Eat Healthy, Exercise and be Fit

Today I was at the mall, and had some time to kill. As I slowly strolled my way through the kiosks, something caught my eye...one of those back things you put in the microwave or fridge for pain relief. My husband has been walking around with severe back pain for the past week, and I had planned on buying a heating pad today, but I thought this would be better. 

As I was talking to the clerk, he tried to sell me something that was much more expensive. He then started asking me about if I exercise, etc. Well, at the moment, no I do not, since we are in the middle of a move (I know I sound like a broken record); but since I've been back and forth here and there, I can't see me paying for a membership to a gym. 

I went on to tell him that I recently spent a lot of time at the gym, and mentioned that I swam a mile everyday. He thought I was kidding. I turned to my daughter in law who was with me, and said to her, "He thinks I'm joking." She just laughed and told him that yes, indeed I did swim a mile everyday and also did Yoga three times a week and Pilates twice a week. I'm still not sure he believed me.

I miss going to the pool

So, why did he not believe me? Well, because I am FAT. Yes, I am fat. I am not HUGE, but I do have those pesky extra pounds on me that will not go away no matter what I do. One other thing, I did have a big coat and sweatshirt on, so I'm sure I looked a lot heavier than I am. 

anywhooooo....

This got me to thinking...thinking about is it healthy to be heavy? NO. But is it healthy to be thin? 

me at age 19, the summer before I left for Idaho.

So, a little background on me. I grew up being pretty small. When I was about 19, I packed on some weight. I had left my warm home state of Sunny Florida in January and moved to Idaho where I saw snow for the first time, and yes NEGATIVE 48 degrees. brrrrr! 

January in Idaho...brrrrr

 Within six weeks, I was 20 lbs heavier, despite the fact that I ate the same, and I was walking EVERYWHERE. I had no car, so I did a TON of walking.  I think my body went into shock. I kept that weight on for less than a year, and then I lost it and was down around 100 lbs. (I am 5'4, so I was pretty small). I stayed that way until I had my first child at the age of 28. Seventeen months and three days later, I had our second child, and then within the next four years I had two more children...and boy did the weight come back. 

                           That's me on the far right, 6 months pregnant with our fourth child.

I was able to get rid of it a little over a year after the fourth child, but it was so hard to keep it off. My weight has been up and down ever since. Now, I'm going through menopause, and THAT....is a whole other story. 

Our four beautiful children

They are all grown now

So, what, as women, are we to do?

We all know that those extra pounds can be the cause of many health issues, including diabetes, heart disease, inflammation, etc. Did you know that being too thin can also have it's health issues? Infertility, osteoporosis, and even diabetes are some of the problems underweight people can face. Did you know that thin people have a tendency to carry their extra fat around vital organs such as their heart? That doesn't sound like it would be very good for you.

I love a good healthy smoothie

The bottom line is. Eat a healthy, well balanced diet, and get exercising. Now you don't have to swim a mile a day and then go to a Yoga or Pilates class. A 30 minute brisk walk five days a week is sufficient. As long as you do these two things, eat right and exercise, most of us will be at a healthy weight. We may not have the body we had in high school, but we can still be healthy.