In the past 7 years I have turned my fitness around. I joined Weight Watchers in 2003, lost 127 lbs., and have been able to keep it off by attending my weekly meetings, eating properly, and exercising daily. I am always reading health magazines to find the latest tips and satisfying foods. I feel that keeping myself accountable has played an important role in my weight maintenance. I never thought I would be the kind of person who made exercise a daily habit, but I finally realized how important it is. I feel great, look better and, best of all, feel younger. I wish I would have figured this out decades ago.
I live in Racine, Wisconsin with my wonderful husband Mark. Living in the Midwest can be challenging for outdoor activities. The cold weather makes you want to stay indoors and vegetate. Growing up, fitness was never a part of my family’s daily routine. I grew up in a household with 6 sisters, some of whom had weight problems. From time to time one of them would get into a brief exercise regimen — most likely because of some sort of New Year’s resolution, wedding, or class reunion to attend. That would only last for maybe 6 weeks or so until they lost a certain amount of weight and then went back to their old routine. I am, however, grateful for it because that would inspire me to sometimes partake. Like them, I just never kept it up.
My parents never stressed how important it is to have activity as a part of your day. My mother was a housewife, and sure she had a lot of running around to do with her big family, but she never made fitness a part of her daily habit. My father was a carpenter who for most of his life was rather thin but by no means healthy. Don’t get me wrong, I loved both my parents very much and miss them every day. I am not blaming them for not being fitness gurus.
I guess I grew up in a time when very few people saw the value in fitness. I do remember seeing Jack LaLanne and it always seemed like people around me looked at him as being a little different. Actually, he was!
I can’t say that activity would have kept my parents alive a little longer but I sure bet it wouldn’t have hurt. After losing them in their 60’s, it made me open my eyes and decide to make some changes in my lifestyle. Of course, I did not do that immediately. After my mother died in 1996, I ballooned up to 280 lbs. Then I kept that on even after losing my dad in 1999. It took me until 2003 to get serious.
Now I keep on track by trying to make healthy food choices and making time to exercise daily.
