All my life I struggled like so many of us do with weight.  I started this blog because of the irony that has always existed in my life and wanted to share what I’ve learned.  I LOVE food, but have never loved the weight and health problems associated with eating the types of foods I always craved.  I have never been obese, but I know that I have suffered with the ramifications associated with not eating well and lack of exercise.  I am and never was one of those athletic types.  Nope, not me. I was the girl that received the “PARTICIPANT” ribbon and by no means placed 1st, 2nd, 3rd, or even 4th!

Back in the day I could pop in a good old Jane Fonda video and work out in the comfort of my living room…a few short weeks of that and a little starvation could get a girl down to a size 14, maybe even into an 12 in no time!  I was young and it was easy! But, alas, I’d be back up in no time after the holidays…any holiday in fact. Heck, even Groundhogs Day was worth celebrating with a little cake and ice cream!   (Did I mention that cake and ice cream is my favorite food group?).

Then in 1987 my daughter was born and while I was more careful than I’d ever had been about what I ate, the nausea kept me knee deep in White Chocolate Mint Chip Ice Cream!   So nine months and 58lbs later my daughter was born. Needless to say that by the time we celebrated my daughters first birthday I was feeling horrible!

They say every cloud has a silver lining and I believe I found one that year.  I needed to do something about the way I felt and chose walking every day to help me.  I must say that in the beginning pushing a stroller around for a half hour or so winded me to a point that made me think I had asthma!  But I did it anyway, everyday, and soon it became a good habit which I felt like I needed and wanted to do.  It felt good afterwards, but it always felt best on days where I had to dig deep just to get out of the house.  And it wasn’t that I walked really fast or very far…ITS JUST THAT I DID IT… EVERYDAY.  That’s what was important.

So for all those years, 28 to be exact, walking was my primary form of exercise.  There was the occasional flirtation with riding my bike, and I dated yoga and pilates for a bit, but walking by myself or with the dogs was my everything!   When I reached age 48 my doctor told me that I was perimenopausal. She also said it would be best to lose a good 25 pounds before menopause took over since that was the average weight gain once it began!  UGH!  AND SHE WAS RIGHT!  Before my 56 birthday I found myself growing into a size that I just wasn’t comfortable with!

“Now what?” I thought.  The further I got into this stage of my life the more insatiable my appetite got!  My hips spread, my clothes were too tight so I had to buy the next size up. I started feeling lethargic, wanted to sleep in the middle of the day, and overall just felt blah!  I was hot when everyone else was comfortable and if I wasn’t acting bitchy then I’d be acting melancholy.  If it would have changed anything I would have slapped myself in the face and yelled “SNAP OUT OF IT!” All in all I would look at my body in the mirror and would think “oh well, it’s just the way it goes”.

Now low and behold one day a client of mine, a woman around my age and weight, sits down and tells me she started a running class at a nearby running store.  I almost fell down backward because this woman had had certain problems and complications due to an accident she was in years earlier. I didn’t say very much then, but I was sure she was setting herself up for disappointment and further injury.  I COULDN’T HAVE BEEN MORE WRONG!!!

I had known this woman for years and nothing was ever more effective on her weight loss and her overall well being and appearance than this class!  She’d never been athletic before yet here she was running…and entering races!!!  Over the course of a few weeks I saw her whittle away and become stronger and stronger!  It didn’t take very much longer for me to decide I needed something out of the ordinary to help me rev up my metabolism and at the very least maybe stop gaining weight so rapidly so I signed up for the very next Running 101 class!  It really was the best thing I could have ever done for myself.  Since day one I came to realize that I was once again face to face with that thing that I knew I had back when walking was my challenge, the thing I knew I had in me…perseverance, determination and the will to take back some of what hormonal changes and aging slowly wanted to take away.

So now I’d love to share with anyone either approaching menopause or smack dab in the middle of it my tried and tested practices that have helped me reach a better than ever place in my body, heart and soul.  I have clarity, strength, feel happier and have lost pounds and inches by just sticking to a slow but steady running schedule.  And it doesn’t matter if it’s 5 miles or 5 minutes of walk/running its just that’s you love yourself a little everyday by focusing on you!  You’ll be surprised about the strength that comes to every part of your entire being!

AND BOY DO I EAT!!  Plenty of good food, (but also cake!!)!

WILL RUN TO EAT…yup, thats my motto and I’d tattoo it on my behind if I wasnt so scared that it would hurt!