The Why, What and Who of my Journey to Fitness

You see things; and you say “Why?” But I dream things that never were; and I say “Why not?” ~George Bernard Shaw

I am often asked about my weight. Those that know me for a while know that for years, I struggled with a weight issue. At an astonishing 5′0″ height, having hit almost 200 lbs is not something I am proud of. I don’t know why, but I now know how I got there. I played with my weight and my health for a long time. I read and learned everything I could about maintaining a healthy weight, especially after children and more importantly as I aged.

Well, ‘knowing’ without ‘doing’ means absolutely nothing. I played victim for a while and then claimed to be too busy to focus on anything else. After all, I had a terrific family and a great job. No complaints! The truth is that for a long time I was hiding that deep secret; an obsessive and unhealthy relationship with food. Since I was so busy, I often skipped meals only to find refuge later on a huge dinner plate, seconds and all. Looking back, I am amazed (and thankful to God) that I did not develop any health conditions. I was really punishing myself and like I said, using food for comfort. I still don’t know why, the best explanation I can come up with is that food is one of those things we CAN control. Hence, when we don’t have control over other things, we feel pressured, frustrated, alone or unmotivated; food is always there as if a nice, good partner waiting to make it all better.

So, although it is not a secret (I am immensely proud of my achievement) I have never written about this and some of you may not have seen me in my ‘previous’ life. I wanted to come clean and share this experience, which up until now, has been shared with only a few but hoping that will inspire and motivate you because if I did it, you can do it too!

The How is simple…truthfully, it sneaked up on me and one day, walking down the halls of my old job, a colleague was sharing his newly found ‘South Beach Diet’ book. Curious enough, I thought I knew everything ‘diet’ yet, this concept of ‘good carbs and bad carbs’ was actually new to me. Before I knew, I bought the book and started to slowly implement the principles. Once I started to see results, I was fired up! I started to work out, 10 minutes at first…then 15, then 30 and up to 1 hour. The more results I saw, the better I felt. It was my time!

Why? Never in my life have I felt as much energy, as much drive to pursue my dreams. Confidence…that little thing that so many of us struggle with came along, and to my surprise I started to feel in control. I started to realize that I was taking charge of my life, my destiny and it felt SO good.

Who…well in my case, it was me. Now I want to encourage you to decide whether it is your time. Are you ready to retake your life? Your health? If so, make a choice today to eat better, to exercise more…you will start to see results and you will feel better. More importantly, you will be in control of your life and what happens in it and nobody can take that away. I know what I am talking about because I have been there, done that and got the t-shirt. I will talk more on this subject next week on the blog including my top 10 no-so secrets to success; but for now feel free to check my Facebook Fan Page out for my before and after pictures. Not to boast, but you will think I had “help.” Your thoughts are always welcome and if I can assist in any way, feel free to drop me a line.

If you are struggling with your weight, self-image or confidence; Life Coaching might be for you. Contact me today for a complimentary 30-minute coaching session.
© 2010 Maria Martinez