I am pretty lucky and I don't gain much weight when I stop working out, but I get flabby and a bit bloated. Sorry, I refuse to post a photo even though I have one of myself in my undies for motivation. One look at that photo will usually damper my snacking a bit.
Exercise also works like a mild anti-depressant/anti-anxiety drug for me. If I stop working out I start getting easily overwhelmed. I also feel lazy and tired and about twenty years older.
So the other day while I was hanging out in the backyard with the boys rereading The Stand: Expanded Edition
for the third time, my husband (who works out several times a week and is in amazing shape) brought home his new toy. 
I took one look at his new punching bag
, stand and gloves and scoffed "What in the world did you buy? You are never going to use that".I have since eaten those words (which are much healthier than the chips/chocolate I was snacking on earlier). For a lark I put on those big black gloves and gently hit the bag a few times. "Don't hit like a girl!" he told me. So I pulled back and gave that bag my everything. That bag was every horrid boss I had ever had, every mean girl who threw a ball at me in dodgeball, every crazy driver that cut me off while they were texting.
And it felt AMAZING!
Since that mind-blowing day I have been hitting our "gym" daily (elliptical, exercise tapes, weights, and that lovely punching bag). And I am starting to feel like my old self! Who knew hitting something could feel so good?
I used my Grainy B&W action on that image and also a B&W texture from Chasing Dreams newest texture set, France.
