All in with Fitness

When I was a kid fitness was not a word in my vocabulary. My parents never talked about "diets" or "weight loss". There were vegetables in my house, sure, but there was also an abundance of sweet treats and soda. Oh soda! I'm not even sure if I drank water as a kid unless it slipped into my mouth during the shower. Seriously. I have vivid memories of being the "bigger" one amongst my friends. In 5th grade all my neighborhood friends were stick thin. They were so small they could still safely ride in Barbie jeeps which means they had to have been less than 75 lbs. At that same age I was easily over 100. I'd show you a picture but I don't have one. As an adult I became frustrated with my body and frustrated with the fact that I couldn't do simple things like climb a flight of stairs without getting winded. These were the things that inspired me to set out on this journey of becoming a better me. It's not because I hate myself, actually on the contrary I love myself. I love myself enough to gift myself a better future. I desire a future free of blood pressure medicines, diabetes and heart disease if I can help it. I'm a newlywed so I'm not thinking about kids anytime soon, but if and when I have kids one day, I want to be able to chase them through the yard, play ball, climb trees and all those parent things. Currently I am a full-time teacher. At my school I hold two positions. From 7:30AM-1:30PM I teach 5th grade and from 2:00-3:30PM I work for the after school program mainly entertaining the Kindergartners. I taught Kindergarten for one year so I'm used to that age. They are rambunctious and active. They talk a mile a minute and move even faster than that. Kindergartners don't understand when you tell them you can't run laps around the gym with them. Kindergartners don't understand why you can't play tag or run longer than five seconds. It's sad telling a 5 year old that you can't race with them. Sure they play it off with a laugh saying, "You've got to be small to run this fast." They don't know the truth, but you do.

On November 1, 2014 I embarked upon a lifelong journey with my high school sweetheart and soul mate. I made the commitment to stand by him for the rest of my life and I want to be alive as long as possible for him. All of these things summed up why I began this journey. I began it to love myself on a higher level. I began it to become a better me. If in anyway I can be of support to someone also on this same journey, I want to do that. If I can be an example, or a rock, or a reminder that you are not alone, I want to do that. That's why I started this blog. This blog is partially for me as a means for me to track my personal journey, but it's mainly for you. The main purpose of this blog is for you, the one reading it, to remember that you do not travel alone. When the going gets hard (and it will) you are not the only one doing this. When you're staring at those progress pictures looking for something, anything to be different, wondering if this will ever happen for you, remember you are not the only one. Remember this is not a race. You are not in competition with anyone. You're not in competition with me, your sister, your best friend, NO ONE. The only person you are in competition with is yourself!