I was always a chubby kid. I wasn’t quite fat, certainly not obese, but definitely chubby – “big-boned” my family liked to say.
I was a true tomboy too, so those nice “pretty plus” sizes I had to wear in upper elementary were twice the turn-off.
Just give me a boys pair of “Husky” jeans and let’s be on our way.
It didn’t help that I was a picky eater.
I hated all breakfast foods and normally opted for a bologna and cheese sandwich or chocolate pudding before school. (Sorry, mom.)
Portion control was also not one of my strong suits.
Middleswarth potato chips were my friends, in fact my mother often had to cut me off before I made a meal of all that salty goodness.
My size normally didn’t bother me.
I had quite a few friends in the “big-boned category” and our thinner counterparts had no problem co-mingling with us so we all just got along.
The first time I remember ever being uncomfortable with the way I looked was the summer of fifth grade.
My best friend and I spent every summer at the swimming pool, and that year was no different.
Except that year, I became aware of some unsightly bulges around the mid-section of my bathing suit.
Sitting on the edge of the pool, I just happened to glance down and saw not one, not two, but three, pudgy little rolls layered on my belly.
They were made all the more apparent by the creases in my sparkly royal blue bathing suit.
I wasn’t impressed.
I didn’t let it bother me too much, but from that day on I became increasingly determined to look better in a bathing suit.
It wasn’t until seventh grade, however, that I got really serious about it.
It was the 80s, Olivia Newton John was encouraging everybody to “get physical” in her leotard and tights and our gym teacher decided we were going to join the aerobics craze.
We learned a whole aerobic routine one semester in gym class that year.
It was actually kind of fun, and I had already decided to start eating better, so I figured I might as well give this exercise thing a shot.
I had always been pretty active. My older brother played about every sport imaginable and I was his practice help.
However, I had never committed to doing any type of daily regular exercise.
This would be a fun new experiment.
The routine we learned wasn’t extremely long, so I would repeat it three times, or however many times it took to go a full 30 minutes.
Better eating habits, a 30-minute a day exercise routine and puberty combined for quite the transformation of my once-chubby frame.
By that summer, the only thing showing through the mid-section of my bathing suit were my ribs.
The change was so obvious, even the senior high girls at the pool complimented me on it.
While they were nothing but kind with their comments, I was not fond of all the attention. In fact, I found it extremely embarrassing!
I was fond, however, of two other things about my new way of life.
The first was that my thighs didn’t look like stuffed sausages in a pair of blue jeans anymore, and the second and most exciting for me, was the way I felt when I worked out.
I LOVED it!!!
This one action energized every part of my being – physical, mental and spiritual.
Certainly, there were and are times that I don’t feel like pushing through a workout, but the exhilaration I feel once it’s done is worth all of the effort.
The high I get from a good sweat is better than any drug could give you because I’m actually lucid enough to enjoy it.
All that fresh oxygen and blood coursing through the veins, just makes you feel so alive!
So much so, that every workout fills me to overflowing with gratitude that God gave me such a healthy body.
It keeps me continually praising Him because I know we are not promised good health, and I just never want to take it for granted.
It has been over 30 years since I started my fitness journey, and I am abundantly thankful to say I still enjoy it.
It has not always been easy, keeping the weight off certainly gets harder with age, but it is most definitely worth it.
I wanted to have a section on faith and fitness for my blog simply because I thought I could be a help to people. I know so many people desire to live healthier lives, but struggle to do so.
Fitness and faith are so completely intertwined for me that one helps drive the other.
I get up and am so psyched to work out every day simply because I can. I know there are lots of people who can’t.
God gave me this healthy body and I am going to do everything within my power to keep it healthy and honor Him with it.
Fitness is so much about attitude, and I figure, if I can help people get the right attitude about fitness before they even change an eating habit or start an exercise program, I’d be helping them win at least half of the battle.
Aside from being your cheerleader, I plan to give lots of practical tips too.
I am far from an expert on fitness, but I have been at this a long time, and there are a few things I’ve learned over the years that might be helpful to you.
I’ve done lots of exercise programs, tried lots of eating plans and used lots of equipment inside and outside of the gym.
And by all means, if you have a good tip or a great healthy recipe you think everyone would enjoy, please share away in the comments.
I’d like it to be more of a community of folks helping and sharing advice with each other than just me doing all the talking.
Hopefully, it will be just another way we can help each other be our best for our Savior and maintain strong healthy bodies as we maintain our strong healthy minds!!
Thanks Michelle.