10 PERSONAL BENEFITS OF SWEATING IT OUT

I am not a health buff, in fact I probably eat way to much rice every mealtime (1 ½ - 2 cups), eat way too much salty foods and get very less sleep - but just a month ago I realized exercise really does wonders to the body and here are my personal observations.

Just to be a little more descriptive, exercise doesn’t just mean slaving at the gym or really sweating it out with structured workouts, it is as simple as a brisk walk from my office in IT Park all the way to my home in Kalunasan. Initially it was an hour walk but after a while, I could reach home in 45 minutes and probably even 30 if I don’t linger in some areas to buy food or chat with people. I just don’t get to do it on a daily basis because of other appointments but I try to do it as regularly as I can.

For sure doctors and health buffs would tell you a lot about the benefits of exercise, some even with very scientific explanations but these are just basic observations from a regular person’s point of view. (me!)

When I exercise…

1. I sleep better.

I used to suffer from insomnia and I have workaholic tendencies so even if I am in bed and ready to go to sleep, my mind refuses to do so. I have noticed a significant difference every time I am able to get some form of exercise though; I sleep better, I have better dreams and I wake up better.

2. My mood is more positive.

I have weird mood swings and my dispositions in a day are sometimes extreme but if I get a dose of exercise, I am more composed and intact. Ofcourse, I am still entitled to occasional bursts of emotion especially when PMS strikes! ;-)

3. I eat better.

Not that I had a problem with eating but my appetite is way better and I eat with more gusto. Food also seems to taste better – could it be because I am hungrier as well since I eat right after I exercise?

4. My skin has a different glow, is softer and is not dry.

I just proved the opposite side of this today as I had to apply lotion multiple times on my hands and arms because my skin felt dry yet no amount of lotion was helping. I then remembered that I did not get my usual “walk-home” routine because I had to report to my second job and realized that was the main culprit.

5. Stress is more manageable and I look less stressed.

When I went back to work nights, there was much to be done and all with urgency yet I seemed to just fly by it all without getting stressed or looking stressed. I swear my face looked pinkish even without make-up on! (And I don’t even wear make-up..)

6. My days are longer.

We always say to ourselves that we don’t have enough time in the day to do a lot of things but technically the problem is not that we don’t have time but that we don’t have the energy to do all those. When I get some exercise, I seem to be able to do more things than when I do not. I can still wash the dishes, play with my son and even have some TV time.

7. I can think clearly and can focus on things.

I still multitask like I always do, but whenever I get some exercise during the day, at night while at work I seem to think more clearly and with more direction.

8. I feel less groggy when I am at work.

In the BPO Industry, the grogginess comes with the territory but if I get my exercise in a day, I feel more alert and less groggy even if I didn’t get enough sleep. Today, I am having a hard time keeping my eyes open and feel like I’m going to drop to the floor and fall asleep on the carpet. Hehe.. I am writing on my blog to distract myself from the sleepiness and it is helping a bit but not as much as if I had exercised this morning. (Even the Avon brochures didn’t help kill the grogginess!)

9. I am less constipated.

I rarely get constipated because I like eating green leafy vegetables but due to lack of those lately, I have to eat more meat and that makes me constipated. For some reason though, when I sweat it out, it is also easier to download internal waste files as compared to when I don’t. ;-) I’d rather not provide details on this aspect though as it could get gory.

10. I write better.

I have lesser trips to dictionary.com or thesaurus.com or even to google.com. I guess everything factors in already. If I exercise then I have more focus, am more alert, sleep better, feel less groggy and feel more positive; it affects my creative thinking process and ergo I produce better results. I am sure if I review this post at another time, preferably when I got some exercise, am going to be a critic to myself.

In my defense though, it is totally understandable because I am writing about the benefits of exercise during a time when I am experiencing exactly the opposite. Ironic, you say? Not really. I am just proving another cliché that says “you don't know you're losing a good thing until it’s gone...”

So as a resolution, I am going to walk home again tomorrow and quit my second job so I can walk home every day! After all, the benefits greatly outweigh the costs. (Am I even thinking rationally right now or is my thinking again impaired due to lack of exercise?) Well, let's do the math - 300 pesos a day, twice a week plus 1% commission on sales made is no match to all the benefits I just enumerated above. It can’t even buy me a bottle of glutathione to give me glowing skin yet I get it for free just by exercising!

The point I am driving at is that exercise really works! It works for me and I hope it works for you too! So let the exercises begin! ;-)

@1:02am 08/22/13 nmed