What made you take the first step to begin getting healthier?
Like, the literal first step? What made you pull that workout DVD out of its dusty case? What made you begin trying to keep track of what you eat everyday? What caused you to decide that you have a goal, a plan, and a desire?
My first step came about with a conglomeration of fresh starts.
 |
| Me. About 40 lbs ago. |
And we did.
We moved the week between Christmas 2007 and New Years 2008. A new lifestyle (no more college living), a new job, a new state, a new year. I'd known I needed to lose weight. With both of my parents Type II diabetics, I knew I was heading down the same path. I had already had to be mindful of my high cholesterol. It was time to let that first step finally happen. And then the second. And then the third.
So that leads me to my next question.
What keeps you motivated to keep going?
If you don't have a bad day, then you're not paying attention to your own life. Sorry. That there's reality. What has kept you going during those bad times?
My latest bad time was from about January to July of this year. Major plateau. And I quit my consistent exercise or even caring about what I ate.
I had to remember...
What keeps me going is the need to be healthy. I'll never forget the first time I saw my dad after he had been diagnosed with diabetes. He discovered it when he lost a lot of weight. I had never seen my dad so thin. My dad. The man I considered Superman. The man I thought would always be the big, strong beacon of stability in my life. Hugging him freaked me out. I could nearly touch my elbows.
I want my health for myself, but also for my family. If I can prevent my children from crying about how unhealthy their mother is, then I'll be happy. I don't want to lessen my time with my husband or kids because I was lazy or didn't want to say no to the bag of cookies. I really don't know how preventable my parents' health issues are. I have a feeling they're more preventable than not. But their health scares me and I want to break the cycle before it becomes unbreakable.
So leave a comment with your story. Or blog it and let me know so I can read it.
What made you take the first step to get healthy?
What keeps you going?
4 comments:
The short version ...
I got on the scale the end of March 2005 and saw a number that scared the bee-jeebies out of me! I hadn't weighed myself in months and had gone through a lot of baby blues. I signed up with Weight Watchers that day.
Over 7 months I lost 31 pounds and then slammed right into a big old plateau. I stayed there, unable to budge and unable to find the motivation to make any major big steps until I ended up pregnant again.
I don't lose well when I'm breastfeeding. My body just doesn't want to give it up. After breastfeeding #2 was finished, I almost immediately had surgery on my arm and once that was healed enough to begin good exercise, I was pregnant with #3. My fourth pregnancy started when I was only 6 months post-partum and still breastfeeding.
So, a little more than 5 years after my original journey began, I stood on the scale. I'd stopped the massive post-baby weight loss. I was on another plateau and just about 3 months post-partum. The number on the scale was the same one I faced in March 2005.
So I'm starting over. I'm doing it slowly as I'm still a dairy cow for my sweet baby. But I'm working at it. There are lots of inner struggles and demons and motivations that are part of the longer version. For this short version though, it is enough to say that I am just tired of being fat. I'm tired of not being the boss of my own body. I'm tired of being tired. My pregnancies put my body through a lot and I'm now taking charge and returning it to what it should be.
This may sound weird, but pregnancies are my biggest motivator. I do not do well with being pregnant. I don't enjoy seeing my body turn into a whale (no matter how good the cause). I hate not being able to fit into any of my clothes. I always tell myself that I am going to exercise through my pregnancies...and then it happens and I feel like crap. So for three months I sit around emotionally overloaded and throwing up (or wanting to). Then by the time I feel well enough to actually exercise, I am too big. And so the waiting game begins. By the time I pop that baby out I have been impatiently waiting for months and months and months to be able to move and play and run. And then you have to wait for several more weeks to even do anything! So, my biggest motivator is being pregnant. Not being in control of my body just about puts me over the edge and is all the motivation I need.
My friend, who was heavier like me, told me she and another friend were starting WW. We had talked about the desire to lose weight and I didn't want to be left out.
I was at a point where I hated getting my picture taken. I would grab the camera for a birthday or other event because that would insure I wouldn't be in the pictures to ruin the moment.
My Fibromyaliga was also unbearable. I wanted to live a different life than I was living. I knew there was more to me than what I was giving. I had locked the best parts of myself away. I didn't have strength to do that project or be that playful or plan a vacation because I knew I wouldn't feel good. What a way to live the one life I had been given.
I do not regret any of this journey. Is it always easy? Heck no! But I keep going because I am now living my life. I have impacted my whole families lives because I have taken the initiative to change my own life. We do more, eat better and feel better. I am setting a foundation for my children's future. I am teaching them things that I had never learned. Imagine I was shocked to learn Bologna & sour cream aren't good for you. :~O Really!
I am at my bad point. I'm like Jeri Dawn: pregnancy is hard.
60 lbs of baby weight motivates me pretty thoroughly; but somehow halfway through I can't care.
After Emma, I did great for 6 months. I ran 3 mornings a week and joined a gym. I went faithfully until we moved out of range, and then I lazed out.
I was within 20 lbs of my desired weight and stuck just outside my "real" wardrobe. I plateaued.
Here I am, pregnant again. This is tough. Food aversions, being really tired, alluring not-so-healthy foods, and all sorts of excuses to go with my hormones.
Post a Comment