2017: New year, new you? Not likely.
As Americans, we are a naturally stubborn group. We are a mash-up of determination and procrastination. We hope for change, but struggle to find attention span to see it through. Each year, we vow to lose weight and get healthy…but maybe next Monday?
So, how do we escape this dizzying cycle? And when we do, how do we know which door the prize is hiding behind? Here’s where I come into the picture.
Flashback to my childhood. There’s not much to see. From the moment I could string letters together, I was a reader and, in smaller increments, a writer. After school, during holidays, and on summer break, I was to be found curled up on my bed, reading. Translation: I did not play outside, sports bored me, and my small group of friends were equally nerdy and inactive. (Sorry, friends. It’s the truth.). The most activity I got was trips to the library or climbing the bleachers at my sister’s basketball games.
Flash forward to 2006 when I married my high school sweetheart. He was active, really active. He loved to run and was a martial arts teacher. I was a professional couch potato book worm at this point. The tipping point came at my wedding when I heard an endless litany of “Oh, I was your size when I got married!” I realized somewhere in the friendly banter that I was meant to fall in line, to become like those before me. I was an unfit 97lbs, surrounded by family and friends suffering from chronic conditions like heart disease and diabetes. Some were in such poor condition that their independence was only a shadow of what it could be. It was an unnerving realization.
So, when my husband asked me to go to the gym with him, reluctantly I agreed. As a natural introvert, the gym scared the living daylights out of me. Surely people were staring. Gym rats could smell fear, couldn’t they? Running was out of the question. I would only run if something chased me. The stationary bicycle looked innocent enough that I gave it a whirl. After 20 minutes, I thought dying might be an appealing, alternative option. But with gym-induced death near, I had an epiphany. My mood soared, and I had energy to boot. I slept like a baby that night. I was hooked.
Since then, my fit life has progressed. I became an American Council on Exercise Certified Personal Trainer in 2013 and a Health Coach in 2015. Somewhere in the middle, I became a martial artist, eventually earning my black belt before transitioning to Krav Maga. I work for a very forward-thinking doctor, Dr. Evans, at The Institute of Family, Preventative, and Lifestyle Medicine and am a co-owner of Lionheart Krav Maga and Fitness. I did roller derby for a time. My introvert-self has even gotten on stage in an itty bitty bikini for a bodybuilding competition. Now, I’m a Lifestyle Ambassador for Texas Forest Country Living. And I’m not done yet.
More important than any of those amazing things is my health. I am healthier than I have ever been, and each year it is my goal to become even more so. Getting fit gave me the confidence to be who I am today. I live the fit life passionately.
In the end, this is not about me. This is about you, the reader.Toss aside resolutions and adopt a healthy lifestyle. Living the fit life is a sustainable lifestyle, a conscious decision to love yourself no matter what.
Let me help.
Be on the lookout for further articles containing tips and tricks for the living the fit life: exercise and nutrition such as workout plans, recipes, and meal prepping, etc. The sky’s the limit.
