An overview of the journey

Shortly after I finished coaching a championship season of girls soccer. I got on the scale and had gained over ten pounds during the season. Anyone who has coached knows that it is pretty demanding of your time.  Usually what you give up is your own exercise schedule and preparing and eating quality food. The only difference after this season was that the weight didn't come off like it had in the past. I returned to my cardiovascular regiment and my reasonably healthy diet but it just wasn't getting the job done anymore. In Fact, more weight was going on and I was tired, stressed out and unhealthy.

I started what ended up being a cycle of revolving door health care providers which lasted almost fifteen years.  I would work with an individual for months or even several years and would get some results but when the results stopped coming and I questioned where we were in the process, I usually got comments like; it is normal for everyone to gain weight as they get older or you have made good progress, you need to look at where you have come from or even a shrug meaning, I don't have a clue what to do next.

While this was one of the loneliest processes I hope to ever go through in my life and I shed unimaginable tears over it,  I think that each one of these health care providers moved me forward, educated me and prepared me for my next step. What I have learned from this process is that the human body is very complicated and it is difficult to wade through all the possibilities to find what isn't working and then fix it.  At best it is a nonlinear process.

Probably the real game changer and linchpin to my progress occurred about four years ago when my latest health care provider recommended that I start working with a trainer.  I reluctantly started resistance training.  I hated it and could think of a hundred other ways to get exercise that I would enjoy more. However, after four years, I can admit that I enjoy weight training as a form of exercise. It is a far cry from my days of manically running, swimming and biking for miles but I know that the research shows that it is the best way to maintain my health.

I have lost over forty pounds and I believe that I'm the healthiest I've ever been in my life. The key was never settling for answers that didn't feel right to me. I have learned not to rely on one individual for all my health care or fitness questions.  I have educated myself and I continue to learn how to refine my diet and to listen to my body. It is my unique, nomadic journey and I accept that there is no destination.