Chose Your Hard

I've been thinking about this post for a long time.  Every time I hear a, "it's just so easy for you"; or "I just can't commit that kind of time or dedication" or whatever the excuse that is given to me.  I know it's hard to be fit and  healthy.  But I also know it's hard to be fat, overweight and unhealthy.  I think we have to pick our hard.  

I was at the local art museum this weekend with my family to see a very popular exhibit.  It was very crowded as we went on a rainy cold afternoon that also happen to be the free to the community day.   As I was waiting in line to see this exhibit, I couldn't hep but notice the people around me also waiting with their families.  What still surprises me when I am out in many settings is the sheer number of people who are overweight.  Not in the, maybe could stand to lose 10 - 20 pounds, but are having a hard time standing in line waiting, whose shirts fit so tight around their stomach area, or have more than one stomach area.  Who are holding their back because it hurts to stand that long holding that much weight.  No one can tell me that for the majority of people like this, that it's easy to be this way.  That it doesn't hurt or they don't feel the stares from others who maybe aren't like them.

No, I have never been overweight, and there is a real reason behind that.  Yes, I have always been active and am pretty vain when it comes to what size clothing I want to wear.  Like most women, I tend to freak out when the scale or sizes move too much in a direction I don't like. The real reason I focus so much on my health has a lot to do with my mother.  Beautiful, funny, smart, good at trivia, lover of football, and overweight.  My whole life.  I don't ever recall my mother being thin.  She was who she was.  When I was little, I didn't know any different.  As I got older and she kept getting bigger, I realized other mothers weren't quite like that.  She continued to get a little bigger every year. When I would have long lapses in seeing her, I would notice.  I also noticed that it was hard for her to move around.  Hard for her to find clothing she liked, hard for her to do many of the things she liked doing, like riding roller coasters, and even flying on planes.  I didn't want that for myself.  I didn't want that for her, but I couldn't help her. I don't think she was happy with her physical appearance, but she didn't know where to begin. In the end, her weight had direct consequences on her health and she died too young.  

I couldn't save her, but my hope is that I can save others from her fate, other families from that heartache. My daughter will grow up knowing it's okay to take time for yourself to take care of yourself; that being active is healthy and normal and can be a shared activity.  My daughter will grow up knowing it's okay to eat a cupcake, but you should also eat your fruits and vegetables.

There are days when I don't want to work out, I don't want to get out of bed and I don't want to even look at a vegetable.  Luckily, I have many reasons to fight those feelings and push through.  And some days, I just don't.  I sit and read and eat whatever I want, because I need those days too.  

So I do understand that it's hard and it takes commitment to be fit.  But I also understand how hard physically, mentally and emotionally it is to be the opposite.  If I can help one person every day, then I am doing my job.