SO YOU FEEL SAD...

                      


Sometimes, we encounter difficult circumstances in our life. Family issues, health issues, work issues... a combo maybe?
Bottom line is, we all have phases in our life where we have difficulties, and often one of the first thing that gets dropped is good nutrition or exercise. Or both. Are you with me?

You know what I am talking about: you are stressed out and so you go on stress induced junk food binge; you feel depressed so you skip 1, then 2, then 2 weeks' worth of workouts.

Sometimes, the very things that would help us feel better and keep our head above water are the things we first let go of.

And I am guilty of this!

I have been taking a medication for Multiple Sclerosis once a week since January. If you are scientific minded, the medication I am on in the interferon category.
To make a long story short, it makes me quite sick. Strong flu like symptoms accompany each injection and they last about 8 to 12 hours. I take pretty massive doses of Ibuprofen to be able to cope. And by cope I mean lay on the couch. Not what I would call a great day. Keep in mind, this is happening every week.
Something else that is happening more and more is the feeling of being completely spent and exhausted the day after the injection. I have very little ressources left both emotionally and physically. So 7 days/week minus 1.5. Not great.

For the past month, I have been feeling very depressed. Depression is another not so uncommon side effects of taking Interferons.
Though it is unclear if the medication itself causes depression or if the realization that one has to be taking said medication forever is what causes depression. Possibly, the coming to terms with having MS can be causing depression too? Maybe all those things are causing depression? Who knows. I'm depressed.

It's no surprise, I have been struggling with my nutrition and exercise, and it is truly not like me to be dragging my feet to workout. I have gained a few lbs, I have been missing training days and sometimes my workouts are less than stellar.
While I tell myself that this might be the best I can do right now, you can imagine that with my personality this does not leave me in what I would call a "good place" with myself.
There is also the inner dialogue where I tell myself that if I let a little tiredness and feeling blue keep me from exercising hard, I will most definitely have huge regrets about not pushing myself a little (okay, much) harder if/when my health goes downhill and I TRULY cannot exercise.
You see the merry go round in my brain? Dizzying.

Needless to say this an on-going process.
But I will tell you this: while there is a discrepancy between what I think I should be doing and what I end up doing, I do not give up. I keep "falling off the wagon" in small and sometimes and not so small ways, but I always, always get back up.

I really believe this is the lesson in health and Fitness. Things happen, sometimes bad things, and they will knock us off the course we had charted for ourselves someway, somehow. Our responsibility is to take the hit, adjust our goals and start again.
As a Beachbody Coach and a Group Exercise professional, I have seen many people who, when they encounter difficulties don't take the step to assess the situation and get back to a routine. They just give up.
That makes me sad, and I want to tell all of you, that not many things come easy and we need to be prepared for this reality.
Things will come in the way of our Health and Fitness. Sometimes, those "things" are excuses we create to avoid having to hold ourselves accountable, but sometimes they are genuine hurdles and we eat the pavement a little bit. Or a lot.

But I do know this, we can always take a breath and start over, and over. Eventually we will hit a stride. And then that stride will be compromised and we will hit another one.