Category: Fitness

This weekend my hubby and I went to Heritage Square Amusement Park for his company picnic. I have not been to an amusement park in several years.  I wasn’t able to ride the rides the last time we went so I basically avoided them after that.  I convinced myself I didn’t really enjoy it anyway.  WE HAD SO MUCH FUN.

I could ride any ride I wanted!  The first thing we did was the zip-line.  I read online that it had a weight limit of 250 pounds that I never would have qualified for before! I did not see the weight limit posted near the ride. While we were standing in line, I was ‘sizing up’ those around me and curious if they would meet the requirement.  There was a scale to get on in front of everyone to prove your weight.  No one else could see the number but it was still nerve racking. Before, I would have stood in that line with my stomach in knots thinking about the humiliation of being asked to step to the side. A girl several people in front of us stepped on the scale and didn’t make the cut.  She was clearly embarrassed.  I wanted to comfort her so bad!  How many of us have been there?  The only thing holding me back from the zip-line this time was fear of peeing my pants!

After the zip-line which I lived through despite what my brain was saying, we did the Alpine Slide.  The slide is a half mile down the mountainside on a tiny sled.  While this ride did not have any health requirements, I’m not sure I could have done it before.  You had to take a chairlift to the top of the foothill then walk straight uphill for maybe 100 feet.  I would have been exhausted before getting to the top.  I had never done anything like this and was super excited.  You control your speed as you slide down the mountain on a tiny blue slide.  I’m not sure my body would have fit in the slide before.  It was thrilling!

After the slide we rode a few typical carnival rides like The Scrambler and the Tilt-a-Whirl.  I found it so easy to hop in and out of all the rides.  On the scrambler, whomever is on the outside inevitably get squished due to physics.  I was worried about squishing my hubby, but he looked right at me and said “You’re 120 pounds lighter.  I’m sure it will be fine.” We comfortably fit in all the rides and laughed out butts off.

The last thing I wanted to do was an obstacle maze.  It looked like my dream of American Warrior Ninja.  I wasn’t sure how strong I had become or what I could do. Since there was a safety harness, I tried to do every obstacle without grabbing the harness and depending on my balance and core to carry me across.  With the exception of the tight rope, I made every obstacle.  My grip strength gave out by the end but it was amazing to run around with all the kids and do strength obstacles.  While I was on a particularly hard one a young girl got really scared in front of me and started crying for her mom.  I got her across the obstacle and out of the maze to her mother.  I found myself wondering, why wouldn’t her mom come in with her? When I got her out of the maze I knew why.  Her mother was overweight and didn’t seem very fit.  How much more fun would that little girl have gotten to have WITH her mom if she could have been there? I’m so happy that I’ll be able to DO these things with my kids, not just watch from the sidelines!

It was overall an awesome day.  Once again I couldn’t believe how much my weight was taking out of my life that I didn’t even consider.  Last year at this time, my hubby and I could have never done this together.  We would have missed out on so much fun and laughter together. We ended the day exhausted and happy. In the past just walking around would have exhausted me but this time it was from doing so many things and creating so many memories.

Today I challenge you to make a list of a few things you want to be able to do .  Maybe it’s walk a trail with your dog or visit an amusement park.  What is something that’s difficult to do now that you want to be able to do?

Today I accomplished my last fitness goal that I set 14 months ago at the beginning of my journey to heath. I ran a mile around City Park without stopping! (thanks to the support of my friend Nikki Sandschaper!) My body probably could have done the work several months ago but I had a huge mental block about being able to check it off my list.

Being able to surprise yourself or meet a goal that you set is so rewarding.  Set small goals that you know you can do as well as big goals for the long time future.  Success at small things leads to success at the big things.

This morning I surprised myself yet again on how strong I am and what I can do.  So my challenge to you is: Do something today you didn’t know you could do. Surprise yourself in some way today to inspire healthier choices in the future.  Maybe it’s a fitness goal.  Maybe it’s go to your favorite restaurant but skip the appetizer. Do something today you didn’t know you could do! Show yourself how strong you can be!

Fitness can be a great source of anxiety for some and definitely happened to me at the beginning of my journey.  I didn’t even know what my body could do with all those extra pounds packed on.  Would people laugh when they saw me trying to run? Would everyone look at me funny like “She’s too fat to exercise?” When I look back at it now it seems silly but felt very real at the beginning.

Set Goals! 

When you begin working out, even just walking, make sure you set goals for what you would like to be able to do.  They can be as simple as walking to get the mail everyday to start.  I set a goal for myself at the very beginning to be able to run a mile without stopping.  I have painful memories from my school days of running a mile and being one of the last ones to finish everytime.  Every adult should be able to run a mile right? Well tomorrow is the day!  My loving friend who has been on her own journey to health adopted running right away.  She promised to run with me and not allow me to stop.  I feel like I still can’t do it on my own, but I think it’s fine to rely on others.  She’s confident that I can do it.

Anxiety……..

I consider myself and anxious person and I often think I’m much more naturally anxious than most people.  I thought that when I would run in the neighborhood, people were probably watching.  I felt anxiety when I joined the gym that I wouldn’t be able to keep up with everyone else and they would wonder what the heck I was doing there.  I still get anxious some days before class because I’m just not sure I can do it.  BUT what I’ve proven to myself over and over is that I can at least try.

No One Cares!

What I quickly discovered is that no one cares! When I see overweight people exercising now, I want to shout words of encouragement to them.  I want them to keep going and know that they can do it too!  When I started at the gym, no one judged me (at least on the outside).  They were very welcoming and encouraging as I got stronger. I couldn’t do what they could do but that only makes sense.  I’m a NEW member for  a reason.  Truth is, everyone has things they are working on and most people are too busy doing their thing to notice you.  You won’t be able to do what you did in high school.  You won’t be able to do everything you wanted to do.  BUT THAT’S OK.  After dedicated work, you will be able to do those things again.  I discovered that there was an athlete inside.  That athlete can’t get enough and can do amazing things that I never knew I could do.  Now, when I look for workouts online, I think I could do that with some practice instead of just laughing and searching for memes.

So tomorrow I will run a mile.  What if I fail? What if I can’t do it? What if I die? Well, not matter what at least I can say  I tried.  If I don’t make it, I will try again, and I probably won’t die.  Maybe I’ll make it and it will be the best feeling ever.  That to me is worth the risk.