I’m just a girl from sunny South Florida. A wife, mother of two, and an elementary school administrator who has set out to live her best life. If there’s anything the every day uncertainty and turmoil of 2020 has taught us, it’s to cherish each day for tomorrow is not promised. I began 2020 attending Oprah’s “2020 Vision: Your Life in Focus” campaign with Weight Watchers in January.
I almost didn’t make it. I was scrolling Facebook (which at the time I didn’t do much of) and I came across a post on my local Black Girls Run page saying they had tickets. On a whim I said "okay, let me try to go". An introvert by nature, I don't usually venture out too much, but at the time I said "it's Oprah, a once in a lifetime opportunity to see her. Screw it, let me put my name in the hat." Lucky me, I was able to score a ticket even though I initially missed a post in Messenger.
The best part about it, I had FLOOR seats just two rows from Gayle King!
As I sat there really thinking about my WHY for being there, I resolved THIS is my year!! I was sick of squeezing into clothes, not feeling happy with how I looked. I was out of shape and just BLAH! Physically and mentally, I was just "existing".
That night I joined WW using the online program, decided to track what I ate and said “I’ve got this!” Right? Wrong. Well, sort of. By February 2020, I’d lost 5 pounds and I was on roll. Then what happened? COVID!
Shock of COVID Quarantine
The stress of being an elementary school administrator in the midst of one of the most challenging times in education truly took a toll. Stuck at home, in front of a computer, trying to figure out how to make this work for almost 600 little people and a staff was not an easy task. Not to mention I had a pre-teen who was NOT happy about this whole shutdown business.
Living in a COVID hot spot area kept us confined to our home. It was three months before my daughter left the house. So I sat around, stagnant weight loss--no real losses just happy that I wasn't GAINING!
But this holding pattern also became a time to reevaluate I WHO I was. As I said, I am pretty much an introvert. Give me a book and social media I’m set. I don’t need a lot of company to just be. I can stay in touch via text all day. Don’t call me, takes too much energy to keep a conversation going. Besides I talk all week for my job I simply want peace and quiet at home.
Yet, I knew that if I wasn't careful, that pre-COVID loss could turn into quarantine pounds as I saw happening to so many others.
I Like to Move It
My activity in May was sporadic at best. So mid-June, I resolved to walk two miles every day, getting up at 5AM and committing to that.
By July I was up to 3 miles a day and in August, I decided to walk 5.3 miles each week to usher in Chapter 53. The loss of my mother in August and her burial the day before my birthday threatened to derail all that I set out to do. In the back of my head I could hear my mother "tsk"ing and telling me to get with the program! So I mentally refocused and pressed forward. Results were promising...by October 2020, I had lost 20 pounds from my January weigh in!!
So, THAT is how it started. One step at a time, until those steps became bigger steps. Until my mind caught up with my actions and took the stance that something is better than nothing! I had to get my mind in the space that what I wanted was attainable. I read about success stories on Facebook and Instagram. I envisioned the body and mind I wanted to have and set out to get there. I talked to my husband about it, my siblings, my friends. All in an effort to imprint in my mind a vision of success. The woman who began 2020 with Oprah, THINKING about living her best life, was determined to bring that to reality and LIVE it, no matter how difficult the journey. It brought me to where I am now...recharged and READY to be FIT, be FABULOUS, and be the best ME I can be!!
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