I thought about working out for a long time before I actually did it.  But just thinking about it wasn’t getting me anywhere.  After having two kids I knew I wanted to get back in shape.  The only problem was just–starting.

Now, I wasn’t exactly a stranger to fitness.  Before falling in love with and marrying my husband, I worked out all the time.  You know how it feels in a new relationship.  You just want to spend every minute with that person.  Yeah, that’s what I did and I let my workouts lapse.  Yes, I am totally blaming this on my husband! 😛  No, not really.

Anyway, fast forward a few years and we have 2 toddlers running around.  At this point I’m not happy about how I look or feel, but I’m also not doing anything about it.  Getting started is hard.

As I went about my days I would often think to myself, I need to start working out again.  But it was a fleeting idea because as quickly as the thought entered my mind, it would slip away just as fast.  I would become distracted by my everyday routine and get busy doing something else.

One of those things I used to do was play an online video game during lunchtime, while the kids napped.  It was a role-playing game where you level-up your character.  It’s the most addictive kind of game because you see actual progress on the computer screen, watching your character’s stats rise.

One day as I sat down to eat my grilled cheese sandwich and potato chips, with a side of Dr. Pepper–my favorite lunch–

–I booted up my game and began to play.  While I was toiling away at raising one stat in particular, it occurred to me, why am I leveling up a character that doesn’t even exist?

Why the hell am I not leveling up MYSELF??????  Why am I putting all this effort into something that isn’t real when I could be doing something for ME?

That was a turning point, to say the least.  While it seems silly to glean motivation from a video game, I did.

That is what I consider my ‘start’.  Everything began to fall into place from there, though it wasn’t without difficulty.  It’s not easy making big changes in your life.

Instead of my regularly scheduled game time, I started working out during the kids’ naps and ate lunch afterward.  Which leads to my diet changes . . .

I am frugal by nature.  I come by it honestly.  Thanks, Dad. 🙂 Anyway, for whatever reason I thought of looking at my calorie intake like I do my shopping adventures.  Though, they can hardly be called adventures.

I can pick out several things I want to buy and by the time I get to the checkout, I’ve talked myself out of most, if not all, of them.

I don’t know what it was, but I thought about putting this frugality to work for me when it came to dieting.  I mean, if I can talk myself out of pretty clothes, why couldn’t I talk myself out of eating a little food?

You know what?  It worked.  But it worked a little too well at first.  Unfortunately, I went a little overboard with the calorie restriction, but soon got myself straightened out, quickly realizing crash-dieting is counterproductive.

At this point in my life, I don’t have to restrict calories much anymore.  I can even indulge in a grilled cheese if I want.  If I need to take off a few pounds, I now know how to do it in a healthy and responsible way.

While this started out as a vain pursuit, it isn’t all about that now.  The best part of all this now is knowing that I’m doing everything in my power to stick around for my kiddos, for as long as I can.  They are my reason for being.  They have changed my life in so many amazing ways.

Over the years I have remained incredibly grateful that I found my way to the fit life I have now.  Without my “start,” my video game character might now be the most powerful person in all the land.  A land that is make-believe.

With my “start,” I am the most powerful woman in all the house. 😀  My house.  In my real life.