…It was November 2011 … I knew I had gained weight but I didn’t realize how much until I went to GAP to get a pair of free jeans for checking into the store on Facebook. I went to grab the last size I had purchased and added to my pile a size bigger and the next size bigger than that. Two whole sizes larger and they barely fit. I thought I was going to cry in the stall, but the jeans were free. Who cries when they’re getting jeans for free?
I should have started going to the gym that night, but I didn’t. Instead I bought into the beginning craze of leggings that looked like denim. They were comfy and looked cute with long tunic sweaters and short winter boots. December came and rolled into January before I scolded myself for becoming more obese. I didn’t think that was possible but it was. In February my friend told me she had started doing Weight Watchers online and she was having success. I went to the gym and weighed myself at over 200 pounds. I didn’t cry. I now had my motivation to get my butt to the gym.
Later that same week I signed up for Weight Watchers online and became excited at the results. It was an easy system to follow. I loved the achievement acknowledgements! I felt in control and I lost twenty pounds. Yes, I was making strides towards a healthier me and I was …happy.
In August of 2011 I decided to take on the challenge of training for a 5k and the first few weeks went so well. In the third week something was not right though. I was on the treadmill at the gym and I was almost finished with my running training session when my leg went numb. I kept running since there wasn’t much left to the session, which sounded like a great idea in the moment. No pain no gain and all that. I took a break from running after that. I thought I had injured something, and would need to let my body properly heal. I tried again the next month and my leg went numb right away.
In May of 2012, I decided enough time had passed to give running another go. Again I found my leg becoming numb the minute I would pick up my pace. Things went downhill from there. The following weekend I went to a wedding and danced a good portion of the night. The next morning I could barely move. I was in such pain. I felt it in my bones. A week went by and I wasn’t feeling better. I would be at work, sitting at my desk for an hour or so, and when I would get up it was a task. I felt like an old little lady. The pain of moving was becoming worse. I knew that it was something I should not be experiencing at age 31 but I was afraid to get myself checked out. How much would that even cost?
Daniel finally convinced me to see his chiropractor. He had been having back issues for months and was having much success. I knew, as my birthday approached that I did not want to spend the next year of my life waiting for something worse to happen before I would be proactive in turning my health around. What I learned after my first visit was alarming!
Are you proactive in keeping healthy? Or does something have to happen to motivate you to get checked out?
Until then,
