Hellobee

There are a few things about me that have held true since I was a little kid – I’m fat and I love exercise.

I’ve been fat since I was little. I was born big, I stayed big. I own that label, and I wear it as my own without any guilt or shame. I don’t equate fat to bad nor to anything negative. I wish I could claim I’ve always felt that way, but it was after years of shaming myself into thinness I could never achieve (chocolate and cheese always win) and two very eye opening books (thank you Jennifer Weiner and Kate Harding) that I finally made peace with myself. My lightest adult weight was 10 years and 50 pounds ago, and even that was unhealthy by all standards. I eat good food – just a little too much of it and a little more often than I should (yay snacking!). I do my best, but I’m only successful so often.

My weight aside, however, my love for exercise has always been a constant. I was an active kid who loved biking and climbing trees, and I adored volleyball and soccer in high school. I was too self conscious to join teams, which in my school were full of taller, skinnier girls (all fact, no judgment, I swear), but I made the most of every gym class that gave me the opportunity to play. Ironically, I went through school labeled as that inactive, asthmatic kid, simply because I hated running (so boring!) and gave up easily when I got winded. If only every kid got to pick their own exercise during gym class, I truly believe we’d never have kids sitting embarrassed on the bleachers ever again.

I’ve had a fair share of long stretches without exercise, including during my pregnancy, when I simply just felt too tired to try. And after Baby C was born, I got too involved in her to think about myself and how necessary exercise is to my well being, but after getting hit by late onset postpartum depression, the first thing I did was strap on my sneakers.

I don’t have an exercise plan or routine. I’d like to, but as with most parents, I have way too many uncertainties day to day to create an exercise appointment for myself on my calendar or do all those things magazines recommend to make sure I get to the gym. Baby C is an early riser, and I can’t get up any earlier than I already do to fit in exercise, so it has to be evenings and weekends, and with that, there’s a balance to find between spending time with my kid, watching the latest episode of Scandal with my husband, and exercise. I take it day to day. I make a plan for that day only and sometimes it works and just as often, it doesn’t. I’m OK with that – I have lots of priorities.

What I’ve figured out about exercise over time is that it’s best when it’s done for the fun and the heck of it (and it really is fun if you find the right exercise(s) for you. It doesn’t matter if there’s weight loss at the end of it – I personally gave up chasing that ghost years ago because chocolate and cheese really do always win and when I focused on losing weight or other metrics, I failed very quickly and stopped exercising altogether. The endorphins, the “runners” high and most of all, the fun of moving in ways that feel good to you – those are amazing feelings that everyone should experience – and they keep you coming back for more.

As I mentioned, I hate running. I hate treadmills and workout machines. Anything that forces me to be on my own and in my own head doesn’t work for me. I’ve tried music, I’ve tried TV, I still get bored. But my best friend finds the most joy in strapping on her iPod and walking around her neighborhood for an hour, any time, in any weather. Everyone has something, I guarantee it. I think of exercise as a treat – some time to spend by myself (even in a group class – as long as no one is pulling on my leg asking for Cheerios, it counts), so my recommendation is to keep trying to find what makes you excited to get up and go.

The other thing I realized about exercise since I became a mom is that as busy moms, we get more exercise than we think we do. Here are a few places I’ve found the most fun (and unexpected) forms of exercise. Sometimes all it takes is a little tracker (I have a Fitbit, personally) and a little exploring to discover how much exercising you’re really doing that doesn’t feel like it!

1) Dancing – I love to dance. This is my most favorite form of exercise, but it’s definitely not for everyone. I don’t have a self consciousness problem anymore, so even if I look ridiculous in a Zumba class (and I do), I’m going to do it. Recently, thanks to a friend, I discovered a local dance class called Kazaxe that I am obsessed with. A hyped up version of Zumba, with way more people and in a warehouse instead of a gym is the only way I can think of to describe it, and it is amazing. Attendants range from kids to grandparents, they have an open stage everyone is invited to (and lots of people get up there), and it’s the hardest workout I’ve ever had but it’s also the most fun. And if you’re not much of a dance-in-public person, I’m willing to bet that everyone has found themselves dancing to the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse theme song or something similar with your kids. That counts! When my kiddo was still immobile, I’d walk around the house swaying and bopping to music, and on our last snow day, my now toddler and I clocked in nearly an hour of dancing together to the Elmo Radio station on Pandora – hello, cardio!

2) Kiddo gyms and playgrounds  – We take our toddler to Gymboree once a week (sometimes twice if the weather is uncooperative) and now that the weather is warmer, we’ll be putting in a lot more time on the playgrounds. She’s still small enough that I can’t park myself in the corner while she plays – and it’s a good thing because I end up doing a lot of walking, bending, lifting and running around to catch my tiny daredevil as she leaps off things. I’m sure that in a few years, she’ll want me to sit in a corner, in which case I’ll have to find something else to get my activity in, but for now, there’s plenty of exercise to be had during playtime.

3) Around the House – The first thing I do when I get out of bed in the morning is tack my Fitbit onto my clothes. My kid is an early riser so I usually have a half hour to an hour, depending on when she’s up, to get things done – pack lunches, her snack prep, make the bed, get myself ready for the day, etc. By the time I get her out of bed, I’ve usually done enough laps around my house to clock 1,000 steps, and that’s a flat condo floor, no stairs! I do a similar set of laps in the evening – picking up toys, filling up the humidifier, setting up the kiddo’s room for bedtime, dinner prep and so on. Even if you sit still the rest of the day (and even I, with a busy desk job, rarely sit still), there’s a fair amount of exercise just getting life organized.

4) Grocery shopping/errands – Chasing a toddler around a grocery store is a pretty great activity (even if it does feel like an Amazing Race course at times, dodging between displays and hoping she doesn’t knock anything over). On colder days, we often go to Target as a play space and let Baby C run amok in the toy aisles while Mr. Carrot and I alternate getting things we actually need. Lots of steps and various activities to be found while running errands and chasing a toddler!

Yoga for everyone!

My biggest recommendation to all moms is not to be too hard on yourselves, and if you get into a place where you just feel uncomfortable with yourself (which I get into regularly, when I get inactive and too busy), find something that’s really fun. You’ll go longer because you love it, which will mean more exercise overall. And remember that you’re already getting a fair amount as it is.

What are some other “hidden” sources of exercise or fun activities you’ve found?