Living Life

I have been very busy over the past few months living life and living it to the fullest.  I have been more conscientious of what I am eating and how much I am exercising.  I have taken it extremely slow and been very cautious not to over do things this time which has always ended me back in a heap of unhealthiness and unhappiness.  The unhappiness is due to the situation that I get myself back into by over doing it.   That is why I took things extremely slow this time and it paid off in big ways.

My blogs at the end of January were about the juicing that we, as a family, decided to do in order to "cleanse" our bodies. The juicing did amazing things for me personally.  It definitely got me on the right track that I had been hoping to be on, health wise. At the end of February, I joined Weight Watchers b/c I had a little success on this through their online program for a very short time about a year ago.  This time I signed up and went to meetings. I know that for me personally, it helps to keep me accountable. I was doing it for myself this time.  I felt in the past, I was continually letting everyone else down too when I failed...which I would ultimately do.  This time my approach was different.  I told both my husband and daughter how much I truly weighed.  This was a huge step for me b/c I was so embarrassed and ashamed of myself.  Little did I know that by doing this what a blessing it would be for me.  It took away the pressure I had been putting on myself.  My family was encouraging and non judgmental.  I know they always had been but the added burden of shame kept me from seeing this.  I lived one day at a time.  I would tell myself that if I faltered, there would always be a fresh new start the next day.  By telling myself this, it again took the pressure of failing off of me which in turn caused me to not faltered.  I did enjoy eating and would indulge at times.  If I wanted to eat something, I would.  I would usually just take a bite and I was good. 

I have lost about 35 pounds to date.  I almost weekly attend a spinning class on Monday's only.  One 45 minute class a week is more than enough for ME.  I handle that class WAY better than I thought that I would and really enjoy it.  I am not always doing what the instructor is doing, but that is ok with not only me but the instructor.  I made sure I talked with her about my health and asked if she had a problem with me keeping a slower pace.  So, I make my own pace.  Stand when I can and for how long I can.  I don't feel guilty when I have to sit or slow down.  I listen to my body and act accordingly.  If nothing else, I at least stay on the bike and spin slowly for the entire 45 minutes.  I position myself under one of the many ceiling fans and have one huge wall fan blowing directly on me from the time I start the class til the time I leave AND make sure to drink water as I am riding.  This has assured me of being able to stay the course.  I did push too hard this past week and got too hot.  It was a great reminder to me to keep MY pace.  It wiped me out for the remainder of the day which really bothered me.  I don't like that feeling and I don't want to put myself in that position. In addition to spinning class I will choose to walk to my husbands office then drive when I can. We live where we work, on a 13 acre area. Our house is not too far from the office but a good enough distance to get some extra exercise in.  I go the gym that is on our campus as well, with my daughter, and help her by throwing volleyballs for her to hit. 

I have so much more energy and feel so much better about myself.  My health is improving daily for the most part.  Yes, I do still have some days I don't feel great and just try to rest accordingly when I can, or as soon as I can.  I still go to the pro-adjuster chiropractor at least once a month, unless I have a need to go more frequently.  I am really feeling so much better b/c of what I am doing for myself.  Some times we just have to be a little selfish.  Just enough to not put yourself last always.  My husband has always told me that if I don't take care of myself than I can't be good for anyone, including myself.  It is easy to get lost in the day to day living that we neglect our health.  When we do that, it is only a matter of time when we will be hit and we never know how hard that may be.

When I was still in my first few months of WW.  I would check my weight frequently in anticipation of weigh in day.  I would check in my little book that had my weekly weight written in it.  On the top of the page that I would constantly refer to, was a note from my daughter that read, "Good job, mom, keep it up you're doing great! : )  <3 Lex"  I cannot tell you enough just how special that note was to me and still is.  I did cry upon reading it b/c this was not typical of her to leave me notes.  She probably has no clue how much her words helped to keep me on track.  In the beginning, I was doing it for myself, but it was now showing how much it meant to my family that I was doing it & being successful, b/c I was a much happier person.  It showed outwardly and they too got the benefits of the happier, healthier me which caused her to want to encourage me with her kind & loving words.  As Gabby Douglas, the USA Olympiad, said so eloquently recently, "I give all the glory to God.  It's kind of a win-win situation. The glory goes up to Him, and all the blessings fall down on me."   God truly blessed me with a loving husband and daughter.