Whew!

Soooo, I had dinner with my extended family for Christmas. It was a real eye opener for me. For one, it really hit me for the first time how much my family struggles with weight. My dad and stepmom have been overweight for as long as I can remember. And now, my little brother (6) and sister (9) are very overweight as well, and they are so young. My older sister and my cousin also both have weight issues. It seems that these issues that plague my family have become... expected or normal. My family loves to "crack" on each other, joking about who's bigger than who, etc, etc, but, no one seems to be doing anything about it. It was a very disturbing day for me. It made me realize that I can't wait. I can't keep putting it off. I have to do something NOW, for my sake, my family, and especially my little brother and sister. That said, let's move on to........

ACTIVE LIFE: Outdoor Challenge!!!!!

Oh. My. Goodness.!!!! I'm STILL out of breath from playing this game. I think I had fun, but I was so tired and worn out from playing, that I collapsed into a sweaty heap on the floor, begging for someone to bring me water and an oxygen mask STAT!!

Seriously though, it's a lot of fun, and you get so involved in the games that you want to keep playing. You want to beat your high score, you want to beat your time. I think it's a great way for those who are (like me) just looking for a way to get motivated to get up off the couch and do SOMETHING. I will say that those who are in better shape than me may not "feel the burn" as much as I did, but, it's still a great way to sneak some extra movement into your day. For those who are *ahem* horizontally challenged, and want to add something fun to their routine, I definitely recommend it. It does include a lot of games that involve running and jumping (albeit, mostly in pretty short bursts), so be warned.... your legs will suffer... I mean.... THANK you. :)

My next personal challenge, as far as exercise goes, is to walk around my neighborhood. Walking around my entire complex is probably about a mile or so, and I would like to be able to do two circuits. We'll see how that goes. I keep saying I'm going to "get up early" and do it in the morning before work. Yeeeeeaaah.... see the problem with that is... I like sleep. I mean really like sleep. Getting up early for me means, being able to make it out of the door for work before 7:15am. In order to be able to walk before work, I would have to wake up at 5am!!! Do you know how early that is??!!?! Seriously, at 5am, I'm still snoring.... hard. So, the thought of that is NOT appealing.... at all. However, it wouldn't be a challenge if there wasn't some degree of difficulty, right? If it wasn't something that was hard or uncomfortable for me to do, then it would just be a routine, and not a challenge. So, I will challenge myself to do this. I hope to be able to say on my next entry that I was able to do it.

Random Holiday Musings

So, my birthday was last week, and I turned 31. 31!!!!?!?!?! I can remember thinking as a child that 30-anything was ridiculously old. Now, here I am, 31 years old, and it doesn't feel old at all. I feel like I have my whole life ahead of me. All the more reason, I guess, to work on becoming a healthier me. One thing I can say about getting older, is that creating healthy habits becomes harder. It's soooo much easier to just sit on the couch and watch TV than to get up and do something. Chocolate cake tastes so much better than an apple. I think it's silly to tell people to eat an apple instead of cookies to satisfy a sweet craving. Um... hello?!? Apples and chocolate are NOT the same thing. And of course, in this season of holiday parties, yummy carb-loaded food, and holiday programs that talk about yummy carb-loaded food, who really wants to go and eat an apple?! Not me...


Anyway, one of the things that I have wanted to try to help me on the road to becoming healthier is the Wii Fit. But, I guess everyone else had the same idea, because I have yet to find one available for sale that's not $3,568, 984.23. Seriously, I'm not really sure that it's worth paying more than twice the actual retail value, just to get one. So, I settled on an alternative this weekend. I bought the Active Life: Outdoor Challenge game over the weekend. I haven't actually tried it yet, but it has gotten some really good reviews, and has been touted as an alternative to the extremely hard to find Wii Fit. I think I will crack it open and give it a try tomorrow. I will certainly share my thoughts and findings when I do.

Turning Point

My weekend was going along swimmingly... it included a spontaneous trip to my most favorite place in the world, Walt Disney World, and spending time with my honey. I saw beautiful Christmas displays, watched amazing fireworks, saw exciting parades, and just generally had a great time. Then IT happened... It was time to come home, and I was utilizing an airport wheelchair due to not being able to walk quickly through the aiport without being in a lot of pain (I'll cover the various reasons why in a later post). So, there I am, in a wheelchair, waiting to pre-board with other people needing assistance, and I notice some airport personnel start to snicker and look in my direction. It turns out that two employees were "arguing" over who was going to get the "privelege" of pushing me down the jetway to the plane.

I wish I could describe what it feels like to have people mock you, practically to your face, and become the joke of the day due to the fact that you happen to be overweight. It is one of the worst feelings in the world, and I wouldn't wish that on anyone.

At this point, I understand that they are talking about me, and all but drawing straws to determine which one of them has the unfortunate luck to have me to push down the jetway. So, determined to maintain at least a shred of dignity, I grabbed my cane, had my honey take the rest of my things, and made my way down the jetway by myself. I was so upset that I was shaking, but I was NOT going to let myself fall apart there in the middle of the airport. I actually made it all the way to my seat before I broke down and cried my eyes out. I spent the next hour of the flight crying, hurt to the core by people I didn't even know. Thankfully, I had a sweatshirt with a hood that I was able to pull over my face so that I didn't become the inflight entertainment for the other passengers who may have stopped to gawk at me.

So, this incident has become my turning point. I don't wish to experience anything like that ever again. I am determined to do what I can to make a difference and to become healthier. Unfortunately, there are some things about my physical being that I cannot change, due to illness (again, I will address that in a later post). But, I promise myself, right now, that I will do everything I can, and change the things I can, to become a better person, a healthier person. Eventually I will share pictures, so that others can see, and perhaps be inspired by, the transformation I will be making. In the meantime, I intend to write and share my ups and downs, highs and lows, victories and defeats in the hope that it will make me a better, stronger, healthier me.