How Composition 101 Helped Me Stay Fit at 51
My first composition class in college included a semester long assignment to write a 25 page story. To help us pick a topic, the professor encouraged us to think of a topic that was personal enough to mean something to us and meaningful enough to have a purpose (at least that’s how I recall it!😂). So, as any thoughtful 18 year old girl, I wrote a romance about my newest college crush (unbeknownst to him, of course). My poor teacher; I’m sure he wanted to vomit every time he had to schlep through the latest rendering of my broken heart. But that class made me see some of the benefits of writing. Especially about ideas of the heart, because it only took me three years to get over that guy! So, that leads me to the present.
As you may have been reading here lately, I’ve created a new program called Formula3 that involves fasting and fitness for females. It’s been such a great start (and I’ve a little room for more if you’re interested but that’s another subject). I’ve personally had great results, very few setbacks and have generated much more energy for helping people. Until last week, that is.
Last week, I had some hurdles. And unlike my 18 year old self, I will not torture you with the details, but in a nutshell, I was all the things we want to avoid. I was disappointed in myself and frankly, a little disillusioned with my tremendous program I’d created. Until, I started writing. Writing out my feelings, my behaviors and my actions cleared the air. I saw a few reasons for why I was in a funk and although it didn’t make it go away, I understood it.
Great exercise for back, triceps, shoulders and core — included with Formula3!
And since I’ve made a big deal about Formula3 (spent lots of time, money and energy) to make it a success, I’m happy to report that today, I’m not only feeling better, I am better. And here’s the best result: the experiences that I have had, you will probably have, too! Even though we are all unique, we are all also very similar. And when one of us goes through something, we can all learn from it.
You may have heard that fasting isn’t good for women because it can create havoc with our hormones. But here’s the argument I have with that blanket statement: everything in our world disrupts our hormones (have you read about stress or plastics or birth control or pregnancy or wheat or skin care or inactivity or sugar or alcohol or dairy or soy or meat or anything else before????).
So, some fasts trigger our sympathetic nervous system. This is to help us focus, make decisions, fight or flight, exercise, increase metabolism, etc, etc. It is the release of these stress hormones that give us the mental clarity and physical energy that we lose when we eat frequently. And it can be very beneficial.
However, if your nervous system is already elevated because of your life circumstance (menstrual cycles, pregnancy, growth cycles, conflict, work/family/personal/financial problems) then pouring on more hormones may be less helpful. But that doesn’t negate the fact that fasting has tremendous benefits that go far beyond these stress hormones.
And this leads me back to my original story. Last week, my body had some stress which made it difficult to fast and workout. So I didn’t. I listened to those signals and journaled through what I was experiencing. I took long walks, sat in the sauna, took some naps, played with my pups, talked to my mom and received some great perspective. Our metabolism is not separate from our spirits and our souls, and to pretend they aren’t connected is naive and wrong.
The next time something comes up for you when you’re fasting or feeding or working out or trying to better yourself in any way, so that you question whether what you’re changing is beneficial, take a moment and journal. Writing brings clarity and focus and while it may not come as naturally to you as it does to me, it will have the same result. Write it out and then you’ll be able to work it out for the better. Like me; I’m ever so grateful that I didn’t marry my college crush or throw in the towel with my current routine! And you shouldn’t quit, either.
