The Present To Ourselves This Christmas

I took a 5-year hiatus from being at my comfortable weight. As a former collegiate swimmer, I ate anything that I wanted during my youth. I could. I expended thousands of calories each week. Many of you can understand, many of you were athletes yourselves. It wasn't until I stopped swimming that I had to start watching what I ate. When I got pregnant with my son, I felt that it was a license to eat poorly. I gained 40-45 pounds during my pregnancy with Jet. After the 20-25 pounds or so of true baby weight (baby, fluids, placenta...), I still had about 20 pounds left to lose. Not good.



I exercised, but not religiously. Some weeks, I'd get it in a couple of times. Other weeks, I wouldn't get it in at all. I'd be faithful for months, then I'd stop. I wasn't diligent at all about my diet. It wasn't until I saw what I looked like in PICTURES that I yearned for my pre-baby body back. But yearning for my body to change back to what it once was wasn't enough for me. I didn't decide to get fit until I couldn't wake up without coffee, I couldn't get to sleep without a glass of wine, and my breathing was labored. Sound familar?

I feel that there is one gift we should all give ourselves - the gift of our health. Getting in shape is not easy. Eating right when there's temptation everywhere is difficult. A strong support network is imperative. However, when it all boils down, it is either a priority or it isn't. I realized that I was either going to get fit or be fat. I'd either get healthy, or be sick. There's only one person standing in the way of my health...me.

During the new year, I'll be blogging about nutrition & fitness. We can do it together if you're up for it. I'm not a guru, I hold no licenses. However, I've done & will continue to do a lot of research, and it really isn't rocket science. We'll eat clean together & sweat it off. We'll get more energy than we've had in years, we'll get our food addictions under control.

This Christmas, go out and buy yourself a great pair of athletic shoes & load up your iPod with songs that energize you. Take 4 pictures of yourself in different positions (mirrors don't work - you need the camera), and post them somewhere where they'll motivate you. Find a few role models, and print off a couple of pictures of them. Accept yourself for exactly who you are today, realizing that you don't need to change to feel better about yourself, you need to change to feel BETTER. Log onto the blog in 2010 & we'll do it together. We'll start on January 1. Give yourself the present only you can give.

These are my before pictures taken in 2008. They motivate me still today.