I recently arrived home
from a pretty amazing five-week honeymoon to the States and I admit, being back
hasn’t been easy. I was shocked to find out the post-honeymoon blues are
actually a ‘thing’ and my body has really struggled getting back into the
routine of early mornings, winter nights and long days of commuting.
I guess it should come
as no surprise then that when I looked at a list of wonderfully healthy things
I had committed to while we were travelling, I found I was so far away from my
goals, I was in fact half way through a two piece feed from KFC.
And while I felt so
disappointed in myself, I just couldn’t find the strength or motivation to fix
it. It’s like the worse I felt, the less possible it was to do anything to make
it better.
I am sure you’ve all
been there, that cruel cycle, ‘I feel fat so I will eat more’, I feel tired, so
instead of going to a Yoga class I will lay on the lounge and drink a glass of
red wine (ok maybe that last one is just me).
So what do you do when
you feel so far gone? So sad or tired or unhealthy that you can’t even begin to
imagine feeling any other way? So lost for energy that even the thought of
doing anything that would make you feel better just makes you feel overwhelmed
and helpless?
You take one step.
Not two or three or
ten, because that’s too many and that’s too scary.
Just one.
I went for a walk. It
was cold and my body ached and I was so tried I wanted to cry but I went for a
20 minute walk with my sister and her husband along Coogee Beach last Saturday
morning.
Just one.
When we finished I
felt something I had not felt in weeks, endorphins, a little bit of energy,
just enough to get me through the rest of the day.
I did no more exercise
during the week, but again this morning, I woke up, put on my hoodie, and I
walked. This time it was a little easier, a little less scary, but the energy
and the endorphins were still waiting for me when I was done.
Sometimes change can
feel so scary, and for a perfectionist like me I can convince myself it’s not
worth even trying if I can’t really commit, if I can’t go the whole way and do
it right. But sometimes the only way you can change is just to start, literally
one step at a time.
