Ah, the dreaded Activewear post. Well maybe not dreaded for the average person but for me it is. I'm within 0.05% of the worlds population that has Narcolepsy, however a large number of these people are unaware they even have the sleep disorder.
In case you don't know what Narcolepsy is, basically it is a sleeping disorder that causes excessive daytime fatigue. Keywords there EXCESSIVE, DAYTIME and FATIGUE. There's a lot of other stuff involved and lucky me (<- sarcasm) has all of the symptoms which I won't even go into.
My Narcolepsy is exhausting in so many ways but largely it's physically draining. I want to stay awake but when i get really really tired there is no way I can stop my brain from making my body go to sleep. At times if I try to fight it I shake severely because my willpower is trying to fight my brain chemicals (or lack of).
Getting off topic. Back to Activewear. I want to exercise but I really struggle to build up the energy (during the daytime anyway). I've tried a lot of things and to anyone who doesn't have Narcolepsy or experienced something similar it really sounds like I'm making excuses.
I'm really at a point where I don't know what to do. I feel like I've tried everything (even though I know I haven't tried everything). It's actually a bit of a sore spot for me at this very moment in my life because some people don't understand how hard it is for me. I'm not looking for your sympathy, Im just typing and its blurting out like verbal diarrhoea.
Now let me point out this is all about getting fit and active NOT losing weight.
The weight thing is a whole different issue. Easily summed up: my medication gives me the pasties, the only thing that gets rid of this embarrassing white mush layering in my mouth is soft drink and cordial; not water, not diet soft drinks. No excuses here. Trust me I have tried.
I was diagnosed with Narcolepsy 11 years ago and I am still learning different ways of adjusting my lifestyle to help me live with it. I know one thing is that my mind has to be stimulated.
Example: reading a boring book I have no interest in = I'm asleep within 30 seconds
Reading a book on something I'm interested in or can relate to = I'm asleep in 10 minutes
So I have a new theory. Or method to attempt. With a story behind it.
The other day I got some gym pants from Kmart. They were a size 24 but only $2 so I thought Id try them. I did a half an hour workout session to a dvd I love!!! Whoa! Totally amazing for me! However the pants wouldn't stay up, were too big and really frustrating. So since then I haven't done it again even though I want to.
My theory is that maybe Activewear fashion could stimulate me enough mentally
to get myself enough energy physically to start exercising. Otherwise I can't wear those items of clothing and my reward for exercising is getting to wear the clothes!
Make sense? Passion for Fashion = incentive to exercise = reward is being able to actually wear the activewear.
Well...I plan to try it today if I can stop myself from procrastinating too much.
24hours later I decide to stop putting it off. After 10 minutes they have a drink break and I fell asleep...I thought exercising was supposed to give you energy?!?
Ok so it didn't work.
Next attempt is Yoga/Pilates.
There is heaps of info regarding Narcolepsy on the net or you can check out more Here
This was a really interesting read Charlene. Like many people, I don't know much about narcolepsy or really think about how much it would affect someone's day to day life. I wonder if someone has looked into fitness programs for narcoleptics? That would be kind of cool.
ReplyDeletePS If the pants don't fit, onsell or donate them and find some that do - it always makes me feel better and more motivated when I'm wearing cute activewear. And if you only get in a 10 min workout that's totally okay!
Thanks Meagan! I knew some of you gorgeous babes would have ideas I hadn't tried yet! I'll have to look a bit to see if someone has done fitness programs for Narcoleptics but thats cool cause just researching it will give me more ideas.
DeleteAs for the gym pants they have gone to a better home which is good for someone else. I might just have to keep an eye out for some different cure activewear!!
Thanks again Meagan! You're a gem!