I told the kids that spring break would be about reading and getting outside everyday instead of just playing video games. So even though today is my rest day, the kids and I went for bike ride. Stopped for drinks and snacks. I choose tea instead of coffee and I’m enjoying watching the kids with their cake pops. It’s all about the small choices that lead up to great things.
NellaMae B.
Everyone has a reason why they do something. Why did you buy that shirt? Because it was a great deal and looks fantastic on me! Why are you late? Because I didn’t get up when my alarm went off. Why did the chicken cross the road? To get to the other side. Every single choice we make, there is a reason why we made it. Today I’m going to tell you about my why in all honesty.
I signed up to be a Beachbody Coach on February 26th, 2014. It’s something that had always been on the back of my mind to do but I always had so many excuses as to why it wasn’t a good time. But I decided to sign up because on March 3rd I was starting a fitness challenge and promised to myself that I would be fully committed and finish the challenge this time unlike my prior attempt.
Why this time did I no longer find any excuses as to why it wasn’t a good time to become a coach? Why this time was I going to fully commit to the challenge and finish even though I didn’t before? It’s simple really. I want to live. 4 little words on their own but when you put them together the impact they have is huge. I want to live.
I turned 37 in March and my health was in a serious downfall. Growing up I had always been very active but within the last few years, I had let that slip. I was in a job that was beyond stressful and not so slowly sucking the life out of me. I was suffering from severe chronic migraines, tension headaches and insomnia. There were times where I didn’t sleep for a couple days straight because I just couldn’t. Of course not sleeping didn’t do wonders for my migraines and tension headaches. Also, I weight 145 pounds! I’m only 5′ 2″ and have a small frame so 145 pounds is on the cusp of being overweight. I was hitting a point where even my bigger clothes that I had purchased were no longer fitting me. I started wearing yoga pants because they were the only pants that weren’t cutting into my waist so much and making it extremely uncomfortable for me. I was having to take 5 medications just to get through a day. I don’t mean the medications were fixing anything, they were just allowing me to maintain a life of pain and sleep plagued with hallucinations. This wasn’t the life I wanted.
My family history is nothing amazing to write about either. As most of you know, family history can play a lot in to your physical well-being. My Mom, Dad and Grandma all suffer from diabetes. My Dad is currently on dialysis 3 times a week because of the damage to his kidneys from the disease. He also has a tumor in his head that he has decided to not fight. My Mom suffers from COPD, not because she was a smoker but because of her profession. She has to be on oxygen, gets pneumonia a few times a year, and of course suffers from diabetes. My Grandma is in amazingly better health than them and only suffers from diabetes. On my Mother’s side, we have a tendency to die from heart attacks or suffer from strokes. So yes, let’s add cardiovascular diseases onto the ever growing list.
I knew that if I continued to walk the path I was walking, being inactive, making really poor choices in my eating habits and continue to fill my body with medications that life was only going to get worse for me. I think of my Mom and the state of her health now and remember back to a time when she was very active. She liked to go on hikes, loved to dance, go on bike rides and I would race her all the time. But now she barely lives and I remember it all started going downhill about 15 years ago. First it was just one small health issue but then it turned into another and another until she is no longer the person I remember her to be. I was afraid that my path was beginning to take shape and within 10 years I would be completely incapacitated.
I am a Mom to 3 beautiful kids that have made my life everything it is today. I have a boyfriend who is my best friend and makes me want to continue to strive to be a better person. I love these 4 individuals fiercely and they are my family. I cannot allow them to lose me too early in life because I didn’t choose to fight for my health and life. So I signed up to be a coach. I committed to the challenge and finished it with amazing results. I started a new challenge this last Monday and though I’m on my own doing it, I plan on finishing it. I am conscious of my eating habits now and while I’m not perfect 100% of the time, I’m doing far better than I was before. So why did I start down this new path? It’s simple.
I WANT TO LIVE.
NellaMae B.
My Journey.. 