I’m the kind of personality that likes to (when I can) decide quickly and act even more quickly so that I can “arrive” at the destination and enjoy the end goal.  I’m the kind that hates the fact that a house always looks better the day you move out than it ever did when you were in it and I really work to achieve the goals and enjoy the results of having achieved them. I don’t necessarily enjoy achieving a goal, for the sake of achieving it. Instead, I like to take some time to enjoy the fruits of my labor.  In the past, this has led me to want to decide quickly and move swiftly so I can enjoy the results of my efforts rather that get stymied in the process.  

As I’ve matured or maybe just as my life has grown more complex, it seems more difficult to decide quickly and act swiftly.  Life is bigger and more involved now than it was when I was 25.  I have more people to consider than just myself when making decisions.  I also know that the smallest tweak in lifestyle can have ripple effects that impact many more than just myself. I can’t simply make a quick decision and act on it like I used to.  I’ve become more cautious in approaching change and more deliberate in working toward my goals.  Not that I like this, but I have become this way, because I simply am unable to do/be otherwise. I no longer have the time and energy and resources to fight all the fires on all the fronts at once.  I’ve had to pick and choose between fires and fronts and the ones that usually got placed on the bottom of the priority list were the ones that were mine alone.  Priorities, like making it to the gym got shoved to the bottom of the list when a child would tell me as I’m getting my workout gear together, “I have to be at rehearsal across town in 30 minutes.”   So much for a two hour workout for me.

It is kind of appalling to me that if I were in the same condition now, that I was when Number 4 was conceived, I’d be sharing jeans with my 18-year-old daughter.  I’m no longer content with the fact that I should be wearing her jeans, but can’t, and I’ve finally fought enough of the other fires in my life, that I’m ready to turn full dedication to this one for myself.  Everyone who’s ever been this route before knows the journey is the most difficult when you first begin.  Maintaining it once I’ve gotten over what I call the lifestyle change hurdle, is going to require dedication but it won’t be nearly as difficult as simply committing to making it happen. 

I know I’m making myself sound like a completely enormous walking human watermelon, which is not the case.  It is true that while I look great and people compliment me often, I don’t look my best.  I don’t feel my best and my body isn’t performing to it’s best ability.  I’m not in my best condition.  While others would never guess it to look at me, I have some pounds to lose and a lot more than most would guess, but I have even more muscle to firm and that’s my real goal.  I don’t just want to look great, I want to have my body be able to perform.  I really am a bit weary of feeling like I’m the next hip replacement accident ready to happen. 

But that all changed this week.  The day after my birthday which was last Saturday, I saw this great infomercial for a series of video workout tapes.  Okay, I never do this, but I have enough sports fitness training to know that what these people were claiming was reasonable and do-able if I were diligent.  I also know that getting to the gym where I have to leave the house and four kids alone for two hours is not a reality right now for me and it hasn’t been for over a year.  I also know that working out alone at home, while I have all the knowledge and equipment to do so, simply won’t happen because I need someone pushing me even if it is a stupid video saying, “C’mon. 8 more!”  It just happens that I’m in the worst state of fitness in my life and getting back to the level I was when Number 4 was conceived might not be as easy as it once was.  I know I need to do something a little more guided and structured but I can’t make a commitment to go to a class at a gym due to my current kid situation.   It didn’t hurt either, that these folks were claiming pretty dramatic changes in only six weeks and I have a big date in 5 weeks that I want to be really looking great for.  No, wait, better than great! Plus, I want to surprise everyone when I go back to work in the fall by being a shadow of my former self.  And again, I just want to feel more energetic. This program, if nothing else, would be the catalyst for change that I needed and if I called in the next 18 minutes, the cost was really reasonable….how could I pass up this amazing opportunity?!

I watched the infomercial only halfway through before I picked up the phone and placed the call.  Seriously?!  I so don’t do this stuff, but the commercial was excellent! Of course, they are designed to be! They showed enough of the workout program that I could tell that what they were promoting would actually work and that I could do it.  Of course, the caveat is that I have to do it and I have to change my eating habits!  I can and will do this!  I placed the order and waited. 

Here’s the fun part.  The order arrived earlier than the 5-7 business days the company promised and the materials, meal plans, and videos are exactly what they said they’d be.  I did the first video today and for a solid 20 minutes I felt a great burn in places I haven’t felt anything in for a long time. (Okay, keep it out of the gutter, we are talking fitness here and not necessarily that particular kind!)  

While I’m embarrassed to admit that 8 years ago that video would have been like nothing to me, it was a good workout for me to begin with today.  The videos are quality and deliver on everything they promised in the infomercial.  The added bonus is that they are adaptable to my fitness level and can be modified up or down in intensity as I need in order to address those natural plateaus that we experience along the fitness journey. In addition, I’m following their meal plan which is based around food that is real and not stuff that comes in a powder form or is processed.  I will probably cave and buy a couple of their meal-replacement shakes/supplements on payday, but none of that is required for success of the program.

I’m pretty stoked.  I’d show the before pictures (yes, I really did take three of them in a bikini) but only one person is going to see those and that’s only if I meet my goals in the allotted 6 weeks.  And I’m so determined to do it. 

 Just you wait and see if I don’t!