Fitness Saved My Life!

It was a beautiful day in Southern California and I was ready for my annual physical. As I stepped on to the scale and the nurse weighed me, she said the words that I will never forget. 391 pounds. I remember thinking “That’s 9 lbs away from 400 lbs”, at least I thought I was thinking it. Nope, I actually said the words out loud. The nurse looked at me and gave me a gentle smile as she exited the room.

I figured that was the worst of it, boy was I wrong. As I sat on the edge of the bed, the doctors uttered more disappointing words. “I have your results back and I have some news for you. You are a diabetic, your cholesterol is very high and I’m concern about your heart. We’ll need to get you started on medication right away and will do a monthly check up for your heart.”

As I left the doctor’s office I was utterly defeated. I was already dealing with depression and now all of these health issues just magnified everything. I was lost, scared and had no clue what the future held for me.

It took me almost two months to wrap my head around all of the news and honestly, I just wanted to crawl into a hole and never come out. Then on May 27, 2019, I woke up and some thing just clicked mentally. I no longer wanted to struggle with my weight, or take medication for illnesses that I knew that I had control over. But where do I start? How do I start?

I just started. That weekend, I purchased healthier foods, salad stuff, fresh fruits and veggies, turkey bacon, etc… and on Monday morning, I stepped foot into the gym determined.

As I stepped on the treadmill, and started walking, I didn’t last 5 minutes. I was so embarassed. Tears streaming down my face, I just didn’t want to give up, so I told myself, okay, you did 4 minutes, lets go for 5 minutes this time. And that what I did, I just kept challenging myself to walk a little longer and everyday, I showed up and did the same thing.

So, how exactly did fitness save my life. Well, let’s start with the depression. After my divorce, I was in a deep depression. I felt like I lost my best friend, love of my life and I felt that I could never be loved again. Once I started working out, I felt like each workout allowed a part of my to be released, to be freed and slowly but surely, I found myself becoming me again. I could smile and it was truly a smile, I could laugh again, I could see the beauty around me. I didn’t realize the effects that fitness has on mental health when I first started, but I could see and feel the changes daily, with every workout.

Now, I was still diabetic with high cholesterol and heart issues. These were serious enough that I could have lost my life, but I refused! I knew that these dieases could be changed if I put in the effort. As I started working out and dropping some weight, every follow up visit for my heart, I was given less dosages of my medication. Within a year, I was completely taken off my medication but still had to test my blood sugar daily and still had to attend the monthly heart check ups.

Then COVID hit…man I was so bummed. How do I continue this journey without a gym? I knew the gym now and I felt comfortable trying working with machines, weights and the treadmill. For about two weeks, I was literally following back into old habits. I just couldn’t go back, so I started following fitness influencers on Instagram and trying out some of the exercises that I figured I could do at home. Slowly, I started to gain confidence in doing home workouts. funny, how quickly life can change and we have to learn to adapt.

So, today as I look back over the last 2 1/2 years, I’m so grateful for this second opportunity at life. It hasn’t been easy but its been worth every sweat droplet and every tear because I can say that I made it a little longer and I’ve changed my health for the better. I know that tomorrow is not promised but if I can help prolong my life a little longer, then I will always live this healthier lifestyle.

Fitness truly saved me. It allowed me to see that life was worth living and I just had to take care of my body and my body would pay me back in full. Today, we are no longer taking any medication, I haven’t dealt with depression in a very long time, and I just feel good, mentally, physically and emotionally. Words cannot express my gratitude for this journey because I truly don’t know where I would be today, if I had not stepped on that treadmill 2+ years ago. Truly grateful!