Healthy Family

When I started my personal fitness quest this past February, it was met with a tad bit of resistance. My husband confessed he didn't want to eat a bunch of diet food.

I was okay with that.

I see a lot of people in the weight loss community upset with spouses and children because they bring tempting foods into the home, and they consider it unsupportive. I get that, but that was never my mindset.

I'm a stubborn girl. I remembered when my husband wanted to do Atkins, and my thought was: There is no way in hell I'm going to eat like that. And I didn't. And it didn't bother him.

So as I started, I searched my recipe bank and scoured the internet for recipes we would all enjoy. It was rather limited, making sure we'd all eat something. We also had "free" nights where everyone would cook for themselves.

I never, ever looked at this as a lack of support. My family was very supportive and encouraging. They were proud of me. They would eat their indulgent food out of my eyesight. Again, I was fine with that.

I had the attitude that I'm doing this for me, and by choosing healthful meals we could all enjoy, everyone's health would improve.

I also knew what I was doing would be contagious. And I was right.

Somewhere along the line, everyone started watching calories and food groups. Everyone became aware. Unhealthy dishes were reduced greatly. There have still been indulgences, but they're farther and fewer between. And I'm okay with that.

Then I found The Firm and fell in love. I started workout out faithfully. My husband helped me pick out weights. He'd help me with form if I had a question. I mentioned I wanted a rebounder. And together, we researched rebounders and bought one.



When the rebounder arrived, everyone used it. It is still used on a daily basis. My husband gets all his cardio on the rebounder. He uses weights on it now while he's running on it. My son uses it for breaks during the day, and for his main cardio. I use it on occasion. It's funny, they use it more than I do, and we got it because I wanted it. I love it, and will bounce on it frequently through the day, but not as much as the boys. I prefer my exercise tapes.

There's some good cardio being done in this home.

Then my husband's 50th birthday approached. Even though we had a BowFlex (which I still hate), my husband wanted some free weights. Not just any free weights, but these Ironmaster things. Plus he wanted a quality bench. High-quality adjustable dumbbells, with a stand, and weight bench were ordered. You only turn 50 once.

Hubby has been working out every single day.

My son asked about weights, and would occasionally do his reading assignments in the living room while I was working out. I showed him some basic exercises. He now does light weight work.

We all work out now. We all work out with consistency, striving to improve our health. We are a fitness family.

Conversations in our home now are health related. We discuss weights, moves, books, equipment, websites--anything fitness related. It's amazing. It's fun. We discuss diet, quality foods, protein choices, how to improve. It's wonderful.

We have changed so much.

My husband and I have exercise-oriented Christmas lists. He wants a set of Rogue Rings. Santa whispered to me that his wish will come true. I want some Jari Love videos, so I can swap up my exercise routine so I don't plateau with exercise. It's good to change things up, but I still absolutely love my Firms. I also want a High Step. My son? He's 14, he still wants video games.

We have changed for the better. I'm taking full credit for it, too. I made the choice to get healthier. I made the choice to change my food, and eventually, to add exercise. I made the choice to not inflict it upon my family, because I knew they would revolt. It's one thing for me to make the decision to do things with my life, but I cannot make that decision for another adult. He had to be ready to improve on his own. And with my son, I made the choices to include recipes everyone would eat, so his food became healthier by default.

What happened was that as I was succeeding, it was inspiring to them. As I started working out, they both got the desire. I set the tone. I showed that getting healthier wasn't about deprivation, it was about freedom, it was fun, it was challenging, and was doable.

My attitude enabled them in a good way. Had I been complaining about them being unsupportive, unfair, not caring because they chose to have Lay's potato chips, ice cream, and other such indulgences in the home, it would have ticked them off. They would have been in a constant state of anger or frustration geared at me. Instead I chose to ignore it, to provide healthier meals, and be gentle with my approach. And it worked.

I can only control myself, what I put into my mouth, and if I exercise or not. To a certain degree I can control what my child does. Did it bother me having all those foods in the house? No. Well, only that they were making unhealthy choices. I was determined. Everywhere I turn, there are things I want: fast food restaurants, things in the grocery stores. I wanted health more than I wanted garbage food.

So I am thankful for many things. I am one to beat myself up a lot, but I will openly say here that I am thankful for my attitude. My gentle approach helped turn our family into a fitness family, a healthier choice family. I led be example. They didn't change overnight, but they did change. I will take credit for showing the way. They deserve credit for making good choices. They saw my success and applied it to themselves. It is a winning situation.

I am very proud of my husband and all his hard work. He doesn't have much to lose. He's always been fit. He's thinking about his food choices now, making changes for the better, and he works out. He has a series of mini-goals. He's on a mission. It just fills my heart with joy.

My son has a much better grasp on health, food, and working out. He's been doing his Wii Fit on a very frequent basis, using weights, and getting lots of cardio in. He's reading nutrition labels. He's learning to fuel is body properly.

Even though I still have a lot of weight left to lose, I can say with certainty: We are now a health-oriented family. For good. For ever and ever.

It's a wonderful thing.