WORK IT

One of my favorite things to do is exercise.  Seriously.  Now if you don't know me, you're thinking, gosh, if you love exercise so much why are you so overweight? Is your exercise walking to the vending machine? ha ha.

Um, no.  I teach Foundations Combo once a week and Aqua Zumba / Hydro Training 1-2 times a week.  I do a strength training session with my trainer Troy once a week and a Total Conditioning class once per week.  I do Zumba 3 times per week.  I try to get to a spin class every other week.  I chase my dog and my children and push them in strollers all over the place. I walk on my freakin' treadmill desk every damn day.

SO WHY AM I overweight?

WELL, I'll tell you.

You cannot out-exercise a crappy diet.  You can try but it does NOT work.  I have tried for almost 20 years and it just doesn't work.  It isn't even as simple as calories in, calories out.  500 calories of potato chips are NOT the same as 500 calories of salmon, asparagus, & couscous (which I had for dinner last night BTW. yum.)  By controlling and intentionally choosing to eat healthy, I am fixing this.  I am FIXING THIS! Thanks to Seattle Sutton Healthy Eating, I am fixing this.

So many people have been instrumental in my fitness life.  My bunny and fellow group fitness instructor Dana Bartocci and I share a love of all things jumping.  A fitness mentor of mine (that I got to hug today, yay!) Katie Haggerty has been inspirational to me with her REAL [read: strong, kick-ass but also not 100 lb] body and confidence that lights up a room.  Zumba has brought joy to fitness for me like never before and I simply can't get enough of dancing with Leslie Fhima at SLP.

But most of all, there has been one who stands above and whose voice is heard in my head on a daily basis: sometimes barking, sometimes whispering. His confidence in me gave me confidence in myself to do my first triathlon, then a 2nd and a 3rd, then a half marathon.  His command to think about all aspects of life being healthy - relationships, work, spirituality, sleep, water, food, exercise - has resonated with me more than ever in these weeks of SSHE.

Thank you Troy Eichers for 11 years and counting of believing in me and pushing me to believe in myself.

Thank you to the team of amazing people that have gathered around Troy.  These teammates are true friends are near and dear to me and have helped me more than they'll ever know.