I didn’t have trouble with my weight as a child so I never grasped the concept of being careful about what I ate; I just ate whatever I wanted. Of course, this lifestyle choice wouldn’t last my whole life. I realized in my early twenties that I better keep an eye on my weight so it didn’t accidentally get out of control. I was well aware that obesity was a huge problem not only in the blind community but in America overall. That put two huge strikes against me being able to turn my health around in my path right from the get go.
Then I got married, had two children, was involved in four car accidents and suffered a myriad of other injuries to my person over the years. Thus, I began the slide towards certain death. Then one day I went to the doctor and, drum roll please…
I weighed in at nearly 300 pounds.
This is what woke me up. It was the month before I left my husband. That was what finally woke me up to the realization that I was killing myself with my lifestyle. Worst of all; I was party to the utter sin of dragging my children into this horrible lifestyle as well.
I had grown up in a similar household but even way back then I saw the problems with the lifestyle we were being taught to live. I always dreamed of and planned to get a grip on my health if I ever had the chance; so, I finally did.
I first developed an exercise routine that I committed to every morning. I also changed my eating habits where I could but I didn’t do anything too drastic in the way of my diet at first; I just stopped all caffeine and soda pop products. I have done so much more than just that to rebuild my body but those were the first two things I started with.
I had a couple of things going for me when I started this venture that most blind people don’t have, but can get if they really desire to. First, I had a tread mill put in my bed room and made it accessible to myself. Second, I had the knowledge to repair my body. Because of my unique medical history and all the ridiculous stuff I’ve experienced, I have a plethora of knowledge relating to my body and how it works.
Once I made a commitment to turn my health around; that’s all it took. I knew exactly what to do. Over the course of this journey I’ve managed to lose over 100 pounds in about two years. I did this all on my own using just the tools I had at my disposal.
I am going to describe this journey to you, my readers, in upcoming blogs. It has been a long process and I have done many different things along the way. All of this will surely come out in time, so please stay tuned and check back in on my Health & Wellness series.