exercise updates and thoughts (re: Emily)

So, last week, I only ended up working out Thurs (ran two miles), but that made 4 days of working out.  This week:
M: 10 minutes thigh pilates, ran 1 mile
T: ran 2 miles
W: quick 20 minutes hike with kiddos
Th: 20 minutes pilates plus 6 minute upper body light weight lifting (from a video)
F: chased kids over zoo for 2+ hours

Today: I should get about a 1 1/2 miles of walking in.

Re: exercise thoughts

I used to hate exercise.  Absolutely hate it.  Part of it was viewing its benefits only in terms of losing weight.  My parents put me on strange diets all through high school because they thought I was too plump (though, in retrospect, although I felt that way, I realize now that I wasn't fat at all.  I wasn't thin, but I wasn't fat).  Anyhow, I cannot stand diets because of that and, for awhile, couldn't stand exercise.

I exercised lightly off and on after having babies simply because I was feeling really insecure about my body and would rather exercise a little than diet.

The turning point for me was when a retired psychologist told me that exercise was the best long-term cure for my panic attacks.  It gave me a reason to exercise and the initial benefits (mental and emotional) were of such great value to me that I started exercising more for those reasons than for the sake of 'looking good'.  I did lose weight in the process and became the happiest with my body than I have ever been.  But my happiness wasn't in my thinness but in the strength of my body.  I felt healthy.  Healthy mentally, emotionally and physically.  And that helps me to be a better mother, wife and friend.

So, for me, that is why I exercise.  To feel 'healthy' in a well-rounded way.