Changing my life one step at a time.....

Exercise is not something that I have ever enjoyed. I didn't enjoy PE in school. I wasn't into sports. I liked to dance and I liked to ice skate and roller skate but those activities were not considered exercise. They were meant for fun. I was a member of the swim team and I loved it. To me swimming was fun and I never once considered it exercise.  I can remember dreading most things about PE, except for square dancing. I enjoyed that. Back in the days I was growing up I don't remember many gyms or really much made about fitness. It wasn't until I was close to 20 that I can remember the Recreation Center holding Jazzercise classes. I did take the occasional Jazzercise class with some of my co-workers. It was OK but I didn't enjoy the fact that I got sweaty. I remember when people started walking for exercise. I guess people always walked for exercise but I mean it became a really big thing to do. I know that my Mom did it. I did it occasionally. Back during this time I was not over weight and I didn't consider myself to be unfit. I could pretty much eat what I wanted and I was fine.  Oh how I miss those times. With that being said it is never like I would just go eat huge amounts of junk food or sweets but I would be able to actually eat a meal and have dessert and not feel like I had done anything that I was going to have to pay for. That is really how things should be. You should be able to enjoy your life and not feel guilty about anything you put into your mouth.

There are people that can eat whatever they want and not exercise and never gain 1 pound. I have to say good for them!! I do not fall into this category. I fall into a completely different category. It is the category that I am going to call " If I even look at that I'm going to gain 5 pounds. " Now people might think well how is that possible?  I have to say it really is not possible but it feels like a real category to me. I am a lot like my Dad. I told you how I feel about him and I'm great with being like him in any way. But what I mean in this instance is that he loves sweets. OK so I will just say it, we both have a sweet tooth. There said it, it's out there. I am positive that we are not the only 2 people to have this sweet tooth issue. Now I never go around just eating sweet thing after sweet thing after sweet thing. It's just my down fall. I have always hated how diets make a person cut everything out of their normal routine. Hey life happens! There will be parties or events and cake or other sweets will be there. A person, any person should be able to have a small treat. Treats add a little something to life. They can top off a party or a special occasion, much like pumpkin pie after Thanksgiving dinner. As with anything in life too much of a good thing isn't always good. Moderation is the key. Sweets in moderation are fine. For the people out there that I will refer to as diet monitors get this through your head, treats in moderation are fine!!

I came to realize after I had made major changes to my eating plan by eliminating different things and counting calories and having very slow progress on the scale that I needed to add something to my plan. I bet you can guess straight off what that something is. To me it is a word that I do not like!  It is something that I do not enjoy........Here it is.. I needed to add in some EXERCISE.........Uggghhhhh!!!

The above saying made me laugh. It had some truth to it. The line that says I don't exercise. Well I don't and there is no getting away from that. I just figured that is the thing I am missing. There is much talk about metabolism and slow metabolism. It is not an excuse. It is a fact that some people have slow metabolisms. I am one of those people. I do not enjoy going to the gym. It is not a comfortable place for me. It is a place filled with very fit people that know exactly what they are doing there. It is a place where I feel out of place. Unfortunately it is the place that I need to be right now. It is the place that I need to commit to spending some time if I want to see the scale drop. I do not expect miracles. I will not be turning into a gym rat that spends hours a day inside the gym. I do not have that kind of desire or time to spend there. I will not be that person on the treadmill acting like they are racing me as I am walking and they are running. I will not be walking around the place throwing my gym bag down loaded with God knows what as I strut around the place acting like I own it. Trust me there are people that do this at the gym. I will be the one that is on the treadmill trying her best to keep up with the 3.0 speed with out falling off or passing out. I'm there for the exercise I have not been doing but that I need to see a a little drop on the scale. Did I mention that I HATE sweating?????????

I have been thinking a lot about the changes that I am working on in my life.  I have a wonderful family. My parents are both great people. I can say hands down that my sister and brother and I are very lucky to have them as our parents. They have always worked very hard to provide us with the right tools in life so that we would become the people  that we are today. I am the oldest of 3 children. My sister is 3 years younger than I am but she is many years wiser than I am sometimes. I remember once a boy was bothering her and teasing her in school, I think she was only in the second grade at the time. I clearly remember pushing him up against the wall and telling him to leave her alone. I did this again when we were both in High School and some kid was bugging her on the bus on a band trip. Nobody can mess with my sister! Period end of story. Stephanie has always supported me with my weight. She has told me time and time again not to listen to what other people say. Don't worry about what other people, including family members think about your weight. It is what is inside that matters. Smart girl my sister! She is after all a college graduate and a teacher. My brother Patrick is the youngest.  He is also a very smart guy. He has a BS Degree and a Masters Degree. He is a very athletic person and sets a great example for his kids. He has always offered to help me in any way that he can with my pursuit of a healthy life.


 My husband Chris is ALWAYS supportive of me no matter what my weight is. He simply does not care because he loves me for who I am and not what size I am. I am very lucky. Then I have my 3 daughters, Tiffany, Alissa and Holly. These girls are the lights of my life. They are the best things I have ever done. All 3 girls are always supportive of me and whether I am trying to lose weight or not it does not matter to them one bit. I am their Mom and they only want me to be happy. They too love me for who I am inside and not what everyone else sees. I also have the best nieces and nephews on the face of this planet. Next to my own kids these 5 kids are among the best things in my life. I want to be around for a very long time to enjoy all of my family. If I stay right where I have been I might not be that lucky. Yet another reason to go to the gym and get some exercise.

I think the first step in setting myself up for some success is to believe in myself. I have to believe in myself. I am the person that has the work to do. I am the only person that can do this. I have to believe that I will be able to achieve some success with my plan. Many times in life with change comes more change and more change and so on. It's like once you make that first move then the next time things get a little easier and the next change will follow. So here I am off on this journey of a healthier life. I am sure that things are not going to be easy. In fact I pretty much know they are going to get harder before they get better but I've got my positive attitude all packed up and am carrying it with me wherever I go. I have heard somewhere before that a journey of a thousand miles starts with the first step. Well her I go  off on my journey and taking my first step.........