Thursday, January 12, 2012

Realizing how lucky I am to have such a supportive spouse and family

When I met my husband, I was already overweight. More than I am now. I didn't exercise and my eating was ok, but not great.

He already had mostly good habits. He ate exceptionally well, so when we got together, I adapted my style of eating more to his. Not that it changed much as I liked all healthy foods, but I could have been swayed probably to be more of a meat and potatoes kind of gal with a different partner. And he has always had a healthy weight (save for one year in his phd studies). He has never been an avid exerciser, but he goes in stages - sometimes yes, sometimes no. And he has always tried to encourage me to move more, but he didn't criticize me for not doing more (though I could see the worried look in his eyes).

So, when I started this last year and he saw it was for real, it started to motivate him to do more. He started swimming. Later, he joined me in body pump. And he joined a weight loss challenge at work to drop the 15-20 pounds he wanted to shed.

He has never questioned the timing of my workouts or made me feel like they were inconveniencing him or our kids in any way and sometimes they do. He truly is 100% supportive of my journey.

Even with food. He doesn't question what I eat, when I eat or how much I eat. He understands that sometimes I will want a treat and sometimes I will want to skip a treat. He makes it so much easier than it could be.

Now, it's true, I haven't turned their world upside down with my eating. I still make them bread and pasta and rice with their meals. I don't make them hide their pretzels or goldfish crackers and such, but all in all, they had to adjust to my changes and they haven't complained about it.

I read on A couple weight loss forums about how some partners try to sabotage diets or tell them that they don't need to lose any more weight or criticize them for taking time to exercise and so on and then I realize, I have the perfect support system and I didn't even really take note of it. My spouse is accepting of my body's flaws and is realistic in what I can and should aim for. I am so very, very lucky. So thank you husband and family! Thank you for allowing me to become a better and healthier me.

Stats for 1/12/12:

Highest weight: 275. Now: 179.0 (hopefully out of the 180s forever)
Total hours worked out in 2011: 5.5/250

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