Day 1:

Happy, hot summer days are here! The heat has taking a plunge on everyone’s mind these days, but a few weeks ago I took a different kind of plunge.

I hit a milestone birthday a while back; you know, the one everyone says weight just won’t come off anymore? I had no trouble with that birthday or the few after that. But whether it’s medical, situational, or simply chronological, those days are done.

But enough was enough and I needed to do something about the creeping number on the scale. So, I hit up a friend of mine who is a Beachbody coach to help me out. Turns out, the very day she was starting another fitness accountability group was May 1. It was the best of times; it was the worst of times.

While there’s “no time like the present,” I had plenty of reasons not to start “this month.” It’s my birthday, it’s Mother’s Day, and it’s my wedding anniversary. All three events within the small three-week window of Allison’s challenge (Though our online accountability group is still in force, the initial challenge was Beachbody’s 21-Day Fix, thus, the three weeks.).

So why not now? If I can be remotely successful running this gauntlet guaranteed for me these three weeks, then I can do this afterward.

The way I felt going into May 1 was the first clue that now was the best time. Over the last few months, particularly since school started this year (and that’s a specific factor, not a coincidence), I’ve gained about 20 pounds. To even admit that…

For a gal who can’t fluctuate five pounds without feeling it in her clothes, 20 pounds has just about taken all clothing options away. Can I get an amen?

My mental and emotional states were at a low that I can only remember to be more than a decade ago. I didn’t even gain such weight with my father’s death. Also, the construction at our house has taken its toll, mentally and physically. My office has been literally upended for more than a year.

Dinners are getting later and later. And I suspect my cholesterol levels are rising.

I “ran” my last 5K at the end of last September. I’d say from October through April, it has been dark. I didn’t want to see anyone, and I didn’t want anyone to see me.

I knew only enough to get myself out. But honestly, I didn’t know how.

This was my start. If that isn’t a plunge, I don’t know what is. Except, well, maybe Cheetos stock has noticed its own plunge. 🙂

If I’m fat and miserable (one certainly can be fat and happy), but all dolled up, it’s a façade. And that’s not me. The one thing I don’t want to be is miserable. It’s contagious, among other things.

If I hate this program, I can be done before school’s out, I thought….

Next up: the weigh-in and measurements. Oh, boy!