Rural Fitness
- Samantha Coffin
- Apr 15, 2016
- 2 min read
From the Gym Grind to a Wilderness Playground
Before Jeff and I moved to Maine, I was going to the gym 5-6 times a week, walking 10k+ steps a day, eating healthy and very close to a goal weight I set for myself. This was a new pattern after stepping on the scale I had avoided for many years. While in gradschool and job searching post grad school, I gained a fair amount of weight. Being my feminist self, avoiding the scale had helped keep me happy and comfortable in my body but I was reaching an unhealthy weight that I wanted to avoid. I was so proud of where my new wellness journey was taking me. I ran in two 5ks and was always looking how to add more fitness into my everyday life.
When it came time to make the big move, I told myself, “you’ll have the whole lake as a gym”, but the truth was, I was so off balance, I couldn’t find a grove. It was hard to run our 4 mile long driveway because it was logged this summer, the unexpected vehicles, the unknown fear of Lynx and Bears. I was making up any excuse I could think of and eating all the food in the house. UGH. It was causing me to get a bit depressed.
In the summer I kayaked occasionally, I hiked a few times but mostly I cleaned cabins, learned how to work and live here and drank A LOT of coffee. I was overeating and not thinking a thing about it.
Well this post is really about WHERE I AM TODAY! With the help of a new local friend, I am on a much more positive track to wellness. I have completed two rounds of 21 day fix (read my review of this program here) and am 10 pounds from my goal weight. I am walking 10k steps about 6 days a week and doing some fitness activity of some kind nearly everyday. This includes yoga, planks, squats, cardio and strength training. I am learning that it is OK to eat different food from my husband and even better, how to make healthy meals he also enjoys. It is not what I would ever think I would do and its a work in progress but I think if I stay with it, this may just work!
What I really am meaning to share here is that moving to a rural location does not automatically mean I am going to use this outdoor wonderland to my fitness advantage. It takes some lifestyle changes, patience and creative thinking. For me, it also means being a lot more disciplined. Stay tuned as I share what I do to stay fit in the woods each season!
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