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My Fitness Journey

Dictionary.com states that Fitness means “The state or condition of being fit,” and “Good health or physical condition, especially as the result of exercise and proper nutrition.” These days, I take the issue of Fitness very seriously and work hard to be in “good health.” Unfortunately, fitness wasn’t always that important to me.

A Little Background on Fitness in my Childhood

When I grew up in the 60’s and 70’s, there was not the emphasis on eating healthy and exercising as there is today. Fitness was not a word in my vocabulary at all. But “losing weight” was. In those years, there was not the media pressure on young girls to be thin beauties as there is today. The only pressure on me was myself. I wanted to be thin because I thought that would attract boys. I was never obese, but I did need to lose about 20 lbs. to be the body shape I thought would guarantee me a boyfriend. (smile)

The Trials and Tribulations of Losing Weight

As a young teen, I tried all different methods to lose weight. One of the popular methods at that time was an over-the-counter diet pill called Dexetrim. No one emphasized "caution" with this product back then - not like today. There were many commercials promoting this product and how it would suppress your appetite. I was convinced that this was what I needed! So I tried the product many times, but all it did was make me jittery.

Another popular product at that time was a chocolate chewable candy named Ayds. Ayds was another appetite-suppressant, but this time the “pill” was candy, so I just knew it was going to lose weight. The commercials convinced me even more that this method would work. The chewables were so good that I ended up eating a bunch of them and therefore did not lose the weight like the commercials promised.

Looking back, the craziest product that I purchased to help me lose weight was a sauna suit. Now at the time, I was serious about this device because I was sure it would help me shed a few pounds. I still remember getting that package in the mail, opening it up and putting that hilarious looking contraption on me! It was silver and it sort of made me look like an astronaut, except I didn’t have a space mask. A pump helped to “blow up” the sauna suit on me, to create warmth inside the suit that would melt away those pounds. Oh my, I knew my dreams would soon become true … losing that weight and Rick (the boy I was in love with at the time) would start to notice me more. But after being laughed at by my brother, Craig, a few times, and not noticing any results, I sadly packed up the space, I mean sauna, suit and put it under my bed.

But wait; there is one more unusual method that I thought would do the trick of shedding those 20 pounds I desperately wanted to lose. An advertisement for belly dancing caught my eye one day. What better way to whittle away excess weight from my stomach and waist! I asked my friends if they wanted to join me in this weight loss adventure. Even though they seemed tempted (yea right!), they said they would rather me take the class and then they could learn how to belly dance from me later. So I purchased my pass for the belly dancing class and even got my clackers; hey, I was serious about this! Why not have the whole package? I just knew this method would finally accomplish my goal! Even though this was one of the healthiest ways I tried to lose weight (i.e. exercise), it didn’t happen. I would practice in my mirror at home, complete with my clackers and music, and worked hard on rolling my stomach. Craig was the first audience for me to display my belly dancing prowess. Unfortunately it did not go very well. To this day, I remember his disgust when I began rolling my belly and displaying my belly dancing moves. When he yelled, “Oh gross!” and ran away, that sadly ended my belly dancing career. I finished the class, but again, did not lose any weight.

Luckily at age 19, wisdom ‘kicked’ in, and I discovered Weight Watchers. At the time I was attending Ohio State University at the Mansfield, Ohio campus, and thought I would concentrate on losing weight that year before I went off to college my sophomore year. I bought a food scale and weighed and measured everything. I followed the program exactly and soon lost 25 pounds. I became a Lifetime Member, completing 6 weeks of the Maintenance program after reaching my weight loss goal. Yea! My family complimented me on my success, except when I would stink up the house with cooking liver, which was part of the program back in Weight Watcher’s early days! (I still remember that awful smell.) I even had my younger sister, Judi, take "before and after" pictures of me. I was very proud of my weight loss, even though my mom was telling me, “You are now too skinny!” I was okay with that because I was “never too skinny” before.

I was determined to keep the weight off the following year when I went transferred to Bowling Green State University in Ohio. The first night of college, while I was cutting carrots (the typical diet snack), I cut my thumb pretty bad. I ended up in the emergency room that first night! But I knew that would be one of the many sacrifices I would need to make to keep the weight off (ha)! Unfortunately soon after, the dreaded “Freshmen 15” (or “Sophomore 15” for me) hit, and weight loss was again an uphill battle for me.

I am glad I discovered Weight Watchers when I was 19 because I came back to the program after I had children. Using the Weight Watcher program, I was able to lose weight (the healthy way) after Brandon and Amber were born. I continue to use the program to this day when I need to shed a few pounds. Thank goodness Weight Watchers has updated their plan and it no longer involves having liver once a week!!!

The Dreaded “E” Word

Exercise is another matter. I wish I knew as a kid what I know now as far as the importance of exercise. In my twenties, I did join a gym that would “guarantee” me to lose weight and get in shape. All it did was burn a hole in my wallet as I hardly used it that year. This time in my life, my focus was still on losing weight, but I did think that exercise would help (yes, if I did it!) It wasn’t until my late 30’s that it occurred to me that I'd better start on a fitness program or my poor body would suffer the consequences when I was older.

One of the incentives that made me get serious about the exercise part of fitness is that my mom has osteoporosis. An article I read around this time made a big impression on me. It stated that by the time you hit the menopausal years, you cannot reverse bone loss. I know that osteoporosis is heredity so this really got my attention. I was running out of time if I wanted to build up bone strength. So at age 40 (better late than never!), I made a commitment to include daily exercise in my life, and I have never regretted it. The only regret I do have is that I did not start sooner, especially when I was younger. But I am thankful that exercise is now a part of my life because it has made a huge difference in my health and life.

At this time, Curves for Women caught my eye because it boasted of a “30 minute workout.” I thought, if I can’t fit in 30 minutes a day, then something is wrong! So I joined and loved it! This time I did not waste my money. I worked out consistently 3-5 days a week. The fun atmosphere at Curves, being able to talk to the other women while you work out, was a big draw. But after the first three months of working out, I was discouraged because I did not see any results (i.e. weight loss.) The Curves leader mentioned to me that by lowering my calorie intake, along with the workout, I would see the results. Duh! Why didn’t I think of that myself! So I joined Weight Watchers again and combined it with my Curves workout, and 12 pounds came off! Success! This “diet” and exercise really works – if done right! So I was convinced! This was the healthy way to take off weight. I never felt better!

After seven years at Curves, I thought it was time to “shake” up my exercise plan, and so I joined Cardinal Fitness. Cardinal Fitness was within 10 minutes of my job so I could go there on my lunch hour and also after work too. Besides cardio machines, Cardinal Fitness also had free standing weights and weight machines. This was new to me, so I hired a fitness coach for a couple sessions. I was clueless about weights because I had never done them before. My coach demonstrated how the weights worked, and he set me up with a fitness plan. I began to read more and more about the benefits of weight lifting and with that information, along with loving the results, I was hooked! Where had these wonderful ‘ darlings’ (weights) been all my life?

After a couple years at Cardinal Fitness, the Markin Center at Bradley University opened up. The Markin Center is basically free to all faculty, staff, and students. Because I could not justify having two memberships, I sadly gave up my membership at Cardinal Fitness. I learned that one of the key features of exercise is that it has to be convenient. And how could exercise be any more convenient than a 5 minute walk across campus? There was no excuse now!! I committed to using my lunch hour, at least 3-4 times a week, to work out at the Markin Center. It also helps that I have a fitness partner, Alison. Having a fitness buddy is another critical element of staying committed to a fitness plan. If I am debating whether to work out, Alison encourages me to join her (and visa-versa.) The Markin Center has weights and cardio so it is easy to combine both in a week. Along with the Markin Center, Bradley University also offers two Weight Watchers At Work meetings for its employees. Again, there is no excuse not to be healthy (unless you are not taking advantage of these wonderful perks!)

The Benefits of Exercise - for me

I had to go to chiropractors for many years because of a bad back. Since I started a regular exercise program, my back has strengthened, and I no longer need a chiropractor.

Besides weight loss, I have gained body strength and endurance, especially with using weights. In fact, I love seeing the little muscle “bulge” up when I flex my arm (ha). That muscle was not there 12 years ago.

When I work out, I sleep better. And who couldn’t use a better nights rest these days?

I feel healthier all around. Now I rarely get sick because I eat healthy and exercise. I used to get sick a lot. I don’t miss that.

My mental outlook is much better when I am eating healthy and exercising regularly. When I exercise on my lunch hour, my mind and body is energized and ready for the afternoon workload, versus being ready to take a nap.