{"id":17112,"date":"2015-04-29T08:33:56","date_gmt":"2015-04-29T14:33:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/foodembrace.com\/?p=17112"},"modified":"2015-04-29T08:33:56","modified_gmt":"2015-04-29T14:33:56","slug":"chubby-in-a-state-of-fit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/foodembrace.com\/2015\/04\/chubby-in-a-state-of-fit\/","title":{"rendered":"Chubby In A State of Fit"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Winding<\/a>When we first moved to Colorado I had the visions of becoming a stronger runner and running on all kinds of trails. This was my dream but as it turned out, not my reality.<\/p>\n

I was a few pounds heavier when we got here thanks to the stress of losing our first dog, selling our house, and packing up everything to move to a state we had never been to before. \u00a0The move was exciting but I would be lying if I said it wasn’t also a tad stressful.<\/p>\n

We started our life in Fort Collins<\/a> and that’s where my healthy lifestyle changed for the worst but (spoiler alert) also for the better. \u00a0I’ll get to that in a minute.<\/p>\n

I had the worst time running. \u00a0I was never what would be considered a fast runner but when I got here the elevation smacked me down to the ground. \u00a0Suddenly I was running really slow, needing to take walk breaks, and having a horrible time trying to breathe while running.<\/p>\n

It sucked. \u00a0Sucked hard.<\/p>\n

Whenever I tried to talk to others about it, everyone just looked at me like I had three heads. \u00a0As if the concept of struggling to breathe was so completely foreign to them that they thought I was making it up or being overly dramatic about the situation.<\/p>\n

I started to feel isolated, like\u00a0I was the first person to ever experience this before in all of Colorado. Sound ridiculous? \u00a0It totally does. \u00a0Until you are surrounded by folks who all do some sort of activity and they look down their nose upon others who don’t. \u00a0I realize that sounds very dramatic and that obviously not everyone in Colorado is this way. \u00a0But when you are struggling to do something that you have easily done for years and everyone around you acts as if you’re being ridiculous and please just get over it already, that is exactly how it feels.<\/p>\n

Scott always supported and encouraged me. \u00a0Always. But when you’re struggling through a one mile run and your husband can just go out and easily run 3 miles like it’s no big deal, that doesn’t really help matters. \u00a0That only made me feel worse.<\/p>\n

Why is exerting myself at high altitude so hard while everyone else seems to have no issues with it?<\/em><\/p>\n

This is what caused to me spiral down into what I’m labeling, “A Running Depression”. \u00a0And I spiraled down hard<\/em>. I didn’t have anyone to connect with or a support system so I stopped caring about anything, most especially me. \u00a0I gained a bunch of weight and didn’t give a flip\u00a0about anything. \u00a0Someone I knew (I am not saying friend because they clearly are not) even stopped talking to me because I wasn’t running and had gained weight.<\/p>\n

Thanks buddy! You’re awesome!<\/p>\n

I couldn’t connect with others and when I tried to “talk shop” about running everyone would just stop and stare at me.<\/p>\n

Here I was this chubby chick who talked about how I used to eat half marathons for breakfast, and everyone gave me the side-eye like I was lying. \u00a0Well there’s a smack in the face for you. \u00a0That stung<\/em>. \u00a0I’m chubby so obviously I have no clue about exercise, right? \u00a0(And yes, people still do not take me seriously when I try to talk about running or share my distance running history.)<\/p>\n

That forced me into isolation even more. \u00a0Every time someone brought up a race or was looking for some advice for running, I couldn’t even join in the conversation since no one would believe me or take me seriously anyway.<\/p>\n

As much as I love where I live, there was a lot of, “what the hell am I doing here” moments. \u00a0Again, something I never talked about because if I couldn’t even share my struggles with running, I obviously can’t share my struggles with life.<\/p>\n

Joining a running group? Ha! My pace is considered walking to them. \u00a0“Slow” here is a 9 minute mile. \u00a0I didn’t even run that when I was at my peak let alone now.<\/p>\n

There was no place for me. \u00a0I didn’t fit in. \u00a0I was in a very dark place for about two years because of this. \u00a0I was unhappy and oh man did I hate that time.<\/p>\n

Did I get past this? \u00a0YES. \u00a0I am here to tell you that there is light at the end of this dark tunnel. \u00a0I finally found a support group. \u00a0It is online, not local. \u00a0I was able to connect with a bunch of other women who are also working towards either getting back their healthy lifestyle or are starting a brand new healthy living journey. \u00a0We all support each other.<\/p>\n

Because of this I was able to start working out at home. \u00a0I was able to get my shit together. \u00a0I worked out at home for two months doing an exercise program called Max 30<\/a>. \u00a0I was able to drop some weight and bump up my endurance since I was doing HIIT style workouts. \u00a0Which are HARD.<\/p>\n

This is what gave me confidence. \u00a0I tested the waters and tried running again. \u00a0I could do it! \u00a0I ran a whole mile without stopping!<\/p>\n

I am slow. \u00a0It takes me 30 minutes to run two miles. \u00a0Sometimes I have to walk for a few seconds.<\/p>\n

I am OK with this.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Because I know that I’m on the right path and I’m doing what is right for me. \u00a0I’m done caring what others think because I’m making progress. \u00a0On my terms.<\/p>\n

I’m doing my own thing, I have a support system, and I’m making progress. \u00a0This is all that matters to me right now.<\/p>\n

And OK, yes, I’m also silently flipping everyone the bird who\u00a0treated me like I was crap.<\/p>\n

This will be something I’m constantly battling. \u00a0Even now, when out on a hike, a hike that would be considered “easy” by others, I still have to stop and catch my breath. “Easy” hikes are challenging for me. \u00a0I’m a slow hiker. \u00a0Again, I’m OK with this, because I’m outside and doing something I love. \u00a0I’m just a little slower and I do not have a problem with this anymore. \u00a0I would rather be a slow hiker verses being someone who doesn’t hike at all. \u00a0I am not that girl anymore who doesn’t give a shit about anything. \u00a0I don’t ever want to be that girl again.<\/p>\n

I was prompted to share my story thanks to Outdoor Beginner’s post<\/a>. \u00a0Because she shared her story it made me realize that I am not\u00a0alone. \u00a0That yes, struggling with exercising at elevation is a thing and many people are currently working through it.<\/p>\n

This was really comforting for me and made me realize that I should share my story too.<\/p>\n

I’m here to tell you, that there are others who struggle with exercising at elevation. You are not alone<\/strong>. It’s hard and it takes time. \u00a0You will get past it but it does take some time and everyone’s timeline is different. \u00a0If you are feeling isolated or feeling like you don’t have support, reach out! \u00a0If you need support, let’s talk so that I can help you and help you connect with others who are going through the same thing. \u00a0Support is key so that we don’t feel so alone and isolated in the land of the fit.<\/p>\n

Also, for those that are active and fit and doing their thing, if someone tries to reach out to you and talk about their struggles, don’t blow them off. \u00a0Don’t tell them to just get past it. \u00a0Support them and help them through it. \u00a0They opened up to you, don’t squash that. \u00a0Be a friend.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Andrea is a Certified Holistic Health Coach with a Primal Focus. \u00a0She specializes in helping people get motivated to start eating well and living a healthy lifestyle. \u00a0She offers one-on-one coaching and frequently runs FREE challenge groups. \u00a0If you'd like more information about coaching or joining her next group you can email her, Andrea AT FoodEmbrace.com<\/em><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When we first moved to Colorado I had the visions of becoming a stronger runner and running on all kinds of trails. This was my dream but as it turned out, not my reality. I was a few pounds heavier when we got here thanks to the stress of losing our first dog, selling our […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"status","meta":{"spay_email":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[58,52,51],"tags":[53],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4KYWa-4s0","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/foodembrace.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17112"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/foodembrace.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/foodembrace.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/foodembrace.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/foodembrace.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17112"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/foodembrace.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17112\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/foodembrace.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17112"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/foodembrace.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17112"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/foodembrace.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17112"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}