It is important for me to share what gym means to me. Expat, I have moved often. What I call family is the core with my husband and my two children. No granny, aunt, cousin to help out, just the 4 of us. When you move, you uproot your whole life. What you have built aka work, relationships, all disappear and you have to start from scratch. I found that gym was my entry point back into a new life, gym was the place where I would start to exchange with ladies whom I would see in the changing room 5 days a week at around the same time. A smile, a hello, small talks. Life savers. Same with people working out around on the gym floor, always the same faces at the same times, or in the pool.
You could say, what you give, you get back. Well there is truth in there but it’s also down to being curious about new people, learning cultures, not being afraid to reach out, and a good dose of chemistry. Sometimes it works sometimes it doesn’t. Friendships develop or not.
Gym is Also about working out 😬. I love to eat, I love to cook. Never ever thought about weight when I was at home as my mom cooked healthy food. In France I always walked a lot to school or to university, used to swim once or twice a week, and as part of an ongoing Culture routine lunch is the main meal of the day. Kind of make sense as it’s when you are most active. Anyway, once I lived abroad, less walking, main meal in evenings, kilos creeping in. It’s not so much the kilos that are a bother, it’s not being able to fit in clothes I love that makes me upset. I took to gym.
Gym is a game, you eat, you train, end of the story. Don’t think about it, DO! Drop the kids to school, go to gym, train in the gym or in the pool. It’s about 1 hour of the day that is yours, empty your head, regenerate, breathe, in, out. Challenge yourself. Add one rep, add one series. Learn how to flip at the end of the lane, get to 1km, then 1,5 then 2. Change the swimming speed.... make it fun. Then shower, then start your day. Everything else can wait. You owe yourself that hour.
The most important here is that you do it for you. It’s about loving yourself as you are. We always wish for what we aren’t. I often say I was born to have a curly gorgeous mass of red hair. The genetics didn’t deliver! Many years ago as a young student I stood in front of the mirror and had a good look at myself. It was a life changing moment where I accepted how I looked and made peace with it. Love yourself, make peace with yourself. This will lead to your own self respect, and your own confidence. Believe in yourself as no one can do it better than you.
Fellow ladies and gents on the big World expat hamster wheel, I am here for you.
I welcome everyone that feel connected to my words, I am here for you.
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