My Love/Hate Relationship with Exercise

Hi guys! Welcome back to another #loveyourbalance post. I’m excited/also a little nervous to share this one with you. I feel like with any healthy food blogger, people automatically assume that they work out every single day and eat only salads and matcha lattes. I hate to say it, but that’s just not me. Click to read more about my love/hate relationship with exercise.

*waits for pitch forks to be thrown at me* Hehe, jk.

No, here’s the thing. I love the way exercise makes me feel once I’m done. I hate how I feel while I’m doing it. It’s a love/hate relationship! Totally normal, right? 😉

I think I just have always disliked it because when I was growing up and until I began to lose weight, it was always REALLY HARD for me. I would get out of breath easily, feel exhausted and just want to quit. I’m not even sorry when I say that most days I would much rather stay under my warm covers than get up and exercise.

When I lost the weight – I did Jillian Michael’s 30 Day Shred video religiously. It was tough and always kicked my butt! I liked it because it combined strength training and cardio and abs in one 30 minute video! I never went to the gym at all during my weight loss journey.

When I met Ben, we began doing the Couch to 5K. Let me just go ahead and get this out here: I. HATE. RUNNING. Literally my least favorite exercise in the world. Of course I love how I feel afterward and when I catch my second wind. But….when I start, when I’m running up hills, etc., I hate it. Meh. I just feel like I will never be good at running. Here’s my process whilst running.

Beginning of run: Oh yes, this feels SO good. I’m gonna crush this!

1 minute into the run: Oh crap, this is way harder than I remembered.

5 minutes into the run: I CAN’T DO IT ANYMORE.

Sees hill in the distance: Nooooo, don’t make me do it!!!!

Post hill excursion: laying on the road – praying someone will just put me out of my misery so I don’t have to continue this run.

Yup, that’s about it.

Above is a rare photo of me enjoying running. Probably because I made Ben take the picture and then I was done-zo and back to walking. #behindthescenes. (Also – behind me is the picture of the house we are hopefully buying!! Isn’t it cute?!)

When Ben and I were first married, we had a gym membership for a year. I loved going to the gym! There was so much to do and things that actually seemed attainable to me (unlike running lol). Sadly, we didn’t sign up again after our year was over. I really do miss going to the gym! I’d love to sign up again soon.

Now. Here we are. It’s winter. Ben and I rarely exercise. And I’ve been feeling down about it. It’s frustrating seeing myself in the mirror thinking I’ve gained weight when I know if I actually have gained weight – it’s due to my own lack of motivation!

Bottom line here is: I want to start exercising again because I WANT to do it, not because I feel FORCED to do it.

Here are some current exercises that I really enjoy: yoga, walking, slow jogs/walking increments, dancing, running (occasionally – in small increments)

I think my answer to my exercise dilemma is to participate in exercises I enjoy because 1) they are fun and 2) they will get my body moving and 3) I won’t hate it while I’m doing it.

The one thing I have always liked about exercise…is the fact that you get to eat right afterward! I always loved the fact that I could eat a protein bar after a hard workout at the gym. So, today, I decided to actually go for a long walk. Yeah, yeah, it’s not much but it’s something, okay? To reward myself, for lunch, I made a smoothie bowl! I just recently won a Vitamix from a Facebook giveaway (yes, people apparently actually win those things!), and I wanted to try it out!

Here’s the recipe!

1 cup frozen mango

1 cup spinach (promise you can’t taste it!)

juice of half an orange (or sub 1/4 cup orange juice)

1/2 cup unsweetened vanilla coconut milk

Blend until creamy – not super liquid-y, still thick! Place in a bowl and top with your fave toppings! I used Grandy Oats granola which is my latest addiction. It’s a delicious wholesome granola that isn’t loaded with preservatives and artificial sugars. It tastes amazing! Oh, and of course a banana! It was delicious!

Do you guys have exercise plateaus that you struggle with? If so, how do you get out of the rut? Leave your answer in the comment below! Love you guys.