Below is a repost of a blog post I wrote a few weeks ago after I started using the fitness app, Nexercise to track my workouts on my Droid.

Goodbye, I Never Loved You.  Those words popped into my head while I was at the gym this week. When I thought it, it was in reference to the pounds of fat I’ve booted from my body. Good riddance. Goodbye. Farewell. Adieu. I never wanted nor needed you.

I haven’t been this consistent with exercise since I was actually in shape post-divorce, pre-remarriage and before Daughter #2. I recall living in Sterling the summer before I moved to the Shenandoah Valley where, during bouts of boredom, I would workout. I could easily have gone shopping, slept, hung out with friends, etc…, but, instead, I found pleasure in spending an hour at the gym working up a sweat to my favorite music. I’ve reached that point again. The inevitable end result of my hard work motivates me. That and my desire to remain “Mayor” of my gym on Foursquare.

It’s been 25 days since I’ve taken a day off from exercising whether it’s a class at the gym (Kickboxing, Zumba, Step) elliptical, treadmill and weights or simply doing calisthenics at home. It probably seems extreme but I’m doing it for a reason. My gym had a contest that challenged its members to work out a minimum of 21 days in a 30-day period (completed!). I’m also a Droid beta tester for the Nexercise mobile fitness app. A friend of mine is the VP of Products for Nexercise and one day she happened to mention that one of the “medals” you earn is for exercising 30 days consecutively. I was already two weeks into testing at that point and decided to stick with it. Less than a week to go until I earn my medal! The Nexercise app makes me challenge myself, daily, to keep active. I love it. I’ll blog about it separately after the Droid version officially launches.

There’s another reason I’m one step from manic about making sure I exercise each day, it helps my mood. I’ve never had an official diagnosis but the armchair M.D. in me is pretty convinced that I suffer from some form of depression and exercise has been helping combat it. There’s a noticeable difference in my mood which, in turn, is helping me rediscover my passion for all-things-creative and family and friends.

Most importantly, exercise is helping me rediscover myself.