Some people are just better at it than others, they thrive on routine and staying in shape seems effortless for them (I can assure you though, that those people work incredibly hard). Why can’t the rest of us get it together?! It may just be that they find the motivation to work harder. I don’t know, I’m still trying to figure it all out! If you’re like me and you go through ebbs and flows of staying in shape and keeping it all together, I just want you to know you’re not alone and you’re the reason I made this blog. WE are the reason I made this blog.
I am here to encourage you and share my journey with anyone who struggles with finding the time and motivation to live a “fit” lifestyle. Being fit doesn’t always mean you spend hours lifting weights in a gym everyday, it can mean that you make an effort in the morning to drink an extra glass of water, eat one cookie instead of two for dessert, go for a walk during your lunch break, or try a green juice for the first time. My point is, if you’re starting from scratch, START SIMPLE. The smallest efforts over time can yield great results. You don’t have to run a marathon, some people actually hate running and that’s totally ok. Maybe yoga is more your style (I swear I will try it one of these days), or maybe you like to go rock climbing. As long as you find something you love that keeps you moving! If you stick with it, you will start to see and feel changes and that should motivate you to keep going. Keep visiting me here for fitness tips, encouragement, and product reviews!
Remember, KEEP MOVING.
