Nineteen-eighty something:  I’m in my teens with bright hot pink lipstick, big hair and Sassoon jeans that I had to lay down to zip.  Luke and Laura dominated afternoon tv and no one I knew owned a computer or a cd player.  I used my jam box and an audio cassette tape to work out with Jane Fonda on my bedroom floor.  With very limited calories (1000 was the accepted norm at that time), a lot of arm circles, donkey kicks and leg lifts my fitness journey began.  However, it was short lived and long gone by the time the Nineties and my early twenties came rolling in after the birth of my first child and a load of bad eating habits.  It was time to get back on track.

Nineties:  So what did one do in the nineties to lose weight and get in shape?  …rowing machines,  stationary bicycles, ankle weights, 2-lb “toning” weights, cabbage soup diet, grapefruit diet, counting your fat grams diet (no more than 10 a day-could you image?) and, last but not least, the Step Reebok Gin Miller video craz… I did it all, lost weight and felt great … for a while.  But who can keep up with that kind of lifestyle – grapefruit every day at every meal?  PLEASE tell me “NO” that will never happen again!   The weight crept back on, plus some.

2000’s:  … a new decade, a new millennium and a new outlook on me.  Sense took over or maybe it was maturity that came with the entrance of my thirties, but either way I started eating sensibly, one healthy change at a time.  It was a process, as well as an education of my body – what worked and what didn’t.  It was also a walk of faith as I asked God to join me on my fitness journey.   I prayed (yes, God cared that I was unhealthy, unhappy and defeated!), watched my calories, kept them healthy and closer to 1500, and started an exercise program.   I kept my VHS Step Reebok tapes left over from the 90s and worked out at home until the weight came off to a degree that I was comfortable venturing into unknown territory:  a gym.  I finally did make it to a gym and at some point I got hooked on group fitness classes (admittedly…mostly step aerobics).  Class members were so encouraging and soon became friends.  The music was great, the energy high and the workouts varied.  It was so much better than the same old tape over and over again.  Why had I waited so long to try it?!

With the prodding of a very supportive weightlifting husband, I eventually learned that the weight room was not just for those gym members with high testosterone levels that grunt when they lift.  At some point, I dropped the small hand weights and started to challenge myself.  Then one day out of the blue it happened, I (the one who was afraid to walk into the gym) became a strength trainer.  I found muscle tone, burned more calories at rest and began transforming my body with heavier weights.  I didn’t “bulk up” or start looking manly at all as I had always feared I would if I picked up a heavy weight.   Body parts stopped jiggling and started learning to resist the evil gravitational pull of father time.  To my surprise, I liked feeling strong and being aware of my muscles.  It fed my need for motivation and kept me on track.

Now:  I’m in my mid-forties (44 today, ugg!) and in better shape now than ever before.  I am now a personal trainer and group fitness instructor (would you believe I teach step aerobics?).  I now enjoy helping others achieve their fitness goals while I still work on mine (that ultimate goal has eluded me so long).  I’m far from perfect.  I still struggle with portion control and love me some chocolate.  I still have to watch what I eat so as not to gain weight.  But all in all, I’m strong, I’m healthy, I’m fit and still on a fitness journey – still learning about me.  I dedicate all my progress (past and future) to My Lord who has been with me every step of the way and look to Him for the strength to continue.  I consistently claim Philippians 4:13 “I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me” and know deep in my heart that “all things” include “hard things”.

The Best is Yet to Come:  It’s been a good ride through the decades and while growing old is yucky (I so wish I didn’t need bifocals), forty-something promises great things!  I see goals on the horizon, closer than ever before that I’m yearning to meet.  I’m still pressing toward the prize and looking expectantly for victory.   Age is just a number… the best me is truly yet to come!