Today is the Day

(Introduction to why I am doing something crazy)

My dad died weeks before my 22^nd birthday (hang on, it gets less depressing).  I’d lived with this threat my whole life because he had a heart attack when he was only thirty years old. It was what they call a widow maker, meaning it was a huge heart attack and they were amazed he survived. He lived the rest of his life with one third of his heart dead.  At age 40 he developed ventricular tachycardia—basically sometimes his heart would beat erratically; fast and out of rhythm.

Doctors gave him five to ten years to live and he managed to stick around for another thirty, living a fairly normal life and raising two children. He took disability from his work when I was in middle school and became a stay at home dad (I now firmly believe every family deserves a stay at home somebody.) Still, dad was often ill, especially the two years before he passed as his heart kept weakening.

We lived rather sedentary lives because too much physical activity could lead to dad’s heart freaking out. Dad rose early in the morning, accomplished a task for the day (clean the kitchen, a load of laundry, etc.,) then spent the afternoon in his recliner until time to make dinner. After dinner was TV time. Dinner was nearly always something easy to make. We largely ate highly processed foods that came in an easy to prepare box with nice, orderly instructions. We also ate a lot of marinated chicken with a boxed side.

Needless to say the whole family lived the lives every health professional, blog, book, magazine, and basically everyone tells you NOT to live. We were all over weight, tired, and plain miserable. I want to make it abundantly clear right now that I do not blame my father for this. If I had wanted to change earlier I would have essentially been supported. He often felt offended if we didn’t eat what he cooked for dinner but if I had told him what I wanted he would have done everything he could to help me.

After his death I had no more excuses like, “but this is what dad made for dinner and it smells so good,” or, “Dad doesn’t buy me enough fruit”…never mind that when he did it often went bad. All of these years I had been holding myself back. I would try a diet or two but never fully committed. Even now I have binges and regret every bite; though I am fighting to move past that stage. I have worked hard and done a lot of research to get to a point where I think I am happy with my choices.

I read so many articles saying many of the same things. I also read crazy off the wall ideas and brought some of them into the fold. I know I have all the tools I need to lead a healthy lifestyle. Every week I say, this is the week and fail by around Wednesday. Still, I pick myself back up every week and try again. What I want and need is a group of people to hold me accountable, cheer me on, and maybe make some of these changes with me.

Finally, I am ready to get healthy, organized, and fit. Who’s with me?!

My first start is motivation. I have set up a spot behind my door (so I see it every morning before I even leave my room) with quotes and such that inspire me.

“The voice in your head that says, ‘YOU can’t do this’ is a liar!”

“Do something today your future self will thank you for.”

“The way to get started is to quit talking and start doing.-Walt Disney”

This is just a small sample. I put them into a word document to make them colorful and large enough to read when I am half awake and don’t have my glasses on. A search of inspirational quotes on Pinterest can give you a vast array of pictures and motivation to move mountains. I have also searched quotes from specific people this way. For example, Jane Goodall is absolutely my hero and I found this quote quickly when searching.

What motivates you? My first step for anyone who wants to join me in being happier and healthier is to find your inspiration and celebrate it today!