Most people don’t understand why I workout so much and restrict my diet. I’ve been told it’s not that important, it runs your life, it’s too much of a priority over other things and so on. While I take great pride in my commitment to health, I do find myself questioning if they’re right. Am I sacrificing too much? Should I let go a little and have more fun?
The lifestyle I have now was many years in the making. I grew up in a rural area in Iowa. Most of my friends raised pigs, cows and chickens and farmed corn. A true meat and potatoes community. Big meals were the norm and while I was active in sports, I can honestly say I never exercised as a conscious effort to be healthy. People in my rural community worked hard. Everyday life was physically demanding. Except mine. I lived in town, not on a farm. My father was a business owner, and my mother a nurse. I never had to feed the animals at 5am or load seeds in the planter, or walk the beans. Nope, I was a “city” girl in my town of 800 people. I mowed the lawn sometimes though.
My mom was a farm girl. Raised up to tend to the animals and help keep the farm productive. To this day, there is no one I’ve encountered that can physically accomplish what she’s been able to do her entire life. She can, and has the drive, to do more in one day than I do in a week. It’s quite remarkable. My mother exercises every day. Sometimes it’s on the treadmill, other times it’s digging hole after hole to transplant hostas, or shoveling snow that has built up on the deck. I remember watching my mother do Jane Fonda videos in addition to all of her activities and thinking what a weird thing to do. Now that I’m an adult, I realize it was watching her do those videos that planted the seed.
While I may never have the drive and physical capabilities my mother has, I find that I’m more like her than I ever thought. I like to move. I need it. Moving and exercising in my book isn’t an option. It’s something that has to be done. My goals aren’t to make sure the farm stays running, but there’s still validity to why I do it. I do it because of fear mostly. Fear of getting sick with something that I could have prevented with a healthy lifestyle. I realize that sounds pretty heavy, but there is no way I’m going out without knowing I did the best I could do to stay with my kids as long as possible. Stuff happens, I can accept that, but I’d rather be in the driver’s seat as much as possible. There’s that type A coming though in full force.
Somehow I’ve found a way to have what I consider a healthy lifestyle and also enjoy my charmed life to the fullest. I truly enjoy a challenging workout. I actually truly like kale. For real. And, if you really know me, baked goods and margarita’s are my real weaknesses. I will mow them down when any are near. See, I can let my hair down a little. Moderation my friends.
So, it was my mother that set the foundation for my healthy lifestyle choices. I do feel I need to give myself some more wiggle room sometimes to enjoy an ice cream cone with my sons, skip a workout because I just don’t friggin feel like doing it, and sleep in. That said, like my mom, I’ll keep moving and eating well so I can make the most of this life and always be able to do what I want or need to do.
Happy Mother’s Day friends!
–Submitted by Lindsay Forsberg, Trainer and Instructor at FITT-RX