HEALTH: How a fat girl survived the first weeks of her journey toward health

It's time for the first documented account of a Plimpton-esque attempt to try something and write about it. While I'm still hoping to take defensive driving lessons or spend a month "paying it forward", my first attempt at being the next George Plimpton/A.J. Jacobs is something that will be long-lasting. I'm making an attempt to improve my HEALTH.

Why my HEALTH? And why a fancy acronym? I've long been overweight and my size prevents me from doing some of the things I want to do; I want to go rock climbing and buy cute clothes. I also don't want to age into one of those miserable old people with more medications than friends. It is my hope that by taking small steps step toward a healthier me, they'll add up to big change and a more wholesome lifestyle. I'm not in this just to lose the weight and look better (though yay! for that), I want to be healthier inside and out.

The acronym -- HEALTH -- is a quick reminder to help me stay on track. By thinking about my HEALTH, I will pay close attention to the things that are important to me in this journey. I want to remain Healthy in my Eating, Actions, Language, Thoughts, and Heart. Does healthy eating mean that I'll give up pizza? Nope. But I hope to continue to eat thin whole wheat crust covered with veggies and lean meat instead of white doughy blobs of bacon and cheese. With healthy actions, will I start preaching about the virtues of exercise and vilify idleness? Nope, but I hope to walk more and sit less. Will I never refer to myself as a fat girl? Unlikely, but I hope to remind my thinking self that beauty combines the inside and the out, and I hope use my writing as both an outlet for my thoughts and perhaps an inspiration for anyone embarking on a similar journey. And as for my Heart? I hope to do the right thing for my ticker while simultaneously being courageous and compassionate.

The plan is to add thing to my list of healthy behaviors slowly, while simultaneously ridding myself of bad habits. Step one? Exercise more. I planned to get up early to fit walks into my day. As the weeks progress, I'll be putting more of the other elements of the HEALTH plan into action.

For now, a recap of the journey so far.

Day One
I woke up 45 minutes earlier than usual (it was all I could manage!). The night had been humid and I slept poorly. Still, I dragged myself out of bed and put on the workout clothes that I laid out the night before. (I know myself: pre-planning prevents me from grumbling to hell with it! and skipping out when I wake up in the morning). And since I know I'm easily dissuaded I gave myself a specific task for this first walk: deliver my rent check to my landlord's house.

It was a miserable walk. The humidity hadn't broken and less than halfway through the trip it began to rain. As my clothes clung to my body, I thought this is discouraging. I got home soaked through and grumpy. I felt a little better, however, when after using a Googled website, WalkJogRun, I discovered that my excursion was about 1.16 miles, round trip. Not bad for my first attempt, and certainly better than sitting on my butt.

Day Two
Woke up and only had to hit the snooze button once. Then, I got dressed and out the door in a matter of minutes. I didn't have a specific destination in mind (rats), but headed out and found myself at a deserted car dealership. I walked around the parking lots looking at Jaguars and Range Rovers (a weird combo for a dealership!) since the lanes were wide and safe and no one was around so early in the morning. After mapping out the route with my new-found online tool, I learned that I completed just over a mile of walking around town, plus whatever ground I covered walking around the dealership lanes.

Day Three
Twice a week I have an early morning appointment, so I've decided to skip out on my morning walks. Since it was only my third day, I thought I'd try to do something, even if I didn't have the time to walk. I feebly lifted a few weights and did some basic stretches before succumbing to the comfort of my bed again. What was supposed to be a quick closing of the eyes ended up being a half hour nap. Conclusion? On the days of my early appointments I'm going to skip morning exercise all together, and try to "catch up" on some sleep. I'll squeeze some exercise in elsewhere in my day.

Week One Conclusion
I finished the rest of the week on a high note. My three-days a week plan worked out well, with lots of walking on the weekends as well. I live in a pedestrian-friendly town, so when I need to run errands or want to go grab a bite to eat on the weekend, I usually walk to get there. The only downside of the week? I was exhausted by the end. At first, I thought it was just from the early mornings, but in Week Two, I found out otherwise...

Week Two
Long story short, I was feeling tired after Week One and my allergies (or so I thought) were really bothering me. After a miserable Monday morning where I felt too sick to get up, I dragged myself to the doctor where I was diagnosed with a sinus infection and bronchitis. Since I also have bad allergies and asthma, I was advised to lay low for a week and limit all physical excursion. It was hard for me even to walk up a flight of stairs without having a coughing fit, so no walking for me!

I was initially discouraged at having my HEALTH plans foiled so early on in my attempt, but after thinking about it it seemed like a good metaphor. A journey toward health is full of ups and downs; some of those ups and downs we can control and others we can't. I've also been known to have an appreciation for a strict interpretation of the "rules", but after thinking about being sick, I decided that I'll have to learn when to push myself and when to rest. I don't want to get out of bed early every morning on the weeks that I'm not feeling well. It's going to be a hard lesson, since I want to get healthier and don't want to slack, but I don't want to jinx myself by working too hard either. I'll just have to make sure that I get out of bed when it's only my mind that's tired, and to rest when my body is telling me it isn't well.

Week Three
Present day. I'm mid-way through my third week of the HEALTH plan. I'm still taking it easy, as I just finished my meds and I'm still coughing. I am, however, gearing up for a productive Week Four. Though my initial set back was frustrating, I think I've learned to listen to my body. Even as recently as this past winter, I put off going to the doctor for weeks, thinking that I could ride out a cold. When I finally went, I had to take a super dose of antibiotics to fight the sickness; no one is invincible. When I'm sick I'll see a doctor. When I'm not, I'll stick to the plan of dragging my butt out of bed to exercise. In between I'll plot out my plans for the other parts of my HEALTH plan, like what to eat and which habits to pick up and which to lose. Stay tuned! I think month two will be great.