Saturday, March 10, 2012

The Problem

I was born in Waukegan, Illinois on April 4, 1994 at 5:02 PM. I came into a beautiful, loving family of three: my father, Patrick, my mother, Patricia, and my sister, Jessica. I've lived in the same area all my life, and I've come to know many people. I've never had to worry about moving and having to make new friends. I've never had to worry about extreme financial hardships. I've never had to worry about not being loved by my parents. I was given a fortunate existence and have never forgotten it. Often times, I find myself pondering the possibilities of how I could pay back my parents for all the happiness they've given me. I get along with them better than most kids get along with their parents and for that, I'm extremely thankful. As the years went on, we shared many enjoyable experiences like vacations, holidays, and other times spent together. I started to notice something though. My parents were gaining weight more than my friends' parents were. I thought gaining weight as a person aged was completely normal, and didn't think much of it at first. But then I started to see how it got in the way of their happiness and self-confidence. It scared me because I didn't want them feeling that way, and also, I didn't want to have to go through that. But somewhere in between the middle school and high school years, I started to notice a change in myself. I was never huge as a kid, but also was never skinny. I was comfortable, however and that soon started to change. I was losing self-confidence at a high rate and I started to withdraw from social activities. My parents and I were both victims of this and we put it for far too long. We became sick of how we looked and the way we felt about ourselves. We decided to make a change for the better. My mom started watching her diet in the summer of 2011, and without any immediate exercise, she started to lose weight quickly. It inspired me to do it for myself and, since I worked a summer job for the local park district, I had free access to the fitness center. This was the perfect reason for me to get into shape! It was too late for excuses and I soon found myself in there nearly every day. The months went on, and the pounds fell off. Muscle replaced flab and confidence replaced shyness. My dad saw our success and knew it was time for him to join the movement too. They purchased memberships to the fitness center and soon enough found that they enjoyed working out together. Today, March 10, 2012, I have lost 30+ pounds and replaced some of that space with muscle. My mother has lost over 50 pounds. My father doesn't believe in weighing himself and I have no idea how much he has lost, but believe me when I tell you he looks good! 30 pounds sounds like alot, but it is not enough for me. I still have a long way to go and have focused on getting out of the crowded fitness center and on to the streets. I have taken up a new practice: running. I was never good at running. Often times I saw my friends who were on the cross country or track team running miles on end each day for practice and this never ceased to amaze me. I decided that I could do it too, and one day, set out for a run just to see how far I could get. I only got about three quarters of a mile before I had to slow down for a breath. That was only 8 days ago. Since then, I have already doubled the distance I can run without stopping and have found a new joy in running. I know, though, that I still have a long path ahead of me, but I am willing to work for the rewards. I have had a history of getting bored with things, and quit them shortly after I start. Running will not be added to the long list of failed attempts in my life. I have created this blog not only for readers, but as an incentive for me to do my daily runs. I would like to invite anybody who is struggling with weight (girl or boy, young or old) to join me on this crusade to end our pain of being overweight. If we join others, we can help motivate each other to keep going through the hard times! So please, join us on this quest to end obesity. 

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