Don’t Pay the Ransom. . .

I've escaped J

Actually, since Thursday of last week I've just been either a)sick b)busy or c)celebrating Spring and my birthday or d)all of the above.

Today I'm officially 40. What my older kids (and probably the younger ones, but not where I can hear) would call me old. I'm pretty sure I wear it fairly well. We'll see when the new driver's license comes…had to go renew it this morning.

On Jack Sh*t's blog today he talks about "why" being what he believes most people want to know when reading weight loss blogs. He's got a lot of questions. Good questions. Deep questions. Questions that I believe you must know the answer to in order to make this weight loss journey a success……the proverbial "last time" you go through the vicious cycle we all have been through before. Don't get me wrong. EVERY step is progress…whether you lose and regain, never lose, whatever. You always (hopefully) get close to answering the "why".

Why am I doing this? -- I want to lose weight and get healthy for several reasons. One is to live longer, stronger, healthier and to enjoy a level of quality of life that unhealthy people don't have. Weight is not an issue….unless it affects my ability to run, jump, escape, enjoy, let loose…etc. And right now it does. Not such much as 16lb ago. So I wonder what will it be like in 16 more lb? Maybe that will be the end. Maybe not. I'll decide when I get there. But I already have an underlying medical condition that I have to have regulated and monitored every 3 months. WHY would I set myself up to be unhealthy by being over my "healthy" BMI and at MORE risk of dying than I already am?.....so I guess I answer the question WHY with my own…..WHY would I not when I have so much to lose?

I saw this show once that put people in "emergency" situations they had to escape. They were always out of shape and usually overweight. Wildfires in the California Hills; an Earthquake ravaged city---these are the 2 scenarios I remember. The first couple (wildfire) couldn't run at all to escape the fire; they couldn't climb the hills; they couldn't traverse a ravine…..not without stopping every minute or so to breathe. And mind you, there was no fire, no smoke actually threatening them…only a stopwatch. They were then gifted a trainer for 2 weeks. They came back (lighter) and completed the course again. It was amazing to see the difference in 2 weeks! I live in Richmond, VA. We often have hurricane warnings as we are very close to the ocean (1.5 hours); we have tornadoes, we have floods, and we live very close to DC, Newport News, and Norfolk (terrorism). We could be in an emergency situation any day. I need to be able to assist my family in being able to protect and safeguard ourselves. I can't do that if I'm unhealthy.

Last night I did Couch to 5K Week 5 Day 2. Warmup walk 5 minutes, Run 8 minutes; Walk 5 minutes; Run 8 minutes; Cooldown walk 5 minutes. To a runner, I'm sure they'd chuckle at the measly 8 minutes x two. Last night, and still today, I feel nothing short of pure pleasure. 8 minutes can save my kids' lives, my husband's life; It can save my life! To anyone who has thought about running (jogging is more my speed as I only jog at 4.5-5mph and even slower if I need to!) Just get up and do it. Couch to 5K is an amazing program. I'd recommend it to ANYONE…regardless of weight. Work the program and the program will work for you. Complete each day….honestly….and then move on. Forget about speed. Walk as slowly as you have to….jog as slowly as you have to. There is a definite difference in gait and movement. Cheat and you only cheat yourself. Succeed and EVERYONE wins! Once you can do the time and complete the program…Start over and increase speed…. Some days will be daunting. I face a 20 minute straight run tonite. It'll be hard. There'll be tears. There'll be praying, There'll be music and sweat, and then there'll be VICTORY…….because my main reasons for doing this are these:

I can do this. I will do this. You can do this. You will do this. Some days will be great. Some will be good…and let's face it, some will outright SUCK. But wouldn't that happen whether or not you're healthy?

Happy St. Patty's Day to all!