So, I have a couple of health issues that make me “chubby”. That good ole endocrine system! In my case, it is rifled with issues. I am not the “fat girl”, but I am someone who has worried, struggled, watched their weight for 20 years. If I lose 25 pounds in one year as I did last year, the doctors will say: “Oh, that is so great! People with your issues (thyroid for one), barely lose more than a pound per month sometimes.” When keeping myself away from most carbs from a year, except for some fruits and vegetables, that is not what I want to hear. But, I have learned to accept it. I mean I could kick up my workouts. I have not done much of those since September. But every waking moment, I feel is taken up right now. So I do squats when i am at the stove. I take the stairs. I do leg lifts while unloading the dishwasher.

Anyway, my daughter has found herself about 20 pounds overweight. And, it all kind of snuck up on us. She is very tall, so it doesn’t show very well. But, when wearing certain things or trying them on, it is obvious that she has gained weight. What happened is that she went from 4 hours a week of physical activity minimum, to literally none. Being at different rehearsals 4 nights a week and having school work during the day has really hampered the physical activity. She does dancing on Wii when she can, but sometimes we sit and do 5 hours straight of school work and then I have to go do my afternoon job and then it is rehearsals. So, the weight has piled on in the last year and a half. And since she has gained 4-5 inches of height, it was not as noticeable.

And what stinks is, she eats healthier than most of her peers. We don’t do cereal, she eats oatmeal instead and she does not add sugar. We eat varieties of veggie burgers, she eats brown rice, and whole grains, and very little fast food. Like maybe a few times a month, and it is never McDonald’s and does not include fries. So bottom line is, she may have inherited my weight woes. I don’t know many kids that order sushi when they could get a junkier version of Japanese. Or, a child that is even willing to try like a chickpea burger, is pretty phenomenal in my book. Most of her friends eat Oreos and Cheetos and apple juice. I can’t believe people buy any of it, but Apple juice has more sugar in it than cookies! And, I don’t allow soda. So, starting today we are going to add at least 30 minutes of cardio everyday like we used to. During the summer and spring, it is usually a given. But from September until March, I think that is where a bulk of our issues with not exercising started. Play commitments, I was really sick for 2 months, and it was too cold to go for a hike or bike ride like we would normally do.

So, today, Pilates is on the menu. It was supposed to be ice skating in the city, but only God can control the weather. I am going to try daily to switch it up so that there is variety, we don’t get bored, and we have fun. I mean she is the kid who will do “Just Dance” 20 songs straight, but we have let life get in the way of physical fitness. We had to give up tennis and swim and all of that to commit to her love of acting. But if there is no physical fitness, then life will eventually become tough. So today, we will swim the sea of despair together. We will climb the mountain of time constraints, and take fitness on with our dukes up. I know my wording is a bit dramatic, but I found it kind of funny.:)

Though I have decent habits and eat organic and make very good choices, I can do better. I don’t have to have a chocolate meltdown and “that time” of the month. I don’t have to have that extra piece of organic turkey bacon. And, more importantly, I can make time to get us both into shape because my daughter models what she sees. I hope that whatever struggle or endeavor you are working towards, that you get off of the couch and start it today. Whether it is to write more, workout, eat better, call your mom more, scoop the cat litter more (me), just do it and do it with gusto! Many of us get in our own way when it comes to achieving our goals.