Being that 1%

As much as it pains me to say it, being healthy is not popular. 

Quick fixes and that "fad" diet, yeah that's pretty popular and trending but the good 'ol fashioned exercise and healthy eating is NOT.  

To do it the right way and to feel good, we must do what others won't and unfortunately that can be intimidating to us all.  It definitely was for me for a very long time.  

That 1% was lonely at times.  It was tough to break away and do the RIGHT thing for my body and its needs.  I had many times where I felt isolated but this was all in my mind- I did it to myself because I wanted pity for "having to be healthy"...so I'd set myself up for a disaster as soon as my motivation would leave my "in the moment" superficial goals and it was almost always for the wrong reasons-all about my image.  I was tired of being "fat" so I wanted to starve myself for "skinny" but that thankfully only lasted a day or two and then it was back to my overeating ways...so I felt isolated because I struggled alone with my weight and unhealthy habits over and over again!  These days I LOVE standing out for making healthy choices and for choosing to put exercise as a priority in my life and the lives of my family members!  Nothing feels better than that.  It feels GOOD.  

Being in the 1% has its moments of doubt and frustrations but it also has the moments that I had NEVER felt until I became part of this crowd!  Sadly for over 20 years I never felt good.  Of course I had great moments in life, wonderful memories with fabulous family and friends but I still felt trapped in a mindset that I created.  I believed "fat people eat, skinny people starve"...simple as that.  It was all I knew and from the yo-yo diets I had experienced it was the way that it was.  If I wanted to be "skinny" (while it should have been about being HEALTHY), I had to starve and if I preferred to stay "fat", I'd just do what I do best...EAT. So while I ate, I carried this chip on my shoulder that others lived a life I would never experience because I was fat- ya know, as if it were an illness.  I'd accept it because it was what 99% of the crowd was doing...I was fitting in.  Never mind the fact that my cholesterol was high, I had gallstones from unhealthy habits, I had high blood pressure and was gestational diabetic with BOTH pregnancies...but unhealthy habits was the "norm" so I'd suffer through eating Mexican food until my eyes almost popped out of my head, suffer through those late night runs for an ice cream or 99 cent tacos! Yea I did what  I had to do...haha, to fit in! And while I'm kidding about taking one for the team, it is tough to break away from the fattening foods thrown in our face on commercials, billboards, parties, family gatherings, restaurants, Holidays, and so on.  In the beginning and still today I catch grief but I take it as a form of flattery :)  "Oh Marissa won't eat that." or "Don't eat that in front of Marissa." as if I'd judge and I would NEVER.  My issues are my own.  Nobody else's.  I had a different relationship with food than most so as the norm can eat out and indulge without taking it to extremes, I could not and that is my own.  That is nobody's issue but my own and it is MY responsibility to improve my life in the way I know how and should.  That is my DUTY to myself and how I want to live. 

Breaking away into that 1% wasn't easy...it's STILL not easy but it's worth it.   

Seems like my boys have an easier time loving that 1%.  

They ENJOY exercise and don't seem to have the same "relationships" with food so hopefully I'm doing something right!  They enjoy being active, eating right and they FEEL GOOD!  They NEVER run of of energy so it would be nice if they'd share some of that with their Momma! 

After creating our group over 2 years ago, I now see that it is their 1%.  They will not and should not go at it alone so here they are the 99.9%!!  All the same focus and dedication.  Here they are not alone or teased for making healthy choices or putting their health as a priority.  We come together rather than rip one another apart and that is PRICELESS.  

They can feel safe here and when they want to give up, I remind them that being the 1% in every day life is hard but for this ONE HOUR, we have enormous support and encouragement.  That is something not easily found in this world pressured by "quick fixes", "fad diets", and the "lose 40+ pounds in 10 days without eating right OR exercising!!!!"....uhhhhh 

They receive no false hope from me or those around them.  They don't get pity for not showing up because they have a headache...rather they receive a, "come on, we've got this-get dressed and see you in a few!" and that is POWERFUL!!!  It is a HUGE part of their success and I'm only a small portion of this equation and without EVERY piece, we'd fall apart.  

Find your 1% as you travel on this journey of life.  It's SO important to FEEL GOOD and BE HEALTHY!  Stop making it about "fat or skinny" it's about "being healthy or unhealthy"...we all know the difference.