Who is your personal health hero? For me, it’s my mom.
Almost ten years ago, my mother decided to make a serious effort to lose weight and keep it off. The choice was inspired by health concerns — she has high blood pressure and has dealt with gallbladder disease. She has heart disease, diabetes, and other serious health issues in the family history and wanted to stave them off.
So she joined Weight Watchers. She went from a size 14/16 to a size 8/10 and lost around forty pounds. Even more — she’s kept the majority of that weight off since then. She’s become quite the fitness fanatic, and is active every day of the week, whether it’s watching her favorite shows while on the treadmill or taking a dance class. Mom also goes to the gym to lift weights and walks on the boardwalk when the weather permits.
All that inspired me to give Weight Watchers a try, too. I lost forty pounds on the program, too… but they’ve come back with reinforcements. I didn’t have the dedication to stick with my Points for the long term. I don’t LOVE working out the way my mom does. But still, she’s inspired me to try.
Recently, a friend met my mother and had this to say: “Wow, your mom is BUFF!” I was proud as anything.
And believe me, my mom doesn’t just eat twigs and berries, either. She’s a fantastic cook and makes even the healthy stuff taste good. Every meal has at least two (often more) veggie options. She focuses on lean protein like chicken, and rarely ever eats red meat. Every good meal I know how to cook is something I learned from her — either by helping in the kitchen or just eating her latest creation and making my own attempt at it.
If my mom ever reads this, she’ll probably be embarrassed by the attention. But if you could meet my mom (and see her extremely muscular legs), you might see why she’s my health hero.