Going to the Gym When You’re Out of Shape is SCARY #FitNHealthy

Over a year ago I turned 40 and with that birthday came a burning desire to get healthy. Since my car accident in 2010 I’ve lived with chronic pain, migraines and was packing on the pounds due to my lack of movement. Many days found me locked in a world of pain where the though of moving my body was far too much to embrace.

There I was 50+ pounds overweight, in pain and SCARED. If I’m like this at 40 what will my life be like at 50?  I felt like I was looking at a dark road, where spiritually I could improve myself but physically it was out of my hands. For over 3 years I’d seen doctors, physical therapists, acupuncturists and other professionals and felt like I’d hit the plateau where this was the best I’d ever feel.

2013 saw me slowly beginning to change my attitude, it began with prayer. I just asked God to give me the ability to improve my physical health, to show me how I could somehow begin this battle. Little by little I began eating more veggies, less sugar and fast food. My outlook on food was gradually changing but nothing actually stuck, I would return to old habits in time and get down on myself for doing so.

In the Fall of 2013 I’d had the pleasure of watching a friend share Facebook status updates of her trips to the local gym. She shared honestly, openly admitting to wanting to avoid going but heading for a workout anyway. These words ate away at my fear of moving until I vowed to become Fit n Healthy in 2014 and even went as far as to blog about it HERE.

Going to the Gym When You’re Out of Shape is SCARY

I say my fear of moving because it’s a VERY real thing. When I move my body there is pain, it’s that simple. With each update she shared my mind sucked up the encouragement until the day in December when I reached out to her and asked to join her at the gym. It didn’t cost me a dime because I’d had a membership there for a LONG time…I just had to dust it off and away we went.

It wasn’t easy to face going to the gym; I was out of shape, scared of pain and out of my current element but I knew I HAD to get moving. Having my friend Mellissa with me made all of the difference in the world and she encouraged me to take it slowly for the first week. That first week I did light elliptical and stretching every other day.

Soon this gym thing became a routine, if you follow me on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram you’ll have seen me sharing regular photos from the gym using the hashtag #fitnhealthy. I gave myself 3 months to create a routine, this has changed my thinking patterns and improved my overall health. These days I’m doing Yoga, elliptical, stretching and some machine weights.

Changing to Improve is SCARY

This week I’ve upped my game, it’s time to take this to the next level. My body hasn’t changed much outwardly over the past few months as I haven’t really adopted any kind of hard core eating style which is conducive to losing weight.

This week I’ve begun eating a Paleo diet which sees me eating whole foods rich in good stuff for my body. My very good friend Lisa recently wrote a post which gives the Basics of Paleo if you’re interested. I’ve also met with a personal trainer who has helped me outline a workout plan which works for my physical limitations but provides the right exercises for losing weight and burning muscle.

If you are someone who is in the spot I was in please allow my journey to encourage you. I am openly imperfect, fearful and want to do nothing rather than face the scary option of change. BUT this change IS something we can achieve!

By moving a bit more, by eating a bit healthier and learning to pay attention to our bodies and face the SCARY change there WILL be improvement.