I'm Not Myself Without Exercise

Since July, I have had a hard time keeping up with my healthy lifestyle.

*gasp*

We all go through it, guys. Most of the time, when we relapse, we relapse HARD. What I mean by that is that we don't relapse just a little bit...we fall completely off the wagon. I have used my own advice that was posted a couple of weeks ago but I have not gotten back into the routine of it just yet.

I felt like I failed myself

When I stop exercising, my mental health suffers drastically. I get overwhelmed over things that should not overwhelm me. My energy levels are much lower, I am not sleeping as well and my attitude at home shows it.

When I routinely exercise, I routinely pay attention to my eating habits as well. Exercising puts me in that mind set. So when I go grocery shopping I don't buy all of the chips and cookies that I can find.

When we go through changes in life, it can be exhausting. Especially if you are adjusting to a new job, with new hours. I have gone through two different positions in the last three months:

The first was an internship, which I absolutely LOVED. However, the hours were completely exhausting. Working from 4:45am to 1:15pm with a 50 minute commute was not easy. It was also taxing on my physicality which is what prevented me the most. I definitely was not getting up before 3:30am to go exercise and by the time that I got home, I still had tons of projects to work on as well as still being a wife and dog mom. I was EXHAUSTED.

That internship lasted a few weeks and then I had nothing. I finished the internship thinking that I was going to start working that very next week.

Turns out, that did not happen. My husband got sick (no, it was not COVID), everyone went on a hiring freeze and I had no where to turn.

That is when I got back into my exercise and healthy eating routine - then created this blog.

Can't find a job? Create your own opportunity!

The next change that I went through was a new job, WOOHOO!

I found a job that involves my passion & expertise - preventative care that also have reversing effects! The job involves assisted stretching. Say wha?

Yeah, you read right.

Assisted stretching IS a new concept that I knew very little about. I knew the effects of stretching, why you should do it, what happens in the body (reflex responses & that sort of thing), and the benefits of it. But I had never stretched anyone other than myself and the PNF approach that I learned in school (thanks, Pete)!

Y'all, I have amazing hours, I live 10 minutes down the road and the stress that comes with the job is little to none. With that being said, it is physically exhausting. That physical exhaustion gave me a reason to "rest" for a couple of days which turned into a couple of weeks.

I am finally getting back on track but over these last few weeks of adjusting, my stress levels have gone up for no apparent reason. I'm not sleeping well at night, I come home very easily agitated and I could NOT figure out why. I started doing some self reflection. "Ok, Summer...what has changed? Why are you reacting this way? You have the job that you want, you have the life that you have always dreamt of...what is wrong with me!?" I racked my brain for days. Then, my husband asked what happened with my healthy eating habits and exercise because he noticed that I haven't been going on my runs or utilizing my space and time upstairs. He seems to be a great accountability partner for me since he knows how my entire being reacts to exercise versus the lack there of. More specifically, he gets the hit of it all - poor thing.

Anyway, that is when I realized that I am not myself without exercise & it is detrimental to not only my health but also for my happiness.

I share this because some of you may not understand why you feel so down when you should feel just the opposite. Exercise changes a lot of things but your happiness IS and should be just as important as your physiological health. They go hand in hand! Whether your physical appearance is the motivating factor, your health or your happiness - all three WILL improve with exercise. I guarantee it.