Day 4 - victories and next steps

Another cold morning. I have decided to embrace the fact that I hate this. I hate walking in the cold. I really don't care much for walking period, except for the solitude and occasional bird singing. It's actually a love/hate thing. I love the peace and quiet, the time to myself. I've always hated exercise.
I love the way I'm starting to feel. My body is starting to respond in ways I had not expected. The constant ache is going away. I'm not tired anymore. I wake up earlier in the morning and I feel more rested. I have alot more energy during the day. I've been pretty out of shape (weight aside) these past few weeks... probably even longer than that. My body hasn't wanted to move (i.e. flex). My arms didn't move well. I couldn't bend and reach well. Standing up was starting to be a bit of an ordeal (just a little). It reminded me of watching my grandmother get up. I'd brace myself against a wall or the back of the couch and try to lift with my arms but they had no strength.

I started all this (walking) because I've started noticing that I have to move out of my own way sometimes, lifting and tucking rolls of fat so I could get in certain positions. I just started thinking "Well that's not good!". I've never been uncomfortable being overweight - it's just a part of who I am. I'm not into the whole self loathing thing.

Yesterday I mentioned the ache. My body always aches, at least a little; in the knees, calves, back. Those seem to be going away along with the initial ache of starting to exercise. I had expected just the opposite, more aches and pains, more tired from more exertion; but that's not the case. I heard a bit of an interview with Susan Powter yesterday (I didn't even know she was still 'around' [i.e. in the public eye]) and she said something that really stuck with me. I can't remember how she put it but basically she said that inactivity begets inactivity and activity begets activity. Meaning that if you don't move you tend to be more tired but if you DO move you get more energetic. I would never have guessed that in a million years. I think that's a BIG point that's not emphasized enough in the diet/health/fitness world. As an overweight, out of shape person I spent alot of time trying to conserve the little bit of energy I did have for important stuff like managing my home and children. If I had realized 10 years ago that just a tiny change like a 10-15 minute walk could have such a HUGE effect I would have done it then! That's another thing that's been on my mind. Most people who talk about getting into shape really emphasize the 20-30 minutes 3-5 days a week. I think that's a great goal but it should be emphasized as a goal. I think people hear that and think - I can't do that much so I just won't bother. We need to emphasize small changes and celebrate the small victories. For someone like me a 10-15 minute walk is great and will show immediate gains. Yes - more would be better, but for now what I'm doing is great and I'm getting ahead. I'm already starting to look for new landmarks that I can progress to. Today I didn't even notice the mailboxes as I walked. I didn't even look up til I was past the corner.