So I've been lurking in the shadow of Girls in Shape for some time now. Heidi invited me to be a poster on this blog months ago when she started it, and I've strategically waited until now to post. You see, I have a love/hate relationship with exercise and good health in general. And as of late, the stakes have only grown higher as a woman over 30, hitting obese marks and ironically, being accepted to medical school. I decided, once and for all, that if I couldn't lose weight for myself, my life or my family members, I at least needed to lose weight to be an example for my future patients. Can you imagine the hypocracy? "Uh, you are obese...and you need to lose 50 pounds or you are going to get diabetes, high blood pressure, heart problems, etc..." Uh-huh. And you're what, 50, 60 pounds overweight, oh doctor, my doctor?
Right. Touche.
I have been a distant cheerleader for Heidi as she publicly decries her lack of motivation, or enthusiastically shares her triumphs. She inspires me, as do the rest of you brave bloggers. The main reason I held back was because of my love/hate relationship. When I start out a regime, I'm all gung-ho, until the first long weekend, or vacation, or visit from company comes along, and I decide to take a vacation from healthy eating habits... I mean, that's what vacation is all about, right? Hmmmm... it's taken years, but I've finally learned that a vacation doesn't mean throwing all caution to the wind and indulging every little tastebud desire. I mean, this is me, my body...why am I treating it this way? So, back to my point...I'm all gung-ho and lose a few pounds, take the wrong path at the fork in the road and end up back at the beginning with those few pounds, plus friends. As much as I wanted to share Heidi's enthusiasm, I just wasn't ready to deal with a round of defeat, especially so publicly.
The love/hate relationship is mostly with the scale. It loves to tell me I weigh at least 20 pounds more than I think I do, and I hate it in return. Love/hate. So, back in February, I decided to make some subtle changes. Everyone is different. Different vices, different problem areas, different schedules. I had to find something that worked for me. And then, I figured when I reached a reasonable milestone, I'd start sharing my success with the group. Chalk one up to self-preservation. For me, late night snacking, and snacking on the wrong things at that, is my MAJOR downfall. So, I started cutting most sugar out of my diet. For the most part, I've stuck to a rule of not eating after dinner, and most certainly, not after 8pm. As for exercise, I'm poor and can't afford a gym, so I slowly gathered small tools that anyone can get: a medicine ball, hand weights, resistance bands, etc. I am lucky enough that with our tax return, my hubby bought me a small elliptical a few weeks ago, which I love.
So here we are, about two months later. According to my abhorred scale, I am down 25 pounds. I have more energy and more enthusiasm for getting on the elliptical or throwing around some weights, even when I don't want to. And if that isn't enough motivation, I read this blog because there are some pretty dang amazing women on here, each one with great tips and success stories. In the back of my mind now, I push harder through workouts for the right reasons: I want to be healthy to have a longer life with my loved ones, to run and not be weary, to be active and not out of breath chasing my soon-to-be 5 year-old, to feel sexy (yea, I said it)and lastly, to be an example to my future patients.
So thank you Heidi, for sharing your struggles because you are certainly not alone, for your bravery in posting it on the web and for your rabble-rousing because you make a great cheerleader. And thank you to the rest of you great ladies... I look forward to getting to know each of you on this blog! Eat well, sleep well and be merry!
