Get in Shape

Three years ago, I weighed at least 15 pounds more than I should have.  That may not sound like much, and I sincerely feel for people who have a larger build and/or have a lot more trouble losing weight and staying in shape for lots of different reasons.  I know sometimes it really is next to impossible to get to what a doctor would call your "ideal" weight.

But, as for me, I was just being lazy.  I hadn't really exercised in years.  I wasn't eating well.  I was working too much, but not taking care of the things that mattered most as much as I should have been.  Every evening, I felt exhausted, so that I didn't even feel like giving my kids the attention they deserved.  And Darrell was even lower on the list.  And I finally decided to do something about it.

I had tried before, but it was either half-hearted, or too much too soon.  And let's face it, it's so much easier to lose a few troubling pounds in your 20's than it is by your mid-30's and beyond.  I've learned that it's better to make small improvements over time rather than jumping right into something I couldn't maintain.  Cutting out all junk food cold turkey?  Never worked.  Heading out for a 3-mile run after not running at all for a year?  Ouch!  Instead, I took it slow this time.  I started eating smaller portions and substituting better ingredients when I could.  I worked out to Wii Fit for a few months and started walking before even trying to run.  When I did start running, I went only a mile the first time and increased very slowly from that. 

And over the course of several months, I lost those 15 pounds.  I was running further than I had since high school, and then I was running longer distances than I ever had.  Within a year, I ran a marathon.

Now, I've gained 5 of those pounds back, and sure, it's still a struggle to eat well and an even bigger struggle to try to get my family to eat well along with me.  But I am healthier than I've ever been.  I have more energy and get sick less often.  So, the time I spend exercising gives me MORE time to spend with my family, as counter-intuitive as that sounds when you are crazy busy with so many other things in life.

What does this have to do with my marriage?  Well, for one I have more energy to devote to my husband.  He gets the added bonus of a wife who looks and feels better than she used to.  He's forced to eat at least a little better along with me.  My kids eat better and at least get the example of a mom who makes it a priority to take care of herself and exercise regularly. 

I'm not about to say that everyone can do it the way I did, but everyone can make small improvements for their own health and their family's health.  And I can keep adding small improvements as well.