My Story: Part II

So like I said yesterday, Christmas was my rock bottom.  I decided I was going to make changes and start living healthier.  At the time, I didn't really know what this was going to entail and what changes I was going to make, but I knew I needed to start incorporating exercise into my life.

The boy and I on Christmas Eve

Actually, I think I had decided to make this change a few weeks earlier, around Thanksgiving, but wasn't planning on starting until the new year.  I knew I wouldn't be able to stick to anything through the holidays, and I didn't want to disappoint myself yet again.  On Black Friday, I bought myself a Wii, and knew I could start making some healthy changes in a fun way.

Flash forward to new years, when my journey was supposed to begin.  I developed a cough Thanksgiving weekend, and it never really went away.  The doctors I work with had listened to my lungs, started me on an inhaler a few times a day, and I figured I would just tough through it.  Shortly after New Years Day, I had a day at work where I felt completely lousy-I was struggling to breathe and the cough seemed to take a turn for the worse.  I finally went to an adult doctor the next day (I work for a pediatrician) and I was diagnosed with a double whammy...pneumonia and whooping cough.  Hello a bag full of antibiotics, steroids, cough medications, inhalers, etc.  This put a serious dent in the beginning of my workout plan.

Luckily, that bag full of medications did the trick, and within 2 weeks, the cough was gone and I was finally feeling back to normal.  At this time, I started using the Wii, and was beginning my journey to get fit and lose weight.  I bought Zumba 2, and started working out for at least an hour nearly every day.  It was fun, I was burning calories, and most importantly, I was sticking with it!

After a few weeks of Zumba, I pulled out the Wii Fit I had gotten for Christmas, and started incorporating this into my workouts as well.  I set a weight loss goal, and started doing some more aerobic activity using the Wii Fit.  Mine also came with a Biggest Loser Wii game, and I started using this as well.  I was working out for an hour or two at least 5 times a week, and I was starting to feel great.  I was slowly starting to lose some weight, but more importantly, I was starting to feel good about myself.  I was able to tolerate an hour of exercise and not be totally wiped, and it was getting easier for me to bear.  I wasn't gasping for breath after 20 jumping jacks, and it was actually starting to be fun.

Everything changed again on February 14th, where the boy and I had a hot Valentine's Day date at a gym near my house.  I had been wanting to join this gym but didn't want to go by myself for the first time, so he finally agreed to go with me that day.  So that morning, we met at the gym, I signed up and paid my membership fees, and officially joined.

And then I got hooked...