Staying Active and Healthy in This Tough World
GeneralFLASH BACK! The year is 2004…
I am 19 years old stuffing my face with fast food at the kitchen table while Lynn, my mom, is shaking her head at me. She had a look of disgust written all over her face and I knew she was judging me. (SIDE NOTE: One of my life motto’s is “Only God can judge me”, a quote from the late, genius Tupac Shukar.)
“What mom?!? Why are you looking at me that way?!?” I said in my 19 year old bratty tone.
Lynn then said something that has stuck with me especially as I am quickly approaching my 30s. “ You better enjoy eating that way now, because the older you get the harder it is to lose weight and stay in shape.”
I proceeded to roll my eyes and keep eating my double cheeseburger and say “Whatever mom!” Being that I was 19 years old, I thought I knew everything, but boy I was wrong!
That’s right ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls; the above statement is me admitting for the first time in my life that I am wrong! Mom, you were right and I was wrong and I am sorry. You may want to mark this on your calendar as a day to celebrate, because that will NOT happen again!
FLASH FORWARD! The year is 2008 and I am 23 years old…
Being 23 and living in New Orleans is a blast especially after finishing my first season as a professional dancer in the NBA (National Basketball Association) as a Honeybee for the then, New Orleans Hornets. The Hornets had just finished a remarkable season by winning the Southwest Division and going to game 7 in the 2nd round of playoffs. With that being said, there were many late night celebrations, lack of sleep, and late night eating habits. Those 3 things are a formula of an unhealthy lifestyle with the season ending meaning so did the constant practices and workouts.
One morning I woke up and started to get dressed and to my surprise my clothes were tight. UH OH! Tryouts are only a month and a half away and I could hear Lynn in the back of my head saying “You better enjoy eating that way now because the older you are the harder it is to lose weight and stay in shape.”
I decided to re-dedicate myself to a healthy lifestyle of eating clean and working out and it paid off. Not only had I slimmed down, toned up and made the dance team again, but I was in the best shape of my short 23 year old life.
FLASH FORWARD! The year is 2012 and I am 27 years old…
Let’s just say 2012 was MY year! It was my senior year of college and I was gearing up for my December graduation. SIDE NOTE: Yes, I was 27 and just about to graduate from college. However, I didn’t start until I was older so it’s ok. Let’s just say between working a full-time job and being a full-time student, there was NO time spent living a healthy lifestyle. My life consisted of school, work, school, coffee shops, studying all night and once again, late night eating habits. #collegestudentproblems #livingoffofcaffeineandfastfood
With my head always being in a book I failed to realize what was going on around me until it was time to start shopping for my graduation dress. My shopping partner in crime is the one and only, Lynn. I was excited about finding the perfect dress. We started looking through the racks for a few options, then headed to the dressing room and you will never believe what happened next…
We start trying on our different options and it hit me like a bag of bricks! My mom was a size 2 and I was a size 6. Now to most this doesn’t sound like a big deal, however, last time I checked Lynn was a size 12 NOT a size 2. I was so busy studying that I failed to realize that my mother, with her words of wisdom had lost 70 lbs in 2012. THAT’S RIGHT! I SAID 70 LBS!
I couldn’t believe that my mother went down 10 dress sizes and I went up 4. I bet you can guess what happened next… She looked at me and said, “ Lindsey, I told you if you eat the way you eat and not stay active it will catch up to you. It will be harder for you to lose weight and stay in shape.”
At that moment, I decided to re-re-re-re-dedicate myself to a healthy lifestyle of staying active and eating clean. Trust me, this wasn’t easy and I didn’t see results as easily as I once did. But, like the great Salt-N-Pepa said “push it, push it real good!”
WELCOME TO THE YEAR 2014! My last year in my 20’s, I am now 29 years old…
I am happy to say that I am in the best shape of my life. For the most part, I live a healthy lifestyle, chose to eat healthy and work out at least 5 days a week. Being in the best shape of my life hasn’t been the easy, smooth ride it was when I was 19. My metabolism isn’t as high and body doesn’t work the way I want it to.
So for the last time I will say, Lynn Albro you were right! It does get harder the older you get, but with hard work and dedication, you can do it.
I know what you’re thinking; you don’t have time everyday to go to the gym or eat healthy. Guess what? Neither do I! I find a way to do some type of physical activity. It can be a quick 100 crunches, push-ups and jumping jacks before the shower or walk on my lunch break. I make sure to pack my breakfast and lunch on Monday morning for the week so I don’t cheat and eat bad.
Remember, if I can do it so can you! Stay tuned for more fun stories about the struggles of being a hard working, 29 year old woman trying to find a way to stay active and healthy in this tough world!
Lindsey
