Hey Queens,
Can you believe that that's the Spring Queen Challenege finished?! Wow- it's just flown by!
How did you all find it? When I first started the challenge I posted photos of where I was at which were taken by my mum but since then I've moved back to Edinburgh for my final semester of uni and I can't bring myself to ask my flat mates to take "after" ones (just goes to show how comfortable I feel in this community compared to those around me!!!) so sorry about that! However, I sat down to journal the other day and thought about just how much getting back into exercise has benefited me and I'm honestly astounded.
I decided to take this challenge on during the middle of my medical school exams and everyone I told thought I was taking on too much and that I needed to focus on studying. HOW WRONG THEY WERE! So many times during study leave I felt that if I hadn't had QDQ as an outlet, I wouldn't have been able to sustain two months of studying and exams! It really helped me mentally get through exams and made me more efficient in my study time too as my head was clearer.
I've managed to wean myself to a lower dose of anti-depressants which is something I've wanted to do for ages but was scared of doing. My endorphins are so high and I feel like they're back up to the point where they were when I was training 4 hours a day of swimming. I'm so thankful that I'm back to a place where exercise is my new pill!
My mum has said so many times how proud she is of me- proud that I've made a comeback in myself and proud that I took this challenge on during such a stressful time. And coming from her, I can't tell you how much that means to me!
I'm LOVING exercise again and I can feel my fitness levels improving to what they used to be like 5 years ago. I've even decided I need to push myself more and I've taken on the challenge of doing the 4x4x48 later on in the year for charity (the training has already started and I'm addicted to running now too!).
And finally, my body confidence has rocketed!!!! I bought my FIRST EVER crop top last week to wear when exercising and I'm so glad I took the leap. I'm now looking in the mirror and feeling empowered! So thank you so much to @Maeve Madden, all the coaches and of course this wonderful community for helping me get back to myself!
Much Queening Love,
Erin x
