Hi,
I am one of the people who is afraid to exercise for fear of dying. I ran cross country and track in high school ten years ago and ran a 5k in 2002. Shortly thereafter my anxiety came back and I became very afraid of exercise.
I am a very black or white thinker. Normally I would think, "well, if I'm not going to run or walk at least a mile, there is no point in even doing it." Today I went maybe a half mile, and I even ran part of it! Then my kids wanted to walk with me, so we went out again and our neighbors saw us walking and invited us over for brownies!

I started getting nervous wondering how I would say that I can't eat a brownie because of the anxiety (she doesn't know about it). I simply said, "I don't think I will have a brownie although they look really good. I'm trying to stay off of sugar for a little while to see if it helps me feel a little better balanced with blood sugars." She was fine about it and I don't think she was offended.

So I exercised today and ate right AND I was assertive. Wahoo!

Ocean

Nice job, well done. Don't forget to pat yourself on the back ALOT! And the no brownie excuse was the perfect answer and the TRUTH! Don't worry about offending anyone when it comes to your health. You handled it perfectly! You get another attaboy!
Keep it up little by little if need be and you will overcome your excercise demon.

That is so awesome Ocean you should be so proud of yourself you got out there and faced your fear and also stayed on track with the sugar intake. That is so wonderful you did the right thing and no one was offended. You did it for you way to go. When we face our fears one at a time even we become less and less affected by them and you did that what an awesome thing and you thought outside the black and white thinking so great and it worked so well for you.
Keep up the good work.
God bless
Mimi

Good for you Ocean. I always feel that even a 15 minute fast walk around the block is better than none at all. And besides, you meet more people in your neighborhood that way.

Good job ocean! i am so happy for you =) keep it up and God Bless!

Thank you ALL so much for your comments! They truly mean a lot to me!
Take care,
Ocean

Great job! I know it's hard to say "NO" to people, especially when they offer you a baked good! You did a great job. People think they are going to hurt someones feelings if they say no, not necessarily! People DO understand. I just tell people I'm watching my weight and that as great as they look, and I'm sure taste, I'm going to have to pass! As far as the exercise goes, that's awesome. There is no reason why you'd have to run a lot or not at all! Even just doing a little bit is great. It's all about balance. Keep it up!

Ocean, It's the first time I write to you, and I just wanted to tell you Congratulations! It was great! that you walked and that you did your best, and also for not having to eat sweets. For me it is really!!!! hard to say no when people offer me sweets but now you gave me a great lesson on how to say no to people without being rude or by telling them your personal medical history on that! Great job! lovelysmile

Karilynn and Lovelysmile,
Thanks so much for your kind words! I appreciate it a lot. Once my 18 month old falls asleep, I'm going to go out again and walk a bit (my husband works from home so he can listen for her).

Take care,
Ocean