Fitness Update

I want to venture outside of just themes of relationships or self acceptance and such to go into practical applications of the journey towards happiness.  This blog post will be about fitness, which is very important to that end.  A few weeks ago, I had a doctor checkup and was asked if I felt depressed about anything.  I said that I did not and was feeling very hopeful.  We had just been talking about my fitness improvement and running that I am doing.  The nurse said, "It's hard to feel depressed when you are so active in fitness, isn't it?"  She has a point, other than thee chemicals that are released into your blood by doing it, you feel good about yourself for trying and for the progress that you see and feel more confidence for other challenges, as well.

Since October of last year, I have lost 26 pounds.  It began as a Healthy Wage challenge that I will collect over 200 in october of this year for meeting.  However, I have exceeded it and kept going.  I feel more fit than I have been in several decades, and it makes me feel really good about my future.  I went from high cholesterol to normal range in less than a year.  All my lab numbers are amazing, now.  

I ussed to run 5k races and such, but it has been years, since I did til this year.  In October I began walking longer distances multiple days a week.  In March, I began running, again.  Now, I just ran 7 miles this last weekend, as part of my training plan to run a half marathon in February that I signed up for.  I am not sure how far I have to go back in my running history to find when I ran 7 miles last, if at all.  But, I will get to the 13 miles that will be needed for the half marathon.  I know I will.

It also teaches you a lot to be involved in fitness.  You learn that you can do more than you think you can do.  You learn that you get better with repeated practice.  You learn to commit to do it regularly, whether or not you feel like it, the weather is good for it, or if you have to work to make it fit into you schedule, because it is important to you.  And, you learn to cut yourself some slack if you didn't meet a pace goal or need to take a day off, because it isn't about winning a race but overall growth and improvement.

So, I hope this post will inspire you to include more fitness in your own life.  I believe it will help you in the same ways it has helped me, and I would love to have everyone find joy in fitness as I do.  It is an objectively effective element towards happiness that is literally in your hands.