It's Saturday morning, isn't it? Time for another Get Fit Challenge!
As usual, here's our intro paragraph from drbloodaxe:
The premise is simple. I'll post a weekly review diary around 10-11 EST Saturdays, wherein we all share our experiences over the last week in getting in better shape physically. Nutition and exercise are the most likely subjects of comment, but we want to know (if you're willing to share) your start weight and goals if you're trying to lose weight, or your BMI, or your starting exercise plan and goal, or however else you're measuring your progress. The more of us supporting each other there are, the more likely each of us is to meet our own individual goals, or so we hope ;)
This week, I'd like you to share what keeps you going. We all have setbacks (okay, those of us who are HUMAN have setbacks), and motivation and progress are not constant. What do you do to deal with that? How do you stay in the game, even when you don't want to? Tell us about what motivates you, what inspires you, how you keep your eyes on the prize.
I suffer from depression. It's something I have struggled with to some degree all of my adult life (though I'd say I'm lucky that it's been manageable most of the time). The period since I became pregnant with and gave birth to my third child (who is ack, pushing 3) has been challenging, though. Part of the reason I took the plunge on the Get Fit Challenge myself was to use fitness (the endorphins!) and better nutrition (less processed food! More omega 3s!) to help fight the depression.
Up until a week or so ago, it seemed to be working perfectly. Then I hit a slump. It has been hard to get out of bed, I've cried a lot--you get the picture. I've eaten a fair amount of crunchy salty things--BUT--I have continued to exercise. And I consider that a victory. I guess I see running, biking, and the rest as my little blue pill (and I have had complete failure with all manner of little blue pills, for what that's worth), and it's not optional. I'm feeling a little more up this week, and I'm glad I kept exercising. This week, I'll work on the crunchy salty things. (Again.)
One other tip'ola for you... Have any of you checked out the Fitness and Nutrition section of the online NY Times? This week has had a number of great tofu recipes. Check out the "recipes for health" in the upper right. There are some really great recipes here, always.
Okay, one last question... are any of the rest of you doing the President's Fitness Challenge? How are you doing on it? I updated my log yesterday, and I was surprised to find that I am over 80% of the way to the bronze award (woot woot).