#959 I Believe I was Depressed

Starting around the beginning of December, it got too cold to exercise. I couldn’t go for a jog, and the old school, Rocky Balboa workout I’d set up in my unheated garage held no appeal.  

I have a treadmill in the unfinished basement, but it’s like a dungeon down there, and the treadmill is unplugged and dusty. My daughter owns a yoga studio, and I can practice via Zoom, but the classes were all at inconvenient times for me.

Since I wasn’t working out, being vigilant about what I ate made no sense, so I went away from the food practices that have served me for 40 years. I ate more heavy-calorie carbs, snacked more often, and went back for seconds regardless of whether I was hungry.  

I like a nice whiskey before dinner on the weekend, so why night extend that to a Monday, Tuesday, or Thursday if I was in the mood? I gained a good 8 or 10lbs and have pants I cannot button over my new COVID belly. 

I don’t know how you all handled this lockdown, but I think I got depressed! If you’d have asked me, I would have said I was doing OK. I could work from home, and I get to see my kids and grandkids, so I’m OK. 

What a load of crap!  

In mid-February, my great friend and far away workout partner Mikey asked me why I wasn’t training much. I gave him my litany of reasons, and he said, “Seriously, in that big house, you can’t set up to exercise somewhere?” When I regurgitated my BS reasons to him, he suggested I walk on the treadmill at an incline with some light dumbbells and do some curls, extensions, and presses while I walked.

I dragged myself down to the dungeon and did as he suggested, although it felt like a waste. I’m a guy who runs five milers outdoors and hits the gym hard to lift heavy. Walking on the treadmill felt like a specious stand-in. BUT IT WORKED.  

I did just a couple of days the first week and then a few more the next. I got out to the garage and did my workout, and while the temperature was still below thirty, somehow, now I was OK with it. I even took a few yoga classes and got some outdoor runs in.

I’m no psychologist (neither is Mikey), but…

“ I believe movement is medicine”

As I post this, I am on a fifteen-day workout streak with only one food slip (an incredible grilled chicken, fresh mozzarella, roasted pepper, and broccoli-rabe hero on 14 inches of fresh Italian bread. Can you blame me?)

I FEEL the difference in myself mentally. 

I’m able to make the choices that had eluded me for three months.  

I used to think that mindset was 75% of the game. 

I now know it’s 100% of the game.

Own Your Sales Gene…