(Check last month’s article: A Whole New You: Setting & Keeping Your Goals in 2013

The Ever Evolving Love for Exercise

by Hillery Kelly

Let’s be real: many weight loss surgery patients aren’t hard wired to love exercise. Maybe you once loved it. Maybe you want to love it. Or maybe, like me, you had to learn to love it.

From what I’ve seen, some of us dive right into exercise after weight loss surgery (i.e. love at first sight). Others are not so eager to hop onto the exercise love train. I’ve often wondered why some of us relish our gym time, while others view it as a form of cosmic punishment? Whatever the explanation, how you perceive exercise as a whole will affect whether you will embrace (dare I say again: love) the treadmill, or not.

Exercise is new for many of us, and often the topic can leave us feeling a little out of sorts as we wonder what can we do physically? What the heck are endorphins? Are they little thingamabobs that’ll take over like a scene out of “Invasion of the Body Snatchers”? 

Social media, blogs, online weight loss communities – all these are great resources to help those new to exercise get a leg up and offer assurance this path is the right one. It can also be a bit daunting, some feel defeat before they ever take the first step because our peers are way over there and we’re trying not to fall off the stair climber (Traci??).

We at Bariatric Foodie aim to “Keep it Real” with the Foodie Nation (that’s you!), and the Foodie Fitness Corner is no exception. I did not like exercise when my journey began. Exercise and waterboarding kind of held the same spot on the list of things I wanted to do before I died. My first workouts left me feeling awkward, slightly embarrassed, and a little ashamed. I felt like I was under the spotlight – center stage at the Freak Show. There were days after working out I would sit in my car in the garage and cry because I felt so defeated.

So how did I move beyond such strong emotions and (dare I say it one more time?) fall in love with exercise? I stuck with it. I pushed through the doubt. I repeatedly told myself it would not always be difficult. I had to remember Sigourney Weaver’s little alien child would not burst out of my chest and skitter across the room. I learned to ignore the paranoid fat-girl in my head because the face in the mirror had begun to melt away. All that hard work paid off. That fat-girl in my head got shoved out of the picture and was replaced with a strong, confident woman.

There is no right or wrong way to cultivate love of exercise, every journey is unique. But let me encourage you…all of you…don’t give up. Push past the doubt and fear. Shove the paranoid fat-person out of your head and replace that image with one that encourages your confidence and empowers your voice. I promise you: one day you’ll see…this exercise thing isn’t bad at all. Until you get to that point, please know that you are not alone in how you feel. Be kind to yourself and it will come…and trust me: you’ll be glad that you kept pressing on.

About the Author:  Hillery is a year post-op (gastric bypass). She is a chemist and environmental engineer residing in the suburbs of the Nation’s capital….a country girl at heart turned city slicker! She fully admits to being addicted to makeup, skin care, hair creams, soaps, lotions, and potions of all price ranges…an equal opportunity product junkie with a special passion and love for lipstick.  Read about her makeup addition, product reviews, and anything worth dishing about in the world of beauty at www.platinumpjs.com.

If you’ve got a fitness question or concern, hit Hillery up at bariatricfoodie@yahoo.com