addict

Hi, my name is Taylor and I am addicted to working out.

It's true. I've gone through a few phases in the past where I would go workout for a few weeks and then something would happen and I would fall out of the habbit. I liked going but it wasn't a priority for me.

All summer long I was plotting and planning what I would do with my time once school started again. One thing that continued to come to mind for me was starting a workout routine. The week before school started we were out of activities and had nothing to do all day. So, three days that week I took all three children to the Y daycare so that I could get started with my workouts. It was a way to get out of the house on those last few summer days. I spent $15 on daycare alone that week, just to get out of the house. Looking back I'd say that it was worth it.

After school started it was fairly easy to fit in a few workouts a week. But, as things got busier around here, it became harder to negotiate our schedule for my time in the gym. To remedy the scheduling issue I stared heading to the gym at 5:15 AM two or three mornings a week. That's when I knew I was officially a gym rat and completely addicted to working out.  When I became willing to set my alarm for that early in the morning, I knew that I had crossed over the line of normal and into the realm of fanatic.

These past few weeks have been pretty stressful around here. Usually when things get stressful I tend to withdrawal and have a hard time meeting my usual expectations. However, going to the Y has really kept me from my usual habits. I can now say with complete confidence that the experts are right about how much staying in shape can do for a person. In my experience, my depression has lessened, my focus has increased, I have more energy and my moods are generally happier. As the days get shorter and the sun spends more time behind the clouds, my usual dread of winter is less. If I can maintain my workouts, then I'm thinking that this holiday season won't be nearly as stressful as in years past. Hopefully with all these endorphins floating around in my system I can avoid the winter blues altogether.