Welcome to the Motivation To Move Community Forums!
Well Hello!
If this is your first visit to the Motivation To Move Community Forums, Welcome! You are currently viewing our forums as a guest which gives you limited access to view most discussions. By joining our free community you will be able to post topics, communicate privately with other members (PM), respond to polls, and more. Registration is fast, simple and absolutely free, so join our community today!
i´ve thought a long time about writing this, thinking i´m probably the only one who is “weak” and no one is going to be able to help me (just joking).
Before the TOM i get quite cranky and whiney. Well, that´s due to hormones. But then TOM starts and i always have some pains. I take that as an excuse to stop exercise. After all, i tell myself, im not here to kill myself, so i can honor my body and stop for two or three days.
Well, truth is, those days get four, five, six days even sometimes some weeks.
I have biggest problems about starting again. I am just a lazy person !
Someone once said it takes a year to make a habit of wanting to move. Is that true ?
On the other hand i know very well, that once i really get some movement in my life, the hormonal thing balances out and is not so severe. So why dont i start ? Because im incredibly lazy.
I know you are going to say; well, this is obviously another excuse. She should just stop doing it, stop complaining and get on with it.
I would be interested if there are some women that have the same problem and how they deal with it. Best would be if someone is out there who comes to my house once a month and kicks me (in a nice way )
I use to have that problem Believe it or not, the best fix for me was exercise. Sometimes it would take a little Motrin (ibuprofin) to help get me started.
It would be easy for us to say “stop complaining and get on with it”, but we all know that is easier said than done. All I can really say is that there are others who go through something similar every month and there are others who have found the motivation to start moving and keep moving.
Start by changing your words - If you keep saying “I am a lazy person” that is what you will be. Start asking yourself how you want to feel. Choose words that really inspire you. Try words like energetic, fit, healthy, happy. Set some goals, both long term and short term. They can be health and fitness related and also life related. Visualize what it will feel like to be free of the pain, and to not have the hormonal imbalances. Start working on a plan and a path to follow to get there.
I’m sure that there will be other posts here with some other great advice.
I know that when it TOM I for sure don’t want to do aerobics, or running, or anything, so I focus instead I just stick to my yoga. It’s still moving and stretching but not anything painful. Try doing yoga when it’s that time, it’ll still keep ya movin’ but not like running or anything. It also a great way to balance out hormones. Check out http://www.yogajournal.com for more info and remember check out the poses that are not good to do at TOM, like inversions, some twists, and adominally challenging poses. There’s a whole list that you can generate. And you can download free yoga classes everyday through itunes, it’s called “Yoga Today” You can check out their website to see a discription of upcoming classes and what level they’re for. It’s awesome. And say to yourself “I’m a motivated person” instead of ‘lazy’ It’ll for sure help
Have you thought about joining the 100 day Challenge? There is no official start date so you can just jump right in. This is a really good way to establish an exercise habit, be accountable to the forum community, plus gets heaps of support and encouragement for THOSE days!! I think the human body has a wonderful way of communicating what it wants. At TOM, your body may be asking you to take it easy...and that doesn’t necessarily mean to stop all movement.
Yoga, as Jenni said, is excellent and can help relieve some of those less desirable symptoms! You could also go for a walk outsideand enjoy the fresh air. But you really must stop beating yourself up...that will get you nowhere fast! Paula’s suggestions are brilliant for goal setting and putting a bit of planning into your exercise week.
I’m really glad you posted this subject as I think everyone has been in this postion!
I’ve found a lot of wine helps, but is dangerous when combined with the treadmill. So I down the motrin, and start the workout. I usually end up having a great workout and push myself more than normal, even though it felt like my guts are cutting themselves out. I think I push it harder because I also get a bit of aggression during the TOM. Kickboxing would be perfect for me, but until I find a class, my hubby provides the perfect target. Just joking. But he does throw the motrin bottle at me and runs like hell.
Yoga would help, if I could calm down long enough to find my inner peace. Does wine and yoga mix?
Other people have offered you great advice (thanks, guys!), so I don’t really have much more to add. I’ve found in the past that the best way to get rid of cramps is simple exercise like walking around the block.
I posted a similar complaint about a year ago (has it been that long? Wow!), and people offered me some pretty good advice there, as well. You might want to go check it out.
You’re certainly not alone, and I’m so glad we’ve given you ideas to inspire you. Please let us know how the yoga works out. My fingers are crossed for you!
By the way, now that you’ve got ideas, you can go inspire other people the same way we’ve inspried you. Just imagine how amazing that will feel! *grin*
I was doing a little catching up on the forum posts and came across this one. In some tribes of the Original People (Native Americans) a woman’s lodge was provided for the first three days of a woman’s monthly cycle. Most tribes believe that because women carry the power of creation in their bodies, it is also their function in the tribe to carry the heart, soul and emotion of their people. Such power is hard to contain in human form. Pain associated with a woman’s monthly cycle is a reminder of the great power she carries in her body.
During the first three days of her period, she can go to the woman’s lodge and be free of the responsibilities of family and the community. She is treated to massages and sweats (saunas) by her tribal sisters. She is given pain relieving herbal medicines. (some of the Central American tribes use cacoa!) She spends the time reflecting on her emotional state and that of her family. What we call whining and aggression is her spirit trying to communicate to her about what needs to happen to bring balance back to her and her family. After spending time in the woman’s lodge, she had many messages from the Spirit World to give to her husband and children.
I think there is a lot of wisdom in this approach. First, anything that involves pampering and cacoa must be right. Second, the body undergoes dramatic shifts in it’s hormal balance. Why would we even expect that we would feel “like ourselves” and ready to perform normal activities.
I dealt with the exercise problem by declaring the first day a rest day. That took care of the worst of the cramps. The next two days were yoga and Tai Chi days. By the third day, if the cramps were gone, I would also do one of my dance videos—or just put on some good rock music and boogie till I embarassed my daughter beyond all reason. ; ) Dancing is good for the body and the soul. By day four, I was ready to return to my regular program, refreshed and recharged. (Note to Bree: Dancing and wine complement each other perfectly!)
I am peri-menapausal now and I have to say that I miss the regular periods. There really is a great creative energy force there. Feel it. Don’t fight it. And use the energy that comes from it.
Wow, Jackie, what a wonderful post !
Thank you for reminding us of that !
My exhusband told me that in Argentina a woman is allowed one day off because of start of period. I always thought that this was really a good thing.
I had already been thinking about posting again. Because since i started my challenge my “womans” pains related to pms and period are nearly gone. I feel much stronger and more able to cope with it.
It is probably a fact that a body needs movement and gets rid of lots of stress this way. In the past i was always thinking: need to lose weight, to look better etc. etc.. I never considered - until now - that the real purpose of getting fit has to do with getting healthy.
But i really want to remember what you wrote, Jackie, a wonderful reminder of being more gentle.
Thank you
I’m gonna get drunk an boogey! (One glass drank at anything faster than an hour’s pace will make me tipsy.) I’m going to also try the sauna idea at home. A long hot bath with a stiff warning to my family.
Can you tell it’s that time for me right now? Sorry for too much info, but I have allowed a hot fudge sundae a day the last 2 days. I’ve walked to counter the calories, but I just want to indulge in all things me for a bit. Guess I’m not alone. And I did manage to get some yoga in last night.
)
Just joking. But he does throw the motrin bottle at me and runs like hell.
Yoga requires balance and concentration. Not to mention it would make you even more tipsy 
(One glass drank at anything faster than an hour’s pace will make me tipsy.) I’m going to also try the sauna idea at home. A long hot bath with a stiff warning to my family.
