A Heart-y confession

After watching a few episodes of The Dog Whisperer the other day, I decided to read one of his books to gain some more whisperer wisdom.
What is it about his manner and way that makes dogs want to obey his every command sometimes even without words!?!

So I picked up one on his books and used our travel time back and forth to San Antonio to learn some tricks and get some motivation.
He is adamant that exercise is the main element in achieving this state of mind in ones dog!
Exercise
Heavy sigh!!
Whining to commence in
3

2

1

Exercise, why did it have to be exercise!!
It makes you sweaty, and your muscles hurt and you get shin splints and it takes time out of your day and, and, and etc.
I have been avoiding exercise on and off for a good year now and you want me to walk my dog every day.
Every day!!!
EVERY DAY!!!



I had a little panic attack, my husband told me to start breathing again and then I started thinking....
Here comes confession time.
I am going to include numbers and everything...don't hate me for that! I think it is important for making my point.

deep breath in and out

About a year and a half ago I was very content with my weight. In fact I was in the appropriate weight for my height range and had been for years.
Okay so I was at the very top of that range, but was very okay with that.
Hey, I have three children and had successfully lost all of my excess "baby weight" each time, returning to what I thought was my perfect size!
I was happy in the 178-182 area wearing a size 14-16.

Oh boy, did I just type that right here for all the world to read.
Yes, I did and I am not gonna take it back.
It is important for what I want to say today.
So is this next part.

So, back to a year and a half ago.
I changed our diet a bit, truly committing at this point to more healthy choices.
And, I started to exercise consistently 3 times a week with my goal to be more heart healthy and fit.
In the meantime, miracle of miracles, this (not unwanted) weight began to come off.
I was amazed.
I was motivated.
I was feeling wonderful and looking better and better.
5 pounds, 10 pounds, 15 pounds....I was melting away to nothing.

Okay not really.
I am 6 foot tall, that would be pretty hard to do.
I got to the point where I was 163 and thought I had reached my summit.
I stayed there for about 3 weeks, then it began again.
I got down to 158, 157, 156.
And then I started to get nervous.
Was it ever gonna stop coming off?
Was I going to just keep losing and losing?
I became irrational and quit, cold turkey, my exercise routine.

I started this routine to have a healthier heart, and in the meantime I started to lose weight.
It was a wonderful unexpected bonus, but it got me totally distracted from my main goal of being more heart healthy.
I truly had myself convinced that if I kept at it there would never be an end to the loosing.
Irrational, ridiculous, wrong.

So here I sit a year later, right around 158...and I can't make it up the stairs without getting a little winded.
Ridiculous!
Wrong!
Sure I "look" good, but what true benefit is that to me if I am gasping for breath after mild exertion. It makes all of that weight loss about nothing more than vanity. There I said it!!
I have the appearance of being healthy and fit because of weight loss, but I know it is a sham. A disguise to convince you of my wellness.

I want to be well, not just look well.
This takes commitment and effort on my part, which I have not been willing to give.

I had already decided a few weeks ago somewhere deep in the hidden depths of myself that I would begin a new exercise regime and was contemplating what it would be, while successfully avoiding it all together.

I can tell you right now that my choice would not have been taking a 30 minute walk each day!!!

The truth is, I probably need a 30 minute walk each day.
I am very motivated by the needs of others and am much more likely to get this done for my little dog, than for myself. So, Shelby and I will walk. My heart needs it, my whole body needs it!

As they say...a win win situation.
I am thankful for this push over the edge to get me moving again. To get me past my irrational excuses and back to reality!

I hope this confession gets you motivated to thinking about your goals.
I hope you will think about getting more heart healthy.
I hope that you will forgive me for confessing my weight. Uggghhhh!
I hope you will ignore my incessant whining about having to walk my dog everyday.
Cause good for me or not, I simply must whine about something!!