What Do You Eat Pre-Workout? [Plus more exercise differences between men & women]
Man, I miss Calvin!
Burping noxious flavors is my primary concern when deciding what to eat pre-workout. I know some athletes carb-load while others swear by fasted-state cardio and still others strive for a balanced meal 1-3 hours before getting their sweat on. And let’s not forget the smoothie/shake contingent! ( The difference between a workout smoothie and a shake? Nothing except that women drink the former and men drink the latter.) But who cares about blood glucose levels if I’m regurgitating sausage and peppers between sets? Add in my fish-oil supplement and I might retch on the track. Therefore my pre-workout meals are generally pretty bland. Oh and I learned to avoid soy products the hard way when my gaseous emissions nearly asphyxiated an entire TurboKick class. (Yes, 3 years later and I’m still apologizing for that one.)
The issue of what to eat to best fuel your workout came up as I was reading an interview with Kiefer John that Meanliving tweeted called “Females, Fat Loss and Performance“. The gist of the article is that the differences between the male and female body require different programs. He says, “Most of the recommendations women read in mainstream media are actually recommendations for male athletes that are blindly carried over and applied to women. That’s a huge problem.” His main two points of difference are that women shouldn’t eat carbs because we burn proportionately more fat than men and that we should do less cardio if we want to be lean. His science was a little sketchy but I know a lot of people that wouldn’t argue with his conclusions.
In regards to the first point he writes, “ The hormonal situations occurring when you first wake up creates an optimal environment for fat burning, the moment that you eat carbs this environment is ruined. That’s why I always tell everyone, ‘as soon as you get up, bacon and eggs, bacon and eggs’.
This idea that the body awakes from its overnight fast in a state particularly attuned to burn fat has been around for a long time. But is it true? According to one of my all-time fave fitness writers Tom Venuto (and the first one I ever fell in exercise-love with – his book Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle was my very first Great Fitness Experiment ever!), the research supports this theory.
“1. When you wake up in the morning after an overnight 8-12 hour fast, your body’s stores of glycogen are somewhat depleted. Doing cardio in this state causes your body to mobilize more fat because of the unavailability of glycogen.
2. Eating causes a release of insulin. Insulin interferes with the mobilization of body fat. Less insulin is present in the morning; therefore, more body fat is burned when cardio is done in the morning.
3. There is less carbohydrate (glucose) “floating around” in the bloodstream when you wake up after an overnight fast. With less glucose available, you will burn more fat.
4. If you eat immediately before a workout, you have to burn off what you just ate first before tapping into stored body fat (and insulin is elevated after a meal.)
The real question however is if this makes any difference to fat loss or performance. Venuto quotes Lyle McDonald, an expert on bodybuilding nutrition and author of The Ketogenic Diet.
“All that research says is that you burn a greater proportion of fat this way, which I agree with 100%,” says Lyle. “The majority of research shows that as far as real world fat loss goes, it doesn’t really matter what you burn. Rather, 24-hour calorie balance is what matters. Because if you burn glucose during exercise, you tend to burn more fat the rest of the day. If you burn fat during exercise, you burn more glucose during the day. The end result is identical.”
The second key difference between men and women athletes says Kiefer is,
“For women in particular, one 45 minute bout of cardiovascular exercise at a heart rate above 65% will shut down the major metabolic regulator, T3 [Thyroid hormone] for about a week. So one day of over doing it, and you’ve shut down your metabolism for a week. This is unique to females. That’s a huge misconception, ‘if I need to lose weight, I need to run more, or be on the bike more, or get more cardio’; for women, it’s the opposite. This will make it much, much, harder.”
From my personal experience I would say his second point is right on the money – hello Rachel Cosgrove Experiment and the best results the Gym Buddies and I ever got! – but I’m still not sure about his first one.
In my years as a fitness nut – emphasis on the nut – I have tried everything when it comes to meal and workout timing. I did the only-fruit-for-brekkie thing courtesy of the Skinny Bitches (the book, I’m not calling anyone that) which ended with me leaving class light headed and nauseous to sit next to an old man who asked me if I was pregnant. For a couple of years fasted-state worked great for me but that was because I worked out at 5 a.m. (I miss you L!) and my stomach definitely did not want food that early. When I went through my carb-fearing phase, I loaded up on eggs and spinach which wasn’t bad but I felt like I was lacking some spring in my step. And then there was the 5 straight years of some kind of oatmeal concoction every morning – not bad with a chopped apple and walnuts, gag-worthy with a whole scoop of protein powder, most creatively done as an egg custard.
These days however it’s anything goes. That’s the beauty of Intuitive Eating – I eat what I feel like. Yesterday I had eggs scrambled with salmon and veggies (don’t knock it till you’ve tried it!). The day before it was an apple. This morning it was German pancakes, whipped cream, berries, a fried egg, two strips of (pastured, all beef, nitrate-free) bacon and half a pound of asparagus. What? I was hungry! Like many other things in my life, I find that my pre-workout nutrition is best when I just go with what I feel like that day. But maybe what makes me happy isn’t best for my body? I don’t know.
What’s your pre-workout eating philosophy? What do you think about women needing less carbs and less cardio than men because of our physiology? Anyone else burp up nasty stuff during a workout??
Taking Your Workout Out of the Gym [Weird Places I Exercise]
Embarrassing people seems to be a specialty of mine. It’s bad enough that I have publicly humiliated myself in 200 different ways doing my Experiments (and that might be low-balling it) but to take down my friends and loved ones with my antics? I can only offer them this: Dear Children who may read this 10 years down the road in a therapy session, I am sorry you have an unusual mother. It’s not your fault. Someday I hope you will be able to laugh about my quirks with each other. That’s why I had four of you. (Well that and so you’d always have even teams for board games. Keep it that way- always wear your seat belts!) To everyone else: Consider yourself warned. Hugs&Punches! Charlotte
I start with my kids because as they are still young enough that they require constant supervision they get dragged everywhere with me which invariably makes them unwitting accomplices (or props!) in my crazy schemes. (And also, they get me back plenty with the public embarrassments.) Take, for instance, our trip to visit my sister in March. Due to plane difficulties we ended up with an unexpected two-hour layover on the trip home. Just me and four tiny tots in an airport terminal that boasted one working bathroom and a newsstand. So what did we do? Boot camp! I had them all lined up next to the moving sidewalk doing sit-ups, push-ups (you should have seen the 4-year-old’s interpretation of these – he laid on his back and literally “pushed up” the air), jumping jacks, and pretend double dutch (the baby’s favorite). I even showed them how to hang underneath the metal benches and use them to do reverse push-ups. After that we cooled down with a bit of yoga – airplane pose was the hit of the day although happy baby came in a close second – and some gentle stretching. So what was I doing during all this? Doing it right with them, of course. And to anyone who stared I just said, “At least they’re not crying and screaming – we’re saving that for the flight!”
Doing “fast feet” in the parking lot of the rental car place (except for the one looking for bugs).
That was not the first time I have exercised in odd places. On a cross-country road trip I insisted everyone get out of the car at every rest stop to run laps and do box jumps on the picnic table. At gas stations I got out my trusty kettlebell and impressed the truckers. And best of all, whenever we stopped at a McPlayland – say what you will about the evils of the Golden Arches, the person who invented the Playland is a saint in our household – I insisted on running up and sliding down… not necessarily with the kids.
Other venues include the playground (they don’t call it the Monkey Bar Gym for no reason!), my kids’ soccer games (lunging on the sidelines either makes you look like a crazed cheerleader or like you have to pee), church (my second son required non-stop deep knee bends to calm his colic) and the parking lot of a movie theater (I had an IBS attack during a movie and the fastest way to calm my gut is to bust out some sun salutations).
Airplane Pose! Although in real yoga you don’t get to run around while you do it. I like our way better.
So you will not be surprised when I tell you that tonight found me toting my kids to gymnastics lessons – they’re the only boys in their classes, bless ‘em – with my newly taped neon pink and purple hula hoop in tow. (Turns out that electrical tape is not very durable and so Gym Buddy Allison had the great idea to go over the hoops again with duct tape – it lasts longer, it adds a bit of needed weight to the hoops and it comes in 20 different shades of awesome!) I hooped while I chased the younger two around the gym and through the hallways. I hooped while I had a Deep Conversation with Gym Hubby. I hooped while reading an old copy of Reader’s Digest and walking up and down stairs and in the cafeteria and waiting in front of the men’s restroom for the little guy (no, that wasn’t awkward at all!). Did I mention my kids’ lessons are two hours? I’m at the school for a looong time.
Then when the kids wanted to play with the hoop, I did handstands, press-to-handstands, cartwheels, push-ups and stretched out my splits. I felt pretty awesome by the time the last kid had tuck-jumped his way down the tumble track for the 50th time. Right about here I expect some of you to start waving the compulsive exercise flag and saying (kindly, as you always do) “Charlotte, you’re allowed to just sit in the metal folding chair and check your e-mail on your phone like all the other parents. You don’t have to exercise everywhere you go.” And while I’ll be the first to admit I don’t always have the best insight into my own behavior, for me none of this felt compulsive. Everything I did was out of pure joy. I enjoyed playing with my kids – my 8-year-old can dive through a rolling hoop better than any acrobat! – and it was fun to just mess around. There wasn’t any counting of reps or forcing myself to keep going when I was exhausted. There wasn’t hardly even any sweat. Just fun.
So, here are my tips for having a good (fun!) workout anywhere:
1. Be okay with people staring at you. This is the toughest one for most people so I put it first. Consider: people will stare at you for all kinds of reasons – your haircut, your goth mani-pedi, your visible pantylines – so why not enjoy yourself. It’s up to you whether or not to acknowledge the starers but I prefer to give them a brief smile and a nod.
2. Get creative. Use what you’ve got. A big open space is ideal for running, cartwheeling, dancing, etc. Stairs are great for jumping. Railings work well for pulling up on. Chairs are good for Burlesque. (Kidding! I wouldn’t do that… in public.)
3. Invite others to join in. The level of your dorkitude is inversely proportionate to the number of people doing it with you. (Feel free to quote me on that.) One person doing Zumba moves to no music looks mentally ill but three people makes it a party!
4. Bring props. Gym Hubby and I, being the hyperactive types we are, usually have something in our car we can use. The frisbee is a family favorite. A plastic rainbow-colored jump rope has lived in our trunk for years. And you know my hula hoop goes everywhere with us these days! Just chuck a soccer ball in your backseat and you’re ready for everything from kickball to dodgeball to, I guess if you’re boring, soccer.
5. Don’t be afraid to try it. Trust me, once you do a couple push-ups on the picnic table at the park and realize that nobody’s really watching you anyhow, it gets a lot easier.
What’s the strangest place you’ve ever exercised? Do you like squeezing in mini-workouts at random times or do you prefer to have a dedicated time where you can change into your Nikes and go all out? Do you have any tips for exercising outside of the gym or with kids?
How Exercise Can Help – And Harm – Your Sex Life
“Mommy, why is there a crooked stick in here?”
“It’s a lead pipe, honey.”
“Why is there a lead pipe in here?”
“Well, see it’s a weapon.”
“What’s a weapon?”
“Something you use to kill people.”
“How do you kill people with a lead pipe?” (Oh google search is gonna love this post!)
“Ummm… you hit them really hard with it.”
“Where?”
“Probably their head.”
“In their face?”
“I suppose that would do.”
“How many times do you have to hit them?”
Gasp. Choke. Cough.
“Mommy, what’s this rope doing in here?”
Who knew Clue was such a moral minefield? Maybe we should play a different game. Anyone up for Battleship? “What’s a nuclear submarine, mommy?”
Anyhow, today’s post is going to be one of those conversations. Consider yourself warned. Reader Mackenzie started it all when she asked me in the comments of one of my Bodily Functions & Fitness 101 posts how exercise affects your sex life. She then added helpfully that her sex drive went down when she was overexercising. Nothing like a good overshare first thing in the morning!
How Exercise Improves Your Sex Life
1. Stamina. Sex is a fitness endeavor after all, as Men’s Health is fond of reminding us on every single page. A study released last week showed that for people who are out of shape, an intense bout of exercise or sex greatly increases their risk of a heart attack. So for those of you who are good at dubious math that obviously means sex = exercise. Win-win! Your burning passion also burns some calories! So it only follows that if you improve your overall fitness level that your endurance in other areas would also benefit. Increased cardio capacity leads to increased blood flow – always helpful. Besides, you really don’t want to be one of those people who dies from heart attack during sex do you? On second thought, maybe you do.
3. Strength. I won’t elaborate too much on this one except to say that being strong has its advantages in and out of the gym. If you need ideas of which exercises to do to improve your horizontal hip hop skillz, WebMD has a video for you. Yeah, WebMD. It might be like walking in on your parents but I’m pretty sure it’s SFW (safe for work).
4. Body Knowledge. There is something about exercise that helps you understand your body and how it works better. Whether it’s the coordination required to do a step aerobics class or the knowledge that bent-over rows work your upper back better than reverse pec-dec flys, knowing how your body responds to different things is a great tool.
5. Stress Relief. Everything from yoga to weights to a good long run can get those endorphins flowing and the stress hormone cortisol crashing down. Less stress is better for everyone involved, right?
How Exercise Hurts Your Sex Life
1. Steroids. Remember this guy? Don’t be this guy. Besides the cosmetic issues, messing with your hormones can certainly impact your reproductive capabilities.
2. Overexercising. Like Mackenzie pointed out, sometimes you can reach a point where you exercise to the exclusion of everything else. Not only do you not mentally have the space to care about another person but physically you’re so spent that sex doesn’t even show up on your radar.
3. Injury. A rolled ankle probably won’t put you out of business but a pulled groin or a sprained back sure will!
4. Training schedules. Often a new athlete is like someone who just found religion. They eat, sleep and breathe their newfound sport. This single-minded devotion makes them universally admired by magazine editors. It also makes them despised on bulletin boards but I digress. Sometimes people get so enthused about their new healthy lifestyle that they lose all interest in other pursuits. Who can fit in nookie when you wake up at 4, go to bed at 8 and have to eat every 2 hours in between?
I think it’s pretty obvious what the conclusions here are: never mix sex with lead pipes. Oops. I mean, fitness has the capacity to increase your enjoyment in the bedroom and your skills as a lovah – as long as you don’t take it to the extreme.
Written with love by Charlotte Hilton Andersen for The Great Fitness Experiment (c) 2011. If you enjoyed this, please check out my new book The Great Fitness Experiment: One Year of Trying Everything
How Exercise Can Help – And Harm – Your Sex Life
“Mommy, why is there a crooked stick in here?”
“It’s a lead pipe, honey.”
“Why is there a lead pipe in here?”
“Well, see it’s a weapon.”
“What’s a weapon?”
“Something you use to kill people.”
“How do you kill people with a lead pipe?” (Oh google search is gonna love this post!)
“Ummm… you hit them really hard with it.”
“Where?”
“Probably their head.”
“In their face?”
“I suppose that would do.”
“How many times do you have to hit them?”
Gasp. Choke. Cough.
“Mommy, what’s this rope doing in here?”
Who knew Clue was such a moral minefield? Maybe we should play a different game. Anyone up for Battleship? “What’s a nuclear submarine, mommy?”
Anyhow, today’s post is going to be one of those conversations. Consider yourself warned. Reader Mackenzie started it all when she asked me in the comments of one of my Bodily Functions & Fitness 101 posts how exercise affects your sex life. She then added helpfully that her sex drive went down when she was overexercising. Nothing like a good overshare first thing in the morning!
How Exercise Improves Your Sex Life
1. Stamina. Sex is a fitness endeavor after all, as Men’s Health is fond of reminding us on every single page. A study released last week showed that for people who are out of shape, an intense bout of exercise or sex greatly increases their risk of a heart attack. So for those of you who are good at dubious math that obviously means sex = exercise. Win-win! Your burning passion also burns some calories! So it only follows that if you improve your overall fitness level that your endurance in other areas would also benefit. Increased cardio capacity leads to increased blood flow – always helpful. Besides, you really don’t want to be one of those people who dies from heart attack during sex do you? On second thought, maybe you do.
3. Strength. I won’t elaborate too much on this one except to say that being strong has its advantages in and out of the gym. If you need ideas of which exercises to do to improve your horizontal hip hop skillz, WebMD has a video for you. Yeah, WebMD. It might be like walking in on your parents but I’m pretty sure it’s SFW (safe for work).
4. Body Knowledge. There is something about exercise that helps you understand your body and how it works better. Whether it’s the coordination required to do a step aerobics class or the knowledge that bent-over rows work your upper back better than reverse pec-dec flys, knowing how your body responds to different things is a great tool.
5. Stress Relief. Everything from yoga to weights to a good long run can get those endorphins flowing and the stress hormone cortisol crashing down. Less stress is better for everyone involved, right?
How Exercise Hurts Your Sex Life
1. Steroids. Remember this guy? Don’t be this guy. Besides the cosmetic issues, messing with your hormones can certainly impact your reproductive capabilities.
2. Overexercising. Like Mackenzie pointed out, sometimes you can reach a point where you exercise to the exclusion of everything else. Not only do you not mentally have the space to care about another person but physically you’re so spent that sex doesn’t even show up on your radar.
3. Injury. A rolled ankle probably won’t put you out of business but a pulled groin or a sprained back sure will!
4. Training schedules. Often a new athlete is like someone who just found religion. They eat, sleep and breathe their newfound sport. This single-minded devotion makes them universally admired by magazine editors. It also makes them despised on bulletin boards but I digress. Sometimes people get so enthused about their new healthy lifestyle that they lose all interest in other pursuits. Who can fit in nookie when you wake up at 4, go to bed at 8 and have to eat every 2 hours in between?
I think it’s pretty obvious what the conclusions here are: never mix sex with lead pipes. Oops. I mean, fitness has the capacity to increase your enjoyment in the bedroom and your skills as a lovah – as long as you don’t take it to the extreme.
Written with love by Charlotte Hilton Andersen for The Great Fitness Experiment (c) 2011. If you enjoyed this, please check out my new book The Great Fitness Experiment: One Year of Trying Everything
Do Men and Women Really Exercise Differently? [Plus Puke-Free Race Report!]
“Girls rule, boys drool!” “Girls go to Jupiter to get more stupider; boys go to Mars to get more candy bars!” And my favorite gender stereotype, brought home the other day by my 3rd grader: “Mom, did you know that when girls scream 3 times they can shatter glass? It’s because girls have high voices and boys have really low voices.” I hate to break it to him but at this stage his voice sounds exactly like the girls. And while neither of them can shatter glass I am pretty sure I’ve lost an eardrum or 5 thanks to all the incessant shrieking around here. (True story: Once when my dad called to ask me a question and had to repeat himself like 7 times before I understood him he said exasperated, “How can you stand living in that birdcage?!”) Well the exercise world sounded a bit like an elementary playground (or birdcage) this last week when the Washington Post posted an op-ed piece about how men and women exercise differently.
for more of my crazy antics and uncomfortable over-shares!
Staying Motivated with Exercise you Love to Do
Staying stress-free is not always easy in today’s world. We have responsibilities with work, family, social pressure and taking the time to meet our own individual needs. When stress gets out of control, it can take a tremendous toll on your health. Taking time out is not only essential for your physical health, it can actually do you a world of good emotionally as well.
One of the best ways to manage stress is through exercise. The advantages of a regular exercise routine have been widely touted and with good reason: it works! Not only does exercise help to keep your weight in check, staying fit helps to regulate blood pressure, keep bones strong and keep your cardiovascular health in tip-top shape. For an exercise program to truly be effective, consistency is key. And to stay consistent, we also must stay motivated.
So how do we stay motivated to exercise?
The trick is to not make exercise feel like work or a chore. You need to choose an activity that you truly like to do. If you hate and resent the time you spend working out on a treadmill or a Stairmaster, you will never be able to keep up your exercise regime. We are wonderful at rationalizing our way out of things we don’t want to do, so if you hate what you’re doing, you will find a way out of it.
If you can find a specific type of exercise that is fun for you, you’ll never know you’re working out. You will reap all the rewards of a consistent exercise routine without it feeling arduous. What types of activities do you find pleasure in? Swimming? Cycling? Dancing? Hiking? All of these activities are wonderful for the body and if you engage in any of them for at least 30 minutes per day, three times per week, you will definitely see results.
What better way to blow off some steam and work off the stress of a hectic lifestyle, by swimming laps, or taking a long bike road, or dancing to some wonderful music that gets your motor running. If you are the type of person who likes to engage in group activities, get involved in a local basketball or volleyball game, or join a community softball team. There are many options available to you. Why suffer doing something you don’t like to do which you will eventually quit anyway? Finding fun activities will be good for your mind, body and spirit.
Remember that exercise doesn’t have to be difficult. If you find something you love to do, it won’t seem grueling at all. And you will certainly love the way you look and feel as you stay in shape and get rid of that unwanted stress in your life.
Author- Debbie Lamedman who also writes for www.datingservices.org
The Worst Exercise Move Ever, Male Edition [Plus: workout challenge!]
for more of my crazy antics and uncomfortable over-shares!
Where to Find an Exercise Addict [And how I'm doing with my exercise]
Cryptic PR emails are kind of my thing. Like crossword puzzles and Sudokus, they present a mental challenge that is both stimulating and 90% of the time, really entertaining once I get it all figured out. The other 10% of the time they’re either creepy or bizarre so really it’s an all-around win. (Dear people who send professional, researched PR emails, thank you. Truly. I love you more than pinhole glasses!) So the other day when I got an e-mail from a “producer from a populer show on a major network” my Spidey senses got all tingley! Misspellings are always a sign of good times.
Written with love by Charlotte Hilton Andersen for The Great Fitness Experiment (c) 2011. If you enjoyed this, please check out my new book The Great Fitness Experiment: One Year of Trying Everything
Indoor vs. Outdoor Exercise [Not all exercise is created equal, so says the research]
There I was, loping blissfully through a beautiful meadow of knee-high grass, sunshine pouring down on me and butterflies, bunnies and dolphins keeping me company. Okay, maybe not the dolphins. But truly, I was the Athleta Catalog Girl.
“The study found that most trials showed an improvement in mental well-being: compared with exercising indoors, exercising in natural environments was associated with greater feelings of revitalisation, increased energy and positive engagement, together with decreases in tension, confusion, anger and depression. Participants also reported greater enjoyment and satisfaction with outdoor activity and stated that they were more likely to repeat the activity at a later date.”
for more of my crazy antics and uncomfortable over-shares!
How Blogging Fueled My Exercise Addiction: A Cautionary Tale
Wearing a gold 80′s leotard. Climbing a piece of silk 100 feet in the air. Punching until my knuckles bled. Eating beans that could have killed me. I’ve done a lot of stupid things in the name of health. I got into fitness for the dubious reason of dealing with a past sexual assault and the ensuing court case (nothing like actual running to help you run away from your problems!) so I suppose it only makes sense that my journey to health had a few seriously unhealthy pit stops.
Some of them, like my battle with orthorexia (an obsession with eating so healthy that you become unhealthy), I was very public about. I even went on TV (twice!) to talk about it. But there was a stronger force, an emotional rip tide, that was pulling me under right before everyone’s eyes and yet I still tried to hide it. I had a dangerous addiction to exercise.
I’ll wait while you finish giggling. It’s ok, compulsive over-exercise is officially the mental disorder that everyone “wishes” they had. Despite its apparent benignity, it can – and did for me – have serious consequences. I suffered everything from stress fractures to amenorrhea to depression to the final indignity of having to go to eating disorder therapy.
I haven’t ever ‘fessed up to this in public yet but my addiction was the reason I started my fitness blog. I needed an outlet for all the crazy. I read dozens of articles, books, studies, websites and, of course, blogs weekly and I needed a place to consolidate it all. I never thought anyone would read it. But you did! And it was a rush like no other. I lived for every comment, e-mail sign up, backlink and page view (stat crack!).
Best of all I found people who were just like me! People who were just as interested in the same arcane studies I was! People who also lived for the feeling of pushing yourself until you see stars, your hearing is deafened and there isn’t a single inch of you not drenched in sweat! Most of you were not exercise addicts. But I was. And blogging about fitness was like putting a meth addict in a cement garage with cases of Sudafed.
Eventually I had to come out on my blog. The health consequences had gotten too severe and even I couldn’t deny anymore that I had a problem. The support I got from all of you was amazing and to this day I get weepy remembering it. But every time someone – I have many an astute reader and friend – questioned me about the sanity of keeping up my fitness blog while undergoing treatment for compulsive over-exercise, I ignored them. My therapist told me I had to give up my blog, especially once I became pregnant – my health and the baby’s health were too important to mess around with, she said. I thought about quitting. But then my therapist left private practice for the prison system (is that not the saddest sentence ever?) and rather than find a new doctor, I quit therapy.
Unbridled, I exercised with such intensity that around my 8th month of pregnancy I found myself crying in the gym bathroom. There was blood everywhere. I tried not to panic. Had I felt my baby kick recently? I couldn’t remember. Huddled under the stairwell I called my OBGYN and confessed. The Gym Buddies tried to reassure me that it was all going to be ok – and in the end they were right. All the blood was from damage done to my urethra from the weight of my uterus bouncing off of it. Yes, I was peeing blood but that was good news because it meant I hadn’t hurt my baby or the placenta or anything else vital. It shook me up bad enough that I took a break from high-intensity exercise until the baby was born. (Healthy, gorgeous, every bit a miracle Jelly Bean is!)
The crazy, unfortunately, did not stop with her birth. Now, I didn’t have to worry about hurting her and I worried a lot about losing the weight. There were copious tears, arguments with my husband and lengthy conversations with my sister but I’ll cut to the chase: I quit blogging June 28, 2010. It was my 32nd birthday and I finally realized that I wasn’t going to be able to work through my mental issues and blog about fitness at the same time.
Clearly that didn’t last (or you wouldn’t be reading this!) but when I did it, I meant it. I barely touched a computer for a month and instead spent that time teaching myself to “eat intuitively” and by extension to “exercise intuitively.” I played with my children without trying to somehow turn it into a workout. I went on dates with my husband where we’d just sit. But after a month I had a realization: as much as I had needed to quit blogging, now I needed to blog again. This time, though, it wasn’t out of a desire to fuel an unhealthy obsession. This time it was because I deeply missed all my readers and blog friends who had become true friends. It was because I wanted to share my passion for health and fitness. It was because I love to write almost more than I love to breathe. And partly, it was so I could warn others about falling into the same trap I did.
Written with love by Charlotte Hilton Andersen for The Great Fitness Experiment (c) 2011. If you enjoyed this, please check out my new book The Great Fitness Experiment: One Year of Trying Everything
