Redefining "Working Out" From a Gentle Perspective

It's true that I want to get back to the "old me". The woman who worked out for fun for 1.5 hours a day and did extra burpees for the hell of it.

I'm now changing my workout lens. 

I'm using compassion goggles to view my fitness through for this phase of my gentle weight loss journey.

ANY movement is movement. ANY form of stretching is beneficial. ANY resistance on my body is strength training.

Examples of my new approach to working out:

• Let's replace jumping up and down (it wouldn't be kind to my joints with the 40+ pounds I gained) with gentle bike riding (stationary) + treadmill walking + nature walk
• Let's replace 60+ minutes of intermediate yoga with yin/restorative yoga- where you barely even move, but it's great for your central nervous system
• Let's replace thinking we need to workout for 60-90 minutes at a time in order for it to "count" and just set a timer on the phone/watch and do what intuitively feels good

Here's the reality

Maybe it will take me longer to lose weight with this relaxed and gentle approach, but prior to this mental shift I was slowly gaining and losing fitness every single day; therefore, this is truly a step in the right direction.

I'm at a stage of life and of burnout where my mental health is honestly the MOST important part of this. If I fall apart mentally, it doesn't matter what else I have going on... it's going to crumble.

I truly believe that I can't handle my life without being physically fit and spending time daily exercising (to quiet my mind and burn off anxious energy), drinking water, getting some sort of deep rest, and doing basic feminine grooming habits. I learned this the HARD HARD HARD way.

So, it's a new busy day. I have to go all the way out of town today so I can't exercise this morning, but with my new gentle approach, I can get home later today, set up my tablet or kindle for reading, hop on my bike or treadmill and go slow and steady for an hour.

It's about the investment in myself that counts.

It's about the investment in approaching myself more gently rather than aggressively that really matters.