In the spirit of full disclosure, let me say I am in no way a fitness ‘freak’ or gym ‘buff.’. I work full time, my husband works full time, we have two small children who are in various activities. Most days I barely have time to make sure my socks match. I strive to work out 4 days a week (yes I know the aha recommends 5 days a week), and most weeks it’s closer to 3. I tend to be a very anxious, self-critical person, so I cut myself some slack here. Sometimes I wake up at 5 am to get in a quick workout before work. Sometimes I wake up at 6 on Saturday or Sunday to get in a run or a swim before our scheduled weekends get out of hand. Sometimes I hit snooze and roll over. But the point is, I never have time in the course of a normal day to work out. I’m at my office by 7:15, I do not get a lunch break, I work through my lunch, and finish by 5-5:30 pm. My husband at this time has already started feeding the children and/or is driving them to various activities. I then meet them wherever and go with one child while he takes the other. We get home around 7 pm, and start homework and bedtime routines. At 8:30 ish i log into my computer and finish my work from home. I am off every Friday and this is usually my long workout day, where I do either weights/run or a swim/cycle brick workout. However, I have to fit this in around appointments, oil changes, counseling (anxiety/depression, remember?) Laundry and cleaning. And heaven forbid anyone get sick, there goes my workout time for the week. I’m amazed at athletes who can fit in long workouts and work full time, but that’s not me. I love sleep, and if I don’t get a solid 7 hours, everyone is miserable. So there it is. I’m a normal person, trying to normalize being overweight and working out.

It takes commitment to exercise, and if it’s not something you are used to having as part of your life, it is easy to see it as extra or expendible. If you didn’t play sports as a kid (me) and if you didn’t have parents who enjoyed playing sports (also me), then it’s not something that comes naturally to you, it has to be learned. Sometimes people do it as part of a group or club, or because of their significant other. I started running in college because I knew I was horribly out of shape, and I wanted to be healthier. However, the thing about bodies is, they like the weight they are at. When you start to lose weight, your metabolism works against you to keep that weight on (you know, in case of famine or something). So even though I was more fit, I didn’t lose that much weight. Which is frustrating, especially if being skinny is the goal (and let’s be honest, what fat girl has never secretly dreamed of being skinny). This has led to 20 years of struggling for health, self acceptance, and eventually, this blog. The key is to celebrate fitness goals and personal milestones, and stop looking and the f’ing scale. Your body is amazing, it has gotten you to this point, and it can keep doing amazing things. Who cares what it weighs?