Unity

Sometimes in the morning hours, I can hear at a distance the sound of bells ringing from a church close by. I find the noise a bit soothing knowing that there is a group of people who are planning to gather for the same purpose in the same place. I think about how there is strength in that unity. I also think about how that is very much needed in the process of weight loss.

I know I've mentioned before that if you want to reach a goal, surround yourself with others who already reached that goal. Awhile back ago, I began my process in taking a sneak peak at other people's websites that have the mindset of making fitness a priority. I also spent time with the owners of my son's former karate school. Both of them put fitness at such a priority and have a passion to see others live that life. I heard story after story about people losing weight, about poor health issues being cured, about fat turned into muscle and even witness my own husband drop about 40 lbs. There have been times where I've felt that I was riding the wave of good health by taking a good look at what I put on my plate and my families plate. There have been times where I made an effort to work out a little more and there have been times where I felt as if I was watching everyone progress in their health journey from the sidelines.

Whatever the season is, I know that this will be a life time journey. I'm still a work in progress and know that losing weight is not an easy thing, it doesn't only consist of what I put on my plate or how much exercise I put in. A large part of it consist of being in an environment where I can thrive because as I said earlier, there is strength in unity.

I did it!

For the first time in my life, I went on a long road trip and didn't stop at any fast food places. None whatsoever. Maybe for some people, this is an easy task but for someone who has ate convenience food for much of her adult life, it's a huge step for me. I should say "us" because my husband is on board with living a cleaner-fitter life and teaching our children to do the same is rather important.

Just when I was comfortable with all the local finds around town to support clean, fit, healthier, allergy free food (wheat and dairy), I move. I really loved how little old Bellingham, WA is known to be the third healthiest place in the United States. Healthy food was not just a drive away, it was literally, a hop, skip, walk, drive, here, there, every where kind of place. Of course, there was a lot of unhealthy, grease filled, artery clogging, obesity causing places but the healthy food was very much apparent.

Now, I sit typing at a hotel with a rather small kitchen in sunny San Diego knowing that I will have to wait another two weeks before I can move into the place I will call home. There are many challenges with trying to eat healthy. Some being all the delicious food that I encountered like Japanese, Korean and all the yummy restaurants! Delicious food like that isn't all that accessible without a long drive in Bellingham. Other challenges being that I didn't pack my blender so I can't make all the delicious fruit and vegetable smoothies I used to have. Being in transition is definitely difficult but I'm committed to make the right choices. I can do this! I-CAN-DO-THIS!

Exhausting

Awhile back ago, I went to my combat fitness class. It's one of those classes where the coach seems way more motivated than I do and feels that it's fun to hit people. Perhaps I was over my head when I've decided to take this class. The truth is, I want to make fitness a priority but does fitness have to be this rough?

Anyway, I used the boxing gloves they provided. Part of me thought I was going to die with a million thoughts of unsanitary in my head. Other people wore the gloves before me. Other people's sweat and stench embodied the gloves. I reluctantly put them on because well, maybe it was peer pressure. Everyone in the class was doing it so I should too, right? Unfortunately, there wasn't many people in the class so it's not like I could run and hide from it all. In fact, there was so few people in the class that the coach decided that I would be her partner. After maybe 10 minutes of kicking and punching and blocking, I told her that she's killing me. Her response resonated with me. She said, "No, I'm not killing you. I'm helping you get healthy." Wow! She's right. She IS helping me get healthy. I'm starting to realize that my battle isn't with the exercises I want to do or the exercises I don't want to do. The battle has to do with my emotional self. Loosing weight is more than just strength and exercise. It works with the very foundation of who I am and the choices I'm making. The amount of exercise I do, the food I eat, the activities I chose to participate in...it's all inter-related. I'm not even close to finish with my journey of weight loss but I'm not giving up.