With bikini season over, now is the perfect time to think about one thing: getting in shape to show it off under that sweater and heavy coat. Okay, not really the best timing on this, but this post was inspired by a recent experience. You see, I really enjoy two things, snacking and beer. And … believe it or not, it turns out those two activities are not great for your waist line. Oh, I get by with humorous comments like, “Since I stopped growing vertically, I decided to start growing horizontally,” or how about, “Just making sure I am as ready as possible in the event a hurricane comes our way.” But really, I am not too keen on having to hold my breath to put my pants on, looking down at the bed, and realizing, DAMN, I haven’t even put my belt on yet. With all of that, I have only one solution, try to eat decent (most of the time) and exercise my ass off. One way to do that in an efficient manner is, you guessed it, running. Uhhh, sucks right. Running sucks. I don’t like running. I do like the sense of accomplishment, the feeling of “wow I just ran that far and survived, barely.” But, running is a great way to burn calories, so I employ my feet for this snack & beer enabling endeavor.
So, I have the gear; shoes, shorts that are too short to do anything but run in, the breathable shirts that still get soaked in sweat, an Ipod, and a fitness band that tells you how long you have ran and what your pace is. Ready for the inspiration of this post? Yes Chris, we have wasted several minutes reading your ramblings and still have no idea where you are going. Okay, fine. To the point then. Between an ear infection and a bad fitness band, I took a run unplugged. You know what, I wasn’t bored. I didn’t need distraction. I kind of lost myself in my thoughts. The strange bit though, I was able to think through things with a bit more clarity than when I am involved with other things or trying to think about nothing else. Here I am, feeling like death while running (not really that bad, I’m being a bit dramatic), sweating and stinking up a storm, trying not to get run over, and still, I was able to really have a good think. That kind of sounds old-man like. But really, I was questioning a lot of things about myself, about everything we went through, if we made the right decisions, had the whole experience marred us to the point where we would never be good parents? Do we have expectations too high for our Jelly Bean because of everything we have been through? Lots of thoughts to say the least. But during my run, I was able to work through things, separate the necessary thoughts from the unfounded worry. You know what, when my run was done I felt two things, accomplishment for finishing the run and assurance that Candace and I are able to walk into this strange new land of parenting and survive.
Why share this? Why is this relevant to anyone else, even more so, why is this relevant to anyone that is still knee deep in the throes of IF? It is simple, you need an outlet. If you are living a stress-free life, then ignore that, but the rest of us need an outlet. What better outlet than one that serves two purposes. Everyone knows that physical activity is good for us physically, and a lot of us know that it is good for us self-esteem-wise, but it is great for us psychologically too! Endorphins aside, there are tons of things that the docs think exercise does for us on a brain chemical level that are beneficial. If you are interested, check this article and this article out. What about for infertility? Glad you asked. Moderate, balanced exercise is great for boosting fertility too! Here is an article and another about that. Just make sure, gents, to keep your boys nice and cool lest you turn your troops into scrambled eggs! SnowBalls to the rescue! That’s 3 in one! It’s a three-fer!
So, exercise, right! Now, I am not saying do an Ironman competition, run the Death Valley ultramarathon (http://www.badwater.com/route/) (seriously, each race finisher should be given water, a completion medal, and a straight jacket), or swim the English Channel. Just do something. Maybe, if you do not regularly exercise, start with a brief walk in your neighborhood. See how you feel when you get home, physically and emotionally. Did it help? If you do regularly exercise, try changing it up. Run really early in the morning, or really late at night if it is safe. Don’t bring music or a mileage tracker. Try running on your hands instead of your feet … just seeing if anyone was still paying attention. I hope that you find the same sense of clarity and calming that I did, or at least can come home with a great excuse to eat the Hardees Monster Thickburger for lunch.
Candace-
Anyone else notice the caloric intake of the Monster Thickburger? 1420 calories. WHHUUUUT? And they may as well just served you a salt shaker instead of a burger patty with the amount of sodium packed into that tasty yet artery clogging delight. OK that’s all.
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