Re: The E word...

[Guest guest]

Tilley wrote:

"And I must say I am envious of folks who are working on novels, and who have a sunny studio to paint in....."Oh me, too! How divine. Well, all this talk about intuitive exercise got me to really think about what's holding me back. A lot of it is the same old "rules" that I'd previously carried around about food. Just like the idea that one must eat at a certain time and a certain amount, I had the rule that exercise can only be done at certain times. I used to exercise during my lunch break. Lately I have been trying to get out there for a walk once a day. However, I was really having a hard time doing so at noon. Well today it dawned on me that it doesn't have to be at noon. Duh! There are times when I really need a break from work and would love to go for a walk, but previously I had not allowed this because it was at the "wrong" time. Well, today I needed a break at 1:15 and I took it and had a lovely walk to the

national sculpture garden. So happy I did it. No struggling with myself. So from now on I will try to move when the spirit hits me. Thanks!

Mimi

[Guest guest]

You know, it's no wonder our culture is so crazy, all this expert advice to keep

us totally out of touch with our most primal selves. It's amazing. And yet

kinda tragic.

I've been three times already and if I get one of those " I need to exercise

today " I just blah blah blah it and then get in touch with whether or not I

actually want to. I don't want to make this another rigor in my life that I do

with a proverbial gun to my head.

I love my walks when I do them. But it's hard for me to snap out of my

workaholic trance at the job and just go outside and walk. That must be the

work police keeping my nose to the grindstone...

Yes, find what feels good to do and - like with the food - shout out the voices

of the experts. All those health club memberships that nobody uses - must be

worth millions and millions.

Sandarah

>

>

>

> Subject: The " E " word...

> To: IntuitiveEating_Support

> Date: Wednesday, November 9, 2011, 10:17 PM

>

>

>

>  

>

>

>

> I joined a health club yesterday! What's amazing is that I didn't join it to

lose weight or to complement a diet. At all. I did it because I was at a sort of

retreat this weekend where we did a lot of movement and dance and it felt so

good to move and to breathe.

>

> I grew up in the 50's when women didn't move much. PE was an elective and

girls and sports were not celebrated. I could go on - but suffice it to say that

my body image and my resistance to working out just to lose weight have stood in

the way of moving for a long time now. Plus, I just couldn't find the enjoyment

in it.

>

> Tonight after work I was eager to do a workout so that I could burn off some

of the frustration from the day and feel better. I just wanted to feel better.

That my friends is brand-spanking new. For so long I haven't noticed that much

about how I felt because I was so consumed with diet rebellion and diet

restriction that how I felt was besides the point.

>

> Now - I do notice and I do care. It's so strange how this works. Yay for

wanting to have a physical outlet that isn't eating!

>

> Sandarah

>

[Guest guest]

You know, it's no wonder our culture is so crazy, all this expert advice to keep

us totally out of touch with our most primal selves. It's amazing. And yet

kinda tragic.

I've been three times already and if I get one of those " I need to exercise

today " I just blah blah blah it and then get in touch with whether or not I

actually want to. I don't want to make this another rigor in my life that I do

with a proverbial gun to my head.

I love my walks when I do them. But it's hard for me to snap out of my

workaholic trance at the job and just go outside and walk. That must be the

work police keeping my nose to the grindstone...

Yes, find what feels good to do and - like with the food - shout out the voices

of the experts. All those health club memberships that nobody uses - must be

worth millions and millions.

Sandarah

>

>

>

> Subject: The " E " word...

> To: IntuitiveEating_Support

> Date: Wednesday, November 9, 2011, 10:17 PM

>

>

>

>  

>

>

>

> I joined a health club yesterday! What's amazing is that I didn't join it to

lose weight or to complement a diet. At all. I did it because I was at a sort of

retreat this weekend where we did a lot of movement and dance and it felt so

good to move and to breathe.

>

> I grew up in the 50's when women didn't move much. PE was an elective and

girls and sports were not celebrated. I could go on - but suffice it to say that

my body image and my resistance to working out just to lose weight have stood in

the way of moving for a long time now. Plus, I just couldn't find the enjoyment

in it.

>

> Tonight after work I was eager to do a workout so that I could burn off some

of the frustration from the day and feel better. I just wanted to feel better.

That my friends is brand-spanking new. For so long I haven't noticed that much

about how I felt because I was so consumed with diet rebellion and diet

restriction that how I felt was besides the point.

>

> Now - I do notice and I do care. It's so strange how this works. Yay for

wanting to have a physical outlet that isn't eating!

>

> Sandarah

>

[Guest guest]

Tilly wrote:

"my sister-in-law, who is now a doctor, said that going slow and not very far was better than not doing it at all, And I took that completely to heart. Every single day before I started swimming, I would tell myself that I could go as slow as I wanted, which told me that I didn't HAVE to work hard at it, and I've never quit."

I LOVE this. It's very American to "push" ourselves. We're told from birth that we need to "challenge" ourselves and to do the impossible, etc. While that attitude can be great for certain things and is something to take to heart as a professional athlete, the rest of us often end up pushing ourselves right out of exercising at all. Telling yourself you can go at your own pace has resulted in a decade-long physical activity practice. Telling myself I need to push myself to the limit has resulted in a year-long sedentary life. Hmmm, I wonder which is more beneficial?

Mimi

[Guest guest]

Tilly wrote:

"my sister-in-law, who is now a doctor, said that going slow and not very far was better than not doing it at all, And I took that completely to heart. Every single day before I started swimming, I would tell myself that I could go as slow as I wanted, which told me that I didn't HAVE to work hard at it, and I've never quit."

I LOVE this. It's very American to "push" ourselves. We're told from birth that we need to "challenge" ourselves and to do the impossible, etc. While that attitude can be great for certain things and is something to take to heart as a professional athlete, the rest of us often end up pushing ourselves right out of exercising at all. Telling yourself you can go at your own pace has resulted in a decade-long physical activity practice. Telling myself I need to push myself to the limit has resulted in a year-long sedentary life. Hmmm, I wonder which is more beneficial?

Mimi

[Guest guest]

Tilly wrote:

"my sister-in-law, who is now a doctor, said that going slow and not very far was better than not doing it at all, And I took that completely to heart. Every single day before I started swimming, I would tell myself that I could go as slow as I wanted, which told me that I didn't HAVE to work hard at it, and I've never quit."

I LOVE this. It's very American to "push" ourselves. We're told from birth that we need to "challenge" ourselves and to do the impossible, etc. While that attitude can be great for certain things and is something to take to heart as a professional athlete, the rest of us often end up pushing ourselves right out of exercising at all. Telling yourself you can go at your own pace has resulted in a decade-long physical activity practice. Telling myself I need to push myself to the limit has resulted in a year-long sedentary life. Hmmm, I wonder which is more beneficial?

Mimi

[Guest guest]

Although I have always (well, since college) engaged in some kind of aerobic exercise, usually running, i have had the same mental block when it came to strengthening exercises. i did cardio because it made me feel good. but strength training, which to me meant lifting weights, ugh! it felt like work work work. no fun at all!

however, since my baby was born (13 weeks ago today!) i was dismayed to find that my legs felt really weak -- it was hard to get up out of the glider while holding her, and almost impossible to get up off the floor while holding her.

so i started using these exercise dvds that are for strengthening but mostly don't use weights. it's all dynamic movement. some times i only do 10 minutes. where before i felt like i was never doing enough and always adding more. and without being stuck in a weight room, and doing these dance poses, it feels like PLAY! maybe i am becoming my inner ballerina that i wanted to be when i was 5 years old (but wasn't allowed to take dance classes)? who knows?

but just today, doing one exercise where we do use light weights... the first time i did it, a couple of weeks ago, i could barely lift the weights. and today, i could get them more than halfway as high as i was supposed to! it was exciting! and felt great.

but i think it has been so important to have really, really low expectations. i did a couple new video segments today, 10 minutes each, and they were HARD. but i rested as often as i needed to, without feeling bad about it whatsoever. so with no pressure, it was fun! it felt good to use my muscles... and it's exciting to know that in a few weeks, i will be much stronger! but i'm getting stronger in a " real life " way, not stuck in a gym. my stronger muscles are to help me move through life -- carrying groceries, an increasingly heavy baby, going up the subway stairs, playing on the floor with my baby -- not trying to achieve some magazine ideal.

 

Tilly wrote:

 

" my sister-in-law, who is now a doctor, said that going slow and not very far was better than not doing it at all, And I took that completely to heart. Every single day before I started swimming, I would tell myself that I could go as slow as I wanted, which told me that I didn't HAVE to work hard at it, and I've never quit. "

I LOVE this. It's very American to " push " ourselves. We're told from birth that we need to " challenge " ourselves and to do the impossible, etc. While that attitude can be great for certain things and is something to take to heart as a professional athlete, the rest of us often end up pushing ourselves right out of exercising at all. Telling yourself you can go at your own pace has resulted in a decade-long physical activity practice. Telling myself I need to push myself to the limit has resulted in a year-long sedentary life. Hmmm, I wonder which is more beneficial?

 

Mimi

[Guest guest]

Although I have always (well, since college) engaged in some kind of aerobic exercise, usually running, i have had the same mental block when it came to strengthening exercises. i did cardio because it made me feel good. but strength training, which to me meant lifting weights, ugh! it felt like work work work. no fun at all!

however, since my baby was born (13 weeks ago today!) i was dismayed to find that my legs felt really weak -- it was hard to get up out of the glider while holding her, and almost impossible to get up off the floor while holding her.

so i started using these exercise dvds that are for strengthening but mostly don't use weights. it's all dynamic movement. some times i only do 10 minutes. where before i felt like i was never doing enough and always adding more. and without being stuck in a weight room, and doing these dance poses, it feels like PLAY! maybe i am becoming my inner ballerina that i wanted to be when i was 5 years old (but wasn't allowed to take dance classes)? who knows?

but just today, doing one exercise where we do use light weights... the first time i did it, a couple of weeks ago, i could barely lift the weights. and today, i could get them more than halfway as high as i was supposed to! it was exciting! and felt great.

but i think it has been so important to have really, really low expectations. i did a couple new video segments today, 10 minutes each, and they were HARD. but i rested as often as i needed to, without feeling bad about it whatsoever. so with no pressure, it was fun! it felt good to use my muscles... and it's exciting to know that in a few weeks, i will be much stronger! but i'm getting stronger in a " real life " way, not stuck in a gym. my stronger muscles are to help me move through life -- carrying groceries, an increasingly heavy baby, going up the subway stairs, playing on the floor with my baby -- not trying to achieve some magazine ideal.

 

Tilly wrote:

 

" my sister-in-law, who is now a doctor, said that going slow and not very far was better than not doing it at all, And I took that completely to heart. Every single day before I started swimming, I would tell myself that I could go as slow as I wanted, which told me that I didn't HAVE to work hard at it, and I've never quit. "

I LOVE this. It's very American to " push " ourselves. We're told from birth that we need to " challenge " ourselves and to do the impossible, etc. While that attitude can be great for certain things and is something to take to heart as a professional athlete, the rest of us often end up pushing ourselves right out of exercising at all. Telling yourself you can go at your own pace has resulted in a decade-long physical activity practice. Telling myself I need to push myself to the limit has resulted in a year-long sedentary life. Hmmm, I wonder which is more beneficial?

 

Mimi

[Guest guest]

Although I have always (well, since college) engaged in some kind of aerobic exercise, usually running, i have had the same mental block when it came to strengthening exercises. i did cardio because it made me feel good. but strength training, which to me meant lifting weights, ugh! it felt like work work work. no fun at all!

however, since my baby was born (13 weeks ago today!) i was dismayed to find that my legs felt really weak -- it was hard to get up out of the glider while holding her, and almost impossible to get up off the floor while holding her.

so i started using these exercise dvds that are for strengthening but mostly don't use weights. it's all dynamic movement. some times i only do 10 minutes. where before i felt like i was never doing enough and always adding more. and without being stuck in a weight room, and doing these dance poses, it feels like PLAY! maybe i am becoming my inner ballerina that i wanted to be when i was 5 years old (but wasn't allowed to take dance classes)? who knows?

but just today, doing one exercise where we do use light weights... the first time i did it, a couple of weeks ago, i could barely lift the weights. and today, i could get them more than halfway as high as i was supposed to! it was exciting! and felt great.

but i think it has been so important to have really, really low expectations. i did a couple new video segments today, 10 minutes each, and they were HARD. but i rested as often as i needed to, without feeling bad about it whatsoever. so with no pressure, it was fun! it felt good to use my muscles... and it's exciting to know that in a few weeks, i will be much stronger! but i'm getting stronger in a " real life " way, not stuck in a gym. my stronger muscles are to help me move through life -- carrying groceries, an increasingly heavy baby, going up the subway stairs, playing on the floor with my baby -- not trying to achieve some magazine ideal.

 

Tilly wrote:

 

" my sister-in-law, who is now a doctor, said that going slow and not very far was better than not doing it at all, And I took that completely to heart. Every single day before I started swimming, I would tell myself that I could go as slow as I wanted, which told me that I didn't HAVE to work hard at it, and I've never quit. "

I LOVE this. It's very American to " push " ourselves. We're told from birth that we need to " challenge " ourselves and to do the impossible, etc. While that attitude can be great for certain things and is something to take to heart as a professional athlete, the rest of us often end up pushing ourselves right out of exercising at all. Telling yourself you can go at your own pace has resulted in a decade-long physical activity practice. Telling myself I need to push myself to the limit has resulted in a year-long sedentary life. Hmmm, I wonder which is more beneficial?

 

Mimi

[Guest guest]

You know I just realized that in addition to all my hang-ups about exercise, I've had this view that if the exercise was not HARD and exhausting and almost painful, it wasn't really exercise. It was just playing around and you weren't really "serious" about your health or looks. I would actually feel ashamed if I weren't ready to drop after an exercise session -- like I wasted my time and was taking "the easy way out." It's the old-time adages that I believed without any reflection -- "no pain, no gain," and "anything worth doing is going to be really difficult." Well, why? More to think about for me.

Mimi

Subject: Re: Re: The "E" word...To: IntuitiveEating_Support Date: Tuesday, November 15, 2011, 12:12 PM

Although I have always (well, since college) engaged in some kind of aerobic exercise, usually running, i have had the same mental block when it came to strengthening exercises. i did cardio because it made me feel good. but strength training, which to me meant lifting weights, ugh! it felt like work work work. no fun at all!

however, since my baby was born (13 weeks ago today!) i was dismayed to find that my legs felt really weak -- it was hard to get up out of the glider while holding her, and almost impossible to get up off the floor while holding her.

so i started using these exercise dvds that are for strengthening but mostly don't use weights. it's all dynamic movement. some times i only do 10 minutes. where before i felt like i was never doing enough and always adding more. and without being stuck in a weight room, and doing these dance poses, it feels like PLAY! maybe i am becoming my inner ballerina that i wanted to be when i was 5 years old (but wasn't allowed to take dance classes)? who knows?

but just today, doing one exercise where we do use light weights... the first time i did it, a couple of weeks ago, i could barely lift the weights. and today, i could get them more than halfway as high as i was supposed to! it was exciting! and felt great.

but i think it has been so important to have really, really low expectations. i did a couple new video segments today, 10 minutes each, and they were HARD. but i rested as often as i needed to, without feeling bad about it whatsoever. so with no pressure, it was fun! it felt good to use my muscles... and it's exciting to know that in a few weeks, i will be much stronger! but i'm getting stronger in a "real life" way, not stuck in a gym. my stronger muscles are to help me move through life -- carrying groceries, an increasingly heavy baby, going up the subway stairs, playing on the floor with my baby -- not trying to achieve some magazine ideal.

[Guest guest]

You know I just realized that in addition to all my hang-ups about exercise, I've had this view that if the exercise was not HARD and exhausting and almost painful, it wasn't really exercise. It was just playing around and you weren't really "serious" about your health or looks. I would actually feel ashamed if I weren't ready to drop after an exercise session -- like I wasted my time and was taking "the easy way out." It's the old-time adages that I believed without any reflection -- "no pain, no gain," and "anything worth doing is going to be really difficult." Well, why? More to think about for me.

Mimi

Subject: Re: Re: The "E" word...To: IntuitiveEating_Support Date: Tuesday, November 15, 2011, 12:12 PM

Although I have always (well, since college) engaged in some kind of aerobic exercise, usually running, i have had the same mental block when it came to strengthening exercises. i did cardio because it made me feel good. but strength training, which to me meant lifting weights, ugh! it felt like work work work. no fun at all!

however, since my baby was born (13 weeks ago today!) i was dismayed to find that my legs felt really weak -- it was hard to get up out of the glider while holding her, and almost impossible to get up off the floor while holding her.

so i started using these exercise dvds that are for strengthening but mostly don't use weights. it's all dynamic movement. some times i only do 10 minutes. where before i felt like i was never doing enough and always adding more. and without being stuck in a weight room, and doing these dance poses, it feels like PLAY! maybe i am becoming my inner ballerina that i wanted to be when i was 5 years old (but wasn't allowed to take dance classes)? who knows?

but just today, doing one exercise where we do use light weights... the first time i did it, a couple of weeks ago, i could barely lift the weights. and today, i could get them more than halfway as high as i was supposed to! it was exciting! and felt great.

but i think it has been so important to have really, really low expectations. i did a couple new video segments today, 10 minutes each, and they were HARD. but i rested as often as i needed to, without feeling bad about it whatsoever. so with no pressure, it was fun! it felt good to use my muscles... and it's exciting to know that in a few weeks, i will be much stronger! but i'm getting stronger in a "real life" way, not stuck in a gym. my stronger muscles are to help me move through life -- carrying groceries, an increasingly heavy baby, going up the subway stairs, playing on the floor with my baby -- not trying to achieve some magazine ideal.

[Guest guest]

You know I just realized that in addition to all my hang-ups about exercise, I've had this view that if the exercise was not HARD and exhausting and almost painful, it wasn't really exercise. It was just playing around and you weren't really "serious" about your health or looks. I would actually feel ashamed if I weren't ready to drop after an exercise session -- like I wasted my time and was taking "the easy way out." It's the old-time adages that I believed without any reflection -- "no pain, no gain," and "anything worth doing is going to be really difficult." Well, why? More to think about for me.

Mimi

Subject: Re: Re: The "E" word...To: IntuitiveEating_Support Date: Tuesday, November 15, 2011, 12:12 PM

Although I have always (well, since college) engaged in some kind of aerobic exercise, usually running, i have had the same mental block when it came to strengthening exercises. i did cardio because it made me feel good. but strength training, which to me meant lifting weights, ugh! it felt like work work work. no fun at all!

however, since my baby was born (13 weeks ago today!) i was dismayed to find that my legs felt really weak -- it was hard to get up out of the glider while holding her, and almost impossible to get up off the floor while holding her.

so i started using these exercise dvds that are for strengthening but mostly don't use weights. it's all dynamic movement. some times i only do 10 minutes. where before i felt like i was never doing enough and always adding more. and without being stuck in a weight room, and doing these dance poses, it feels like PLAY! maybe i am becoming my inner ballerina that i wanted to be when i was 5 years old (but wasn't allowed to take dance classes)? who knows?

but just today, doing one exercise where we do use light weights... the first time i did it, a couple of weeks ago, i could barely lift the weights. and today, i could get them more than halfway as high as i was supposed to! it was exciting! and felt great.

but i think it has been so important to have really, really low expectations. i did a couple new video segments today, 10 minutes each, and they were HARD. but i rested as often as i needed to, without feeling bad about it whatsoever. so with no pressure, it was fun! it felt good to use my muscles... and it's exciting to know that in a few weeks, i will be much stronger! but i'm getting stronger in a "real life" way, not stuck in a gym. my stronger muscles are to help me move through life -- carrying groceries, an increasingly heavy baby, going up the subway stairs, playing on the floor with my baby -- not trying to achieve some magazine ideal.