Happy Friday!
If anything can get my mood brighter in the morning, its waking up with the realization it’s Friday.
It has definitely been a weird few days over here…
*orange blossom teaaaa. Yep, drank that bad boy hot, even though its a million degrees out*
*Went on a coffee date with some friends and of course took a selfy because I’m that cool.*
My appetite has been a bit off the charts from what I’m used to. While I am rolling with this hunger, its a bit odd for me to be experiencing. In the whole time I’ve been in recovery I’ve never really ever felt hungry. Its bizarre how the body will adapt when you start giving it less nutrition, not to say I didn’t ever “feel hungry”, but I just got used to ignoring it.
I guess I should be welcoming this hunger and hoping this means my body is readapting to the nutrition I have been giving it for a while now. Reading this has helped a lot! (Thank you Ashley!!)
If you’ve read my blog for any amount of time, you know I have a crazy love for intensity workouts. I enjoy the feeling of working my muscles to the limit and reaching that point where I feel I can go no longer. Call me crazy, but I just like it.
*It was super duper hot yesterday afternoon so I wanted something to cool me off. I tried out Kristin’s Low Calorie “Ice Cream”, but blended a banana into the mixture.*
I like to get my heart rate up, and get the most bang for my buck with my workout routine. However, these workouts are not meant to be done Every. Single. Day. And that is what I have been doing.
I’ve been dealing with some headache and body pain for a while. Before it gets out of control I stepped back, took a look at my recent workouts and realized my routine has been filled with heavy duty routines for a while, so for now I’m going to scale back a bit.
Its so important I get my hormones back to normal and if that means increasing my weight a little and decreasing my activity then so be it. I want to be healthy and not live a half life of semi-healthiness. I’ve put a lot of thought into this and its just what will work for me right now.
*I then topped it with a protein frosting of coconut oil + protein powder, which I of course forgot to picture. It was so good though, it froze to the “ice cream” and made a nice shell-like topping.*
Enter in more pilates, yoga, and once a week spin class or HIIT routine. I can’t quit it spin, I did go this morning and make sure I scaled down the class a significant amount.
Eating healthy and exercising are all apart of my health, but there is more to this picture which I think can tend to get overlooked in the blog world.
We need our emotional, physical, mental, spiritual wellness to be at a healthy level as well. I have been ignoring some other important aspects. Some days I wake up in frustration that I have a nagging headache, am fatigued, and stressed.
*Finally, topped with strawberries. Delicious, but definitely not your usual ice cream.*
I try to control these things with my diet and exercise routine, which sometimes will work. However, these things are not working.
If I look at things from an outside perspective, I realize that I need to regulate my hormones, get more sleep, and reduce stress. My mental wellness has improved a vast amount and I am able to get through the days with hardly any negative thinking, of course this depends day in day out, but for the most part I believe I am pretty positive.
Sometimes, I feel we focus too much on the nutrition and fitness habits, we also need sleep, positive relationships, and less stressful environments to be healthy. Of couse, these will all differ between every person. And that’s fine, we as humans are all different and that’s a great thing.
So what does this mean for my fitness?
My approach to my fitness routine the next month will be a more laid back approach. More stretching, yoga, weights, pilates, and less high intensity workouts.
Have you ever had to take a break from your fitness routine? What was your favourite workout of the week?
Have a super fabulous weekend!!
About Lisa
You are so smart to listen to your body! I am so proud of you for setting such an outstanding example of what it means to not only listen to your body but also honor it! You are so smart to take the rest that you need, fill your hunger when it calls, and back off of the intensity in your workouts! I am sure it will pay off greatly for you!
Thank you Danielle!
Its hard to do, but I know only the best will come out of listening to my body positively!
i’m SO proud of you girl! that article really spoke to me and opened my eyes to a lot. i’m always here if you need an extra dose of encouragement! xoxo
You are such an inspiration in making these positive choices for myself!
I’ll definitely probably need to send you an e-mail for some encouragement! xo
Good for you listening to your body. It takes a lot of strength to come as far as you have. I’ve scaled back my workouts too because I was feeling so burnt. Now my routine includes some weight training or toning moves, jogging, one day of HIIT and lots of stretching.
Its definitely important to listen to my body, I spent so much time thinking and talking about changing, but not actually doing it. Now is the time!
Usually when you start feeding your body more, it takes a while for it to really kick in. Then once you start feeling hungry all the time, it means your metabolism is kicking into high gear! I used to eat more like three meals a day with a snack sometimes, but now I eat like every few hours. I’m always hungry! It’s a good sign
I’m proud of you for listening to your body! Low intensity workouts are just as great as the high intensity ones if that’s what you need to focus on. Sooner or later, you will be able to get back into the higher ones. You got this! <3
True! Hopefully my metabolism is working hard now!
That’s true, I guess it just means my bodies getting used to the nutrition and trying to feed all those muscles working away:)
Thanks lady!xo
this is awesome! i am so happy for you. i too have scaled back a TON on my workouts and i just overall feel better. sometimes i see other people doing some crazy workouts and while i wish i could… i just do not think my body is made for that. lots of walking and yoga have been in my life lately and i am loving it!
I definitely get the “oh I wish I could do that”, but there is no use in comparing if my body just isn’t meant to do those workouts right now.
I need to get healthy once and for all, instead of just talking about it.
I’m so happy to hear your body is loving the more “laid back” routine!
Quite a few (of my most favourite) bloggies seem to be dialing back their exercise regime right now , huh?
Focus seems to be shifting a bit from suuuper high intensity, ballstothewall exercise ALL the time, to actually being a little kinder and more attentive to the body and listening what it wants and needs.
I’m sure only good can come of this! And I love your attitude.
Iv unfortunately had to step back my workouts 1 too many times due to injury- stress fractures, which are pretty serious:(. I think if I had not actually ignored the little niggles and pains I had in the first place, and rested more, I could have prevented most of my injuries. This is something I’m working on, exercising through pain is foolish.
Hope your weekend is getting off to an amazing start<3!
Xxx
It totally seems like it right now, doesn’t it?
I guess, we’re just all coming to that realization that fitness is a priority some of the time and not meant to be taken to the extreme.
Oh no, I hope your stress fracture gets better soon, I’ve never had one before, but can imagine it would be frustrating. Definitely be careful with what you do <3
Great post! I completely agree with you about what you say about a ‘semihealthy’ lifestyle. I think this is a huge culprit for body image issues and even sub clinical eating disorders in many young women.
Oh, most definitely!
I think for some people they just will roll with a half recovered/semi healthy life, but I don’t want to live my life that way anymore!
YAY for you! That is a hard step, Lisa, but you’re right–it is SO much better in the long run when we take care NOW of what we can. Way to figure out what is best for your health!!
Thanks Annette:)
I know it will be the best for my body in the long run! I need to think of fitness as a priority right now and not something I “need” to do. I think we can sometime push our bodies to the extremes both physically and with our food intakes too, and doing anything in extremes is simply not healthy.
<3
I love how you listen to your body. It’s hard to do when your head is saying go-go-go but your body know what it needs!
I <3 you and you rock, that is all.
Thanks Kammie!xo
Sounds like a great plan ahead. I think you need to listen to your body and what feels right. Seems like you know that though already!
Sounds like the right plan for you – awesome that you’re listening to your body! I’m sure you’ll find that the added yoga, pilates and weights will be a fun way to change it up.
I’m hoping it will be the right mix of workouts for me at this time!
YES! And it was absolutely without a doubt the best thing I’ve EVER done for myself. Please email me if you need anything – the first few weeks can be SO tough!
I definitely will do that!
I know good things will come from this! The hardest part for me was actually committing to this and not just talking about doing it!
Its great to hear it was the best move for you, it gives me hope
Good for you Lisa! Hopefully as your aches and pains go away you will see you were right on target. I’ve mentioned before that when I stopped and lessened my exercise it was the best decision ever. Honestly the most life-changing decision of my whole life. I still don’t feel hunger yet so just run with it girl!
I’m definitely thinking there must be a connection to working my body to such stress and the aches/pains. It seems so simple that that’s the answer now hah.
I’m so proud of you, Lisa! You’re doing exactly what your body needs and that’s the most important thing. It won’t always be easy but I can tell that you genuinely want to be healthy, so I know you can handle the challenge.
As you know, I’ve been scaling back on the high-intensity workouts as well. I definitely still have days (actually almost every day!) where I’m craving a good sweat-session, but I just remind myself that I’m doing what’s best for my health and my body! And since my tough workouts have become less frequent, I’ve found that they’re better! Plus, I enjoy them even more. Can’t beat that (:
Its definitely not easy, but I know it will work out for the best. I have to have faith in this process!
Yes, our bodies sometimes need the stress free environment and that includes exercise. Exercise is a priority and I was taking advantage of that.
So true that with scaled down workouts they probably will be better:)
Hugs, Lisa!! I am so proud of you for choosing to scale back your workouts, and for embracing your body’s hunger cues again. When I started eating more a year ago, I had the exact same experience; it was so strange to actually feel hungry! Initially I had a hard time understanding why eating more food increased my appetite, but I quickly learned that it was because my body was TRUSTING me again. That’s what’s happening with you too! <3 So exciting! If you ever need support (because there are always a few "downs" mixed in with the "ups") you know where to find me! Seriously, email me anytime (I promise it won't take me 2 weeks to reply this time!) :-p <3 3 <3
Its definitely a little freaky feeling that hunger now after years of not feeling it!
Clearly my body is just catching up to what I was denying it before! Hopefully my metabolism getting back in its groove.
I hope my body is trusting me again!!
Haha, just e-mailed you back:)
So true- health is far more then food and fitness. It is also sleep, strong relationships, balanced work life, laughter etc. It definitely sounds like you are making a great decision cutting back. Enjoy eased routine. Nourish your body!
Balance is the key to health! Simple but true=”nourish my body”
I think it is great that you are toning down the intensity in order to get healthier. There was a really great article in Marie Clare about how people are taking working out to the extreme and how detremental it is to our health. It is worth checking out if you can find it (it is online too!)
Oh, I definitely will check that article out!!
Extreme anything is definitely not a good thing!
I’m doing the exact same thing right now! I’ve been injured for the better part of this year (I’m a runner) and I have just kept trying to cross-train through things as much as I can. Last month my doctor sat me down and was like “just stop. none of this is going to heal if you keep trying to train through it”. I haven’t done anything that could be considered cardio in a month. I’m also using this as an opportunity to get my hormones back in balance, get my period back, and just get my body to a healthier place. Once that happens, I can start running and training seriously again, and I’ll actually get somewhere with that because my body won’t be on the brink of exhaustion! It’s SO hard to do, but it’s going to be worth it in the long run, and I’m proud of you for making that decision!
I’m so proud you are doing this for your health as well! We can work on this health process together:)
Sometimes we need to actually hear from the professionals for us to tone it down that it really clicks.
Its definitely important for us to regain our periods and hormone balances, especially for us ladies obviously!
Exactly, exercise will always be there for us we just need to become healthy and not take the pleasure to the extreme!
xox
So proud of you girl! I had to do the same thing. I was CONSTANTLY hungry there for a while, but I promise your body will adapt and it will get better. I’m so glad you are doing what is best for your body! I’m always here for you!
I’m hoping I adapt soon haha. Its so weird!
I guess it just means my metabolism is working better once again! I don’t want a lazy metabolism at my age! That would be no fun in the future! I’m glad to hear I can lean on someone like you for support! Especially since you have overcome battles like this:)
I am lovinggg this post Lisa, and am uber proud of you for making this decision, this difficult declaration, and doing what you need to for your body! I am soo with you on this one, as you know of course, and yep, it’s hard as hell and the feeling and fear of being “fat” is quite prominent. But we must both remember that it’s 100% necessary, and the rest is only going to do wonders for our bodies, rather than make us out-of-shape, lumpy, etc… at least those are the thoughts that surge through my mind! Sigh.. we can do this!
Agreed!!
It was definitely a difficult thing to accept, but I knew I had to do it.
I kept talking the talk, but never walked the walk so to speak. I finally realized I have to make the changes if I want to live a healthy life.
Right now exercise is simply a privilege and I have been taking advantage of that. I don’t want to be 40 and not able to exercise at all because my bones are so weak!
We can definitely do this…at least we have each other!!xo
Good for you for listening to your body! I love what you said about health being more than just food and fitness – you’re SO right that it’s about mental health, relationships, rest, etc too! I hope giving your body a break helps you find that balance you’re looking for.
Thanks Chelsea! Hoping this becomes easier as the days go on. I don’t want to be such an extremist in any aspects of my life…its simply not healthy!
Yay, Lisa! You have to do what’s best for you. That’s number one! I’m excited for you and your new routine…and happy you’re takin’ us along for the ride.
Love you Heather! Thanks for the support!<3
I know you can relate!
All the time! I am breaking up my fitness routine like once every month
Getting bored so easily. Like, recently I did the first month of the insanity programm and everyone who went trough this will understand me saying that afterwards I hated damn Shane T.! Then, just like you, i love to have a high intensity good sweat and its hard for me to slow down. But since I tend to overtrain and get sick of those kind of exercises more easy, from time to time I have to remember myself that even a slow hour of yoga make you pretty sweaty and forms your body beautifully.
I have been on vaca for the past few days so I’m just catching up on your post and this one really stuck out to me! I’m SO proud of you! You really are an amazing person!
Thank you Candice! You are so sweet.
You are an amazing person as well!