After sitting through our two amazing Women’s Health evenings this year, it suddenly dawned on me that I may be classified as “middle aged”. How did that happen? This sudden realisation emphasised to me my increasing risk for the development of osteoporosis – bone loss, and sarcopenia – muscle loss (at the rate of 5 percent each year!). If I was planning on hanging around for quite a few more years on this planet, I really did not want this to impact what I wanted to achieve in my life.

However, on further analysis, the thing that struck me most was my mindset surrounding my ability to change my current situation. I realized I truly believed I was not capable of returning to a better level of fitness. I had started to believe I was old; pretty well doomed to get weaker and less active. I was in a “stuck” mindset state which was really limiting my potential to achieve the things in life that I was capable of achieving. With this story I was telling myself, it really wasn’t going to help me. Even if I wanted to do it and could visualise the end result – if I didn’t believe I could do it – so why bother even trying. Right? Pretty stupid, hey?

In my late teens and early 20s, I discovered running. Up until that time, never being terribly coordinated or sporty, I was pretty unfit. But I was surprised at how running made me feel – both physically and mentally. It was quite remarkable. I had always wanted to get back into running, but life seemed to get in the way. And of course, with my mindset being pretty stinky, this didn’t help. However, the realisation that I was middle-aged and that I needed to be in charge of what I wanted for the next 45 years of my life, was enough to kickstart me again.

I started slow and steady – ignoring my usual “all or nothing” approach. Baby steps − pushing through the healthy pain – mental and physical. Thankfully, I have some good physios that have supported me along the way! Learning that a bit of pain is OK when we are asking something of our bodies that they have not done in a looooong time. Learning to listen to my body, but to keep my mind in check too.

And so here we are – several months on. No − I will never be an ultra-marathon runner. But I feel so much better and more positive about the future for my health. I am sleeping better, am stronger and fitter. I can keep up with my kids and hopefully will – one day – with my grandkids too. I want to encourage you to discover what is important to you and if there is something you are putting off, so take this first baby step. One foot in front of the other, moving further towards what you visualise for your future. Because you CAN do it. Make the decision to start and don’t be afraid to reach out for help when you need it.