Let's Get Physical

Heyyo! So today I got to spend a lot of time at the gym. Usually I only get to hang there for about 30 minutes because I don't always make time to be there for longer. I was working out hard today . . . for about an hour and a half, and was just thinking of the journey I've been on to get to where I am currently as far as my physical fitness goes. You see, when I was growing up, I was a pretty big girl.

Look, I'm Hispanic and we love to eat, okay? And we have the BEST FOOD EVER!! ;) Also, the fact that I was never was good at saying no, especially to yumtastic food, didn't help either. Growing up, I ate what I wanted, and a LOT of it was very unhealthy. We were constantly on the go and I'm pretty sure we spent a large chunk-o-change on fast food. Since finding out I had Pre-Diabetes, and fighting to avoid it, I've been able to make some pretty big changes in my diet. There are a lot of fatty foods I have cut out of my diet and a lot of things I'm slowly siphoning out of it currently. It's not always an easy fight, but I am getting much better. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't conscious of my weight. I'd also be lying if I said I wasn't excited for all the progress I've made thus far. Last fall, after months and months of working out and eating better, I was able to drop 2 pant sizes. This may seem like a little step forward, but for someone like me, it's a pretty big deal!

Usually when I go to gym, I go dreading the workout. Even when I was on staff with MCA and we HAD to go to the gym 2x a week, I hated it. I had the worst attitude towards working out. I didn't like to sweat and I didn't like to push myself. Also, I was pretty comfortable with just being large and in charge. But today when I was at the gym, I noticed that my attitude toward working out had shifted for the better. I even worked out a little extra just because I felt I could push beyond my perceived limit for the day . . . and I did and it felt great!

I'm looking forward to working with my doctor/nutritionist to become better and better and get to a place where I can feel good about challenging myself to push my limits. I want to be healthy and make wise choices. I've gotten so much better about saying NO to the wrong foods and YES to foods that are healthier for me, even if they're not my favorite foods. I've rearranged my schedule to get in more gym time and I'm looking forward to becoming even more healthy. I would be lying if I said that my mirror reflection wasn't a motivator, but an even greater motivator is the thought of defeating something that can easily take my joy, my health, and my life and lead it to a point of pain and inconvenience.

I will add that living in Seattle has worked wonders for me as well . . . these hills . . . they're insane. Also, the building I work in has no elevators and I work on the third floor. I sit at a desk for the majority of the day and it's so easy to just be content with inactivity, but one thing I do is challenge myself to make more trips up and down the stairs to continue to get in some more exercise. I discover that the more active I am, the more free I feel and the more healthy I feel. I want to be able to do another 5k this year as well (possibly even 2), and softball season is starting next month! I'm looking forward to going into these physical activities with a brighter, more positive outlook!