Ok, Now I Am A Believer

For years I had heard all the stuff encouraging regular exercise like the following and never quite believed it:

If you exercise you'll have more energy. Me: No, I'll just be tired

If you exercise you'll sleep better Me: Yeah, because I'll be exhausted

If you exercise you'll have fewer aches and pains Me: No, I'll have more of them

Ok, I have only been doing all of this for a couple of months now and have a long way to go, but this morning I realized that all of that stuff is true because I am starting (just starting mind you) to experience it for myself.

A couple of months ago the idea of skipping the elevator and taking the stairs was an absurd one to me. I haven't used the elevator once since I checked into a second floor room of this hotel day before yesterday. And you know what? It hasn't bothered me a bit. I can actually go up the stairs easily and without getting even a little bit tired or winded.

I find that I actually do feel like I have more energy now. Somehow I don't quite feel "old" like I always did just a few short weeks ago. When I walked out this morning to go get breakfast it wasn't with a tired, grudging "ok I have to make myself walk now" but was with a nice brisk step, enjoying the feel of the morning air, and a bit of a spring in my step. Been a long time since I have felt that way in the morning. I really don't have that chronic tired feeling I always had.

I have really been sleeping very well lately. Not as much tossing and turning trying to get comfortable. I actually wake feeling rested in the morning.

I am also not waking to a chorus of aches and pains, well, at least not as much. My bum hip still bothers me some but even that seems to be much less. I had actually expected it to hurt a lot worse with all of the walking, and it did at first. Now it actually seems to be easing up a bit and feels more loose, less stiff.

I still have a long road ahead of me both in weight loss and in fitness, but it's a start and the fact that I am feeling some positive effects only encourages me to continue on that road. As laughable as it may seem to me now, I can actually picture myself running in a few months; a thought that would have seemed impossible to me just a few weeks ago.