A View from My Side of the Journey
I am writing this blog from my view of Christy’s weight loss journey. I have had a front row seat to the ride; it has been like watching a great movie with all the emotions present. As someone that has never had an issue with weight, this was a new thing for me. Watching and not knowing how hard to push, or when to back off, or when to tell her she was fine the way she was. Did she want me to make her workout? These were all things that would run through my mind as I would watch her struggle with her image. She would never say much, but knowing my wife, I could always tell she was not happy with herself at all. I am sure there are a lot of people out there that have seen this or are currently going through it. I wish I could tell everyone there is a certain way you should attack this but everyone is different.
From my front row seat, the turn came in a strange unexpected way. But before I get to that I want to give a little more background as to what we “tried.” As most of us know, unfortunately, we all want to take the easy way to get where we are going. Christy’s journey was no different in the beginning. She would come to me with every pill, fad diet, or whatever you can think of that was a shortcut. And guess what, they all cost money and usually not a small amount. Well this would put me in a situation where I wasn’t going to win. I would either say no and be the bad guy or pay for it and watch her be disappointed in the end. As I will get to later, those things, “DON’T WORK”. So we tried and failed on all the shortcuts out there. I would tell her, “You know I have been working out for a long time and kind of know what I am doing. If you want me to run or workout with you I am here.” So I was there for her but, as I learned her pride and maybe a little bit of “hey I don’t want to have my husband tell me what to do” was involved. So as the years went by I watched from a far and saw things go south which, inside would kill me but I had been through it all and realized I would have to wait until she was ready.
In my front row seat what I didn’t see was I was letting myself go as well. As time went by, a giant crossroad came in our marriage. Long story short our marriage was ready to come crashing down. While working through those problems, I realized I had to take care of myself and my health. So I found a workout that really changed things up and allowed me to really enjoy working out. Combat fitness classes at Topeka ATA Martial Arts were something I found myself loving. This is where the turnaround begins for Christy. As I would come home telling her how much fun I had, I could see there was a tiny bit of interest but she still wasn’t ready. As the days/months went by, I get a call from Christy telling me she had looked up a workout video called Insanity. So as I talked about earlier I listened, but inside I would think to myself “oh here we go with another expensive thing that will get used a couple times and then sit.” I looked this up and sure enough it was kind of expensive. But in talking to her I could tell in her voice that maybe this time was different. I decided to take the chance, so we purchased it. A few more days go by and I get a call from a very upset Christy. I will not tell you what she said but I could tell this time she was serious about making a change. Insanity arrives and much to my surprise we start this 60 day program. With each day that goes by, I see her put in all the effort she has and not quit. Which to be honest, this almost had me in tears because this is a girl that I had never seen workout a day in her life. But this time was different she was set on it and she was not stopping and she had incredible results.
As I look back on the last (almost) six months of her journey, I am extremely proud. I am proud of what I have seen her do. There was never a time where it wasn’t both feet in for her. Looking back I am not sure if there really was another way for her besides jumping in that way. So from my chair, this has been one enjoyable ride to be on. Watching her transformation of not only her body, but her attitude from week to week has been rewardable and mind-blowing.
For those of you out there that are on the fence, just go for it!! I am telling you this from a guy that was on the side lines watching for a really long time. I say jump in with both feet because it will be the most rewarding thing you have done, I promise you that. For those support people out there, go for it too. Don’t just sit there while telling your other to go for it. Jump in there yourself and do it together. If you do things like this together you can truly have a partnership and it will be the best feeling you can ever have.
Brad
