Piling on more...

So this week I thought I would write about a new venture I have taken on. Beginning last Saturday, my sister Marissa and I have finally followed through with the promise we made to each other, that when she came up to Ball State, got moved into her dorm and settled into her classes, that we were going to start going to the gym and working out. Last Saturday was our first workout together. We go to the new Rec Center here on campus. Why wouldn't we, both of us already pay a fee on our tuition and cost, there is no additional fee to use it, meaning there is no monthly member fee, and it has state-of-the-art equipment. 

I used to work out on a regular basis a few years ago. It started with a biggest loser contest at work, then I just continued on, working out, dieting, shedding the pounds and increasing the muscle. At my best, I had lost around sixty-five pounds.  Then a change in my routine came; I transferred to another location within my same employer, and I could no longer go to my old gym. I said I was going to start at another right away, then I put it off for a few days, then a week, then a month, and so on.  Before I knew it, it's three years later and I am just now seeing the inside of a gym again. I think the reason I put it off was because of security and comfort issues, but that's another whole issue that we won't delve into today. 

So here I am, at my heaviest ever and by no means proud of it. There isn't any excuse, there is only a solution and that is to get back to my disciplined routine and hopefully start shedding the pounds. After all, at twenty-six, I'm not getting any younger and this isn't going to get any easier. So, at three workouts in for the week, I'm feeling good, stiff and sore, but good. Yesterday, Marissa and I even got up before dawn, went to the Rec Center at 6:00 AM and did our workout before class. It was hard to roll out of bed at 5:30 in the morning, especially since I arrived home from work at 12:00 midnight and went to bed at 2:00 AM after finishing my homework. 

That being said, it also got my blood pumping, the endorphins flowing, and very quickly I was bright and alert and ready to go for the day. I had forgotten how much I used to love working out before work (or in this case, school) because of how good it made me feel. Working out always puts me in the best of moods, and I feel it's the result of both physical and emotional reasons. Physically, your exercise causes your body to release certain hormones like adrenaline and increases the levels of chemicals in the brain like seratonin, which I feel is what greatly contributes to my fantastic mood afterward. 

Today is an off day, both because of the intense workout from yesterday and because academically I just had too many other obligations for classes. Tomorrow I'm off work and classes, so you can be assured I'll be in the gym. For now I end this here, and I hope that perhaps others might be inclined to take a step toward a healthier lifestyle with me. Support can be beautiful! Once I actually start to see some results, I may post some before and after pictures to show the progress. Remember, the only person in control of your life is you. I leave you with a quote that I feel indirectly applies to this situation. Ghandi once said, "Be the change you want to see in the world." Most would think that means that applies to intersocial situations and it does, but I think the root of the meaning applies too, which I think generally states that if you want any kind of change, in anything for that matter, get up off your butt and do it.

Change comes from within you.

Benny