Way back when, at the beginning of January, my husband had a bright idea for us to complete a 60-day fitness challenge. I drank some of his homemade wine and then agreed.

For 60-days straight, we would work-out every. Single. Day. Then go down to 5 days a week for a while, then 4 days a week for the rest of our lives. Oh, sorry. The. Rest. Of. Our. Lives.

It hasn’t been easy, but we’ve done it. Well, he’s done it and I’ve mostly done it. I missed 2 out of the 4 days when I was in Houston and then I missed another day after I weighed myself, punched the wall and screamed, “What’s the point?”

There have been a couple of times when my work-out consisted of a few sets of lunges and some push-ups and a couple of times when I battled the 14 year old in Just Dance in order to break a sweat, but for the most part…at least 50 of the last 60 days, have been intense; with a lot of strength-training, rowing, boxing, running, swimming, ellipticizing, biking, stepping, and generally wanting to punch my trainer in the face.

Oh, and a boatload of laundry. It’s all “Sweatin’ Because We’re Oldies” up in here.

Have I lost weight? Not much. I try not to weigh myself, because it just makes me angry. I see minor changes, though and I KNOW I’m doing the right thing. And since exercise is a whole lot mental, knowing is at least half the battle.

And, speaking of the correlation between mind and body, I have almost completely weaned myself off my Zoloft during this challenge. That’s a big deal. I’m figuring out how to reduce my anxiety without meds and have only thought I was going to die once. Just once!

I have learned that an easy work-out is not enough to keep the anxiety-demons at bay, it has to be a work-out so hard that I feel like I can’t get through it. It has to be intense and painful for my body in order for my mind to be eased. So, I have that going for me. It’s like I’m Atlas and I have the weight of the world on me and then I do some squats and just toss it; much in the same way that I toss around metaphors.

I can run farther (without stopping!) than I have in about 9 years and when I used to run past the fire station I thought that, for sure, I would see a paramedic come running after me with a defibrillator, but now I just cruise right past and the fire fighters stand outside and cheer for me. That last part may have been a dream, but I’m not sure.

I’ve learned a lot about myself in the last 2 months. I now know that it’s possible to live in a perpetual state of pain, that I should never go to the gym without my inhaler, and that I’m pretty damn driven when I actually put my mind to something.

Mostly, I’ve learned that drinking my husband’s homemade wine might cause me to make ridiculous, spur-of-the-moment decisions that actually end up benefiting me.  So bottoms up, people. Bottoms up.

    Comments

  • Liz


    Wonderful and well done, on all counts! Now, about this homemade wine you speak of…

    • Momo Fali


      It’s mine! All mine!

  • sassymonkey


    60 days? In a row? YOU SCARE ME MOMO.

  • Mama D


    Bottoms up, indeed. Go you!!

  • vicki


    Love it.

  • Jenna


    Dude. You so awesome!

    And I lol-ed at the firefighter part. Obviously.

    • Momo Fali


      Obviously!

  • Tanis Miller


    Good on YOU.

  • Andrea


    This is an excellent and inspiring story. Thank you for sharing. And WOW! WTG on weaning off of the meds. That, in and of itself, is incredible! Go you!!

  • Casey


    This totally rules. I love trying to do things for a bunch of days in a row. I ALWAYS fail at it. You’re my inspiration. I need to think of something to do now…

    And I really love that you only thought you were going to die once. That’s my favorite.

  • Amie


    You should totally come to krav with me.

  • Mr Lady


    You had me at semicolon; metaphor. Marry me.

  • Wyngrrrl


    Inspired. Yesterday I started my quest to move. It’s not easy, but worth it !

  • Angella


    Way to go, lady!

  • Toni


    Aww, I love you, homemade wine for all!

  • tara


    Good for you!!

    I have to have the hardcore workouts to get any anti-anxiety benefits too. I think it’s because if you can feel physical pain from your sore muscles, you’re too busy thinking “ow shit ow” to bother with the rest of the stuff 🙂

  • MommyTime


    This is freaking AWESOME!!! Here I am on my couch feeling all proud of myself because I’ve skated two days in a row and have a lesson tomorrow and a regular practice on Friday, which will be FOUR WHOLE DAYS IN A ROW. That feels major. And then you’re all like, “Try 50, sucker!!” and I’m inspired. Inspired, I tell you. I wish I had you here in my living room to keep me motivated, though. I can’t even begin to tell you how incredible inspiring this is. WOOOOHOOOO, you!!!!

  • Melisa


    So proud of you! Just wanting to do it is a third of the battle. Or something like that. Keep going, and stay off the scale. That’s advice from someone who knows.

  • Jamie@SouthMainMuse


    I have to exercise everyday – not so much for health or weight control, but to ease my anxiety and help get over those depressive times. Sometime really does happen with those chemicals in the brain. Great job Momo.

  • Diana


    I loved this post! So inspiring. I want to hang it in my patient exam rooms.

  • meleah rebeccah


    “I have almost completely weaned myself off my Zoloft during this challenge. That’s a big deal. I’m figuring out how to reduce my anxiety without meds and have only thought I was going to die once. Just once!”

    Wow. That really IS a big deal. And quite impressive.

    “Mostly, I’ve learned that drinking my husband’s homemade wine might cause me to make ridiculous, spur-of-the-moment decisions that actually end up benefiting me.  So bottoms up, people. Bottoms up.”

    Amen. And Cheers!

  • Mare


    I’m in the same boat. I KNOW exercise is good for me, I KNOW I need to keep at it…but the scales don’t move much and I just resent the time exercise takes. My only consolation is that I’d be in WORSE shape if I didn’t keep at it. Not really a big motivator, but there ya go.
    from The Dugout

  • AlisonH


    Muscle weighs more than fat but takes up less space. Muscle weighs more than fat but takes up less space. Repeat after me. Muscle weighs more than fat but takes up less space.

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