The Ongoing Journey

I was hanging out chatting with my family at my brother & SIL's house on Sunday (Father's Day) after finishing up the Vancouver USA Half. My family were all being their totally supportive selves with regard to my running and my weight loss efforts when one of them asked me "So what changed?" (to motivate me) to which my SIL pipes up and says "What hasn't changed???" And if I think about it, yes, so much has changed over the last couple of years that the me of today barely resembles the me of a few years back. And this is both physically AND mentally.

I've lost just a little over 75 lbs to date. I still have a ways to go, but wanted to share my progress along the way.

I've been thinking about this a lot for the last couple of days trying to figure out exactly what switch got flipped on in my head this time that had never been flipped before... at least not completely like it has now. In the past I always wondered what exactly it took for those people who get so motivated to do whatever it is they set out to do... Do they have a "eureka!" moment or do they just forge ahead or what?

Well, I can't answer this question for anyone but myself. I had always hoped that there would be an Eureka moment, thinking that would make the lifestyle change easier. Alas, that never really happened for me. It just seems like there were a series of events that all kind of converged to make me what to change things about my life.

1. I lost my job... as much as I still rebel at the idea, the harsh reality of the matter is, it IS harder to get a job when you're overweight. There's a preconception that somehow your weight will hinder you from getting the job done. 
2. My blood pressure was off the charts. My primary care provider (who is also a friend of mine) was freaking out when she saw the numbers. Stroking out was not out of the realm of possibilities.
3. My blood glucose had started to creep up. My mother is a Type II diabetic, as was my grandmother. This doesn't bode well for me. I need to curb that trend if at all possible. While I may still become diabetic someday, I'm hoping to put it off as long as possible.
4. I had started doing a run/walk couch to 5K program about the same time that I found out my SIL & brother had started running. Even though they were still living in Cincinnati at the time, it inspired me to push forward. Now that they've moved back to the Pacific NW, it's great to be able to run with my SIL, instead of just being a sideline observer.
5. Finally, I'm now in my 40's... and it was depressing me to think about being perceived as an inactive, frumpy, middle-aged housewife who doesn't do anything interesting. Call it a case of mid-life crisis, but I did NOT want that to be my lot in life. I had to get out of that rut.

I can't say that any one of these was the single deciding factor, but I know that they all played a part in influencing how the changes in my life came about.  Now that I'm on my way towards my goal weight and my goal of being able to (eventually) run a full marathon, I look forward to being able to help others on their journeys to physical and mental well being. I feel like I've gained so much from traveling this path that I want to be able to share it with others and hope that I can, in some small way, inspire them to achieve their own goals, no matter what they might be.

Yesterday's Run
7.14 Miles
90:00
4.8 mph