So why is the Health and Fitness category so big?

I wish I could narrow down to the exact number I want to write about today, but I think, instead, I'm going to write about health in fitness in general.  It's a large list, and there's a big reason for it.  Here's the back story as to why it is so important to me at 24.

To start, I was never active as a kid.  I hated gym class, and I hate team sports.  The only reason why I stuck with a team sport was because my parents made me finish the season. (I played soccer in fourth grade.)

But I never had to watch what I ate, or my weight.  My parents fed me well, and I was young, and didn't need to watch an expanding waist line.  This changed when I went to college.

Basically, in college, no one is deciding what you eat and when you eat, except for yourself.  So, naturally, late night pizzas and paninis and cookies and brownies and soda were a part of my diet.  And now the waist line expands.

I remember I tried seeing the nutritionist on campus.  She basically told me to stop eating fried foods and drinking my calories.  I ignored her because those were my comfort foods.

When I finally left college, I hated looking at pictures of myself, and I hated looking in the mirror.  (This was only back in May.)  So last summer, I committed myself to getting healthy and loosing weight.  I saw a nutritionist again, and regularly went to the gym to lift weights.

Let me jump in about another issue I've struggled with for a while - my cholesterol.  My family has a long history of heart attacks and heart-related problems.  Me, being a young adult and all, didn't think much about it.  I remember thinking, "I'm only 20-something.  I sure as heck don't have an issue with cholesterol."  When I mention this history to a previous doctor, she immediately wanted to check mine.  And it was high.  That's a scary thought.  My bad habits of the past 5-6 years really impacted more than just my weight.

So, with weight, and now cholesterol being an issue, I pressed on and started my goal to be healthy...  And then I moved to Philly, and put my health back on a hold.

That lasted for 4 months, because when I stepped on the scale shortly after Christmas/New Years, I almost cried.  I was seeing a number I had never seen before.  That's when I knew I had to make changes.

I immediately signed up for Weight Watchers and started hitting the gym.  I picked up running, mainly because it is such an individual sport (remember, I hate team sports), and I got back into horseback riding.

I also started seeing a new doctor and shared some of my concerns.  She did a full blood panel... and guess what?  My cholesterol is at a normal and healthy range.  Those three summer months that I worked very hard on really showed.  Despite gaining weight and slipping back into old habits, my body was telling me that things were OK on the inside, but they wouldn't be for long if I kept down this path.

My progress so far has been an interesting journey.  I watched the numbers on the scale drop quickly.  I had to replace (a brand new pair) of pants.  And then everything stopped.  I plateaued for a while.  I had a week or two where I went back to my old eating habits.  But not to the extreme that it used to be.

Last week, something motivated me to just eat more veggies and fruit.  So I did... and I lost more weight by exchanging my usual sweets with a veggie or a fruit.  Not only did I see that number on the scale budge, but I've also noticed that the pants that were just a little too snug now fit comfortably!

So before I get too deep into my story of getting healthy in fit, I hope I can inspire others to eat healthier, and find comfort in this other than food.  And that weight-loss is a doable and worthwhile struggle!