So, I guess it’s time to share the (other, REALLY BIG) reason I haven’t been out & about for awhile (and the other reason I have been less visible). I posted this to FB yesterday:
“After 20 years of Celiac, my immune system is starting to break down. This is called SIBO, and getting to the diagnosis has taken well over a year. It is WAY more painful than it looks, and it’s hard to describe to anyone who doesn’t manage invisible or auto-immune disorders.
So, if you do see me- I’m not pregnant!!! And, kindly, I don’t need motivation or diet & exercise advice. ❤️ Feel free to ask questions, I’d never heard of this, either.”
I apologize for not bringing it up sooner, I just didn’t have a name for it until last month, and frankly, the way I look prompts questions. Was easier to hide until I had answers.
If you go to the FB post (click the photo above) and scan the comments, it’s wild to see how many people in my life have experienced this! The hardest part, for me, is how it robs me of energy. I haven’t been doing anything regularly since January. Some days I barely move at all. In the days I do have energy enough to consider even a walk, I have to be sure I have the capability to recover- just walking around the block can wipe me out for the rest of the day.
I tell you all of that to tell you this: Some of you in #askaway have been asking how to get motivated to start again, how to get back in the habit. This is my answer to you: feed the desire.
Now, that advice is vague and hokey even for me!!!!!! Here’s what I mean: there is SO MUCH SHAME around bodies and fitness that we can lose sight of the fact that we started because it was fun. THAT is what you have to come back to. It never really goes away. Instead of focusing on what you haven’t done, think about why you want to. Then look for a time in your calendar when you could. Then you may find yourself pulling clothes out, just in case.
Feed the desire free of timetables and bs deadlines and shame and I promise you, you won’t need motivation. You will already be moving. When it is fun again, you will know. Forcing it will just make you feel worse. I have learned this FOR SURE this year!!!!
You may not want to move every day, and that’s ok. Habits aren’t about daily doing, it’s about regular doing. Start, then expand. Let it come naturally.
I had a great 30-minute ride today, and already have my clothes out for tomorrow. Just in case. ❤️
