Happy 2016! It's hard to believe that another year has come and gone. As is usually the case, talk this time of year centers around resolutions. While I have a thing against them (as I've written about before), I also see this time of year as a push of the reset button. In taking stock of a few things in my life, I realized that my reset button was surrounded by big arrows and a "Push Me!" sign that couldn't be ignored.
I tried really hard last year to live a healthier life. I started running (well, shuffling, but still). I ate better. It was hard, but I saw results. After taking the cohabitation leap with my guy I started to notice that some of my results were positive but some were not. As it happened, Boyfriend was feeling the same way. He has had some physical fitness goals he has been chasing our entire relationship, and he was frustrated at his lack of progress. As 2015 came to a close we both seemed to have stalled. Yet there was that reset button, practically mocking us. We only had to reach a little bit to get to it...
So we did. And our first step was to decide that we weren't going to do it alone.
Two days after the new year we found ourselves completing a 5K. The day after that, I went for a walk while he went for a bike ride. It wasn't much, but it was a refreshing start that got us off of the couch and onto a new path.
Boyfriend's running and my running are two completely different things. I had a friend, though, who was looking for a new running partner. Before long Boyfriend and Friend were happily trotting through the neighborhood at ungodly hours of the morning. It's become a routine for them, even as the mornings dawn dark and cold. I greet him afterwards, and each time he is excited to tell me how much faster/stronger/focused he was than before.
Knowing I couldn't just sit on the sidelines and see the same type of growth, I told Boyfriend I wanted to do more on my bicycle. He took the time to patiently explain things I could do on his bike trainer; he set everything up for me, and he even spent an hour on a cold afternoon in the garage and hooking up my new bike computer for me so that I could track my workouts.
We both realize that it's only been a few weeks, but we are showing no signs of slowing down. We both feel better and look better. We are starting to make choices that have long-term, lasting effects rather than short-term, temporary ones. We are beginning to accept food and exercise as tools for positive outcomes; our workouts no longer feel like torture, and we are learning to find healthy recipes that we can enjoy rather than just tolerate.
Our biggest revelation, though, has been the one that we really should have known all along -- our success is all about teamwork, and we wouldn't have made it this far if we hadn't done it together. He cheers me on and encourages me to push harder. I reassure him on days where his run is disappointing, and I'm happy to cook for him when junk food sounds oh-so perfect. We can complain to each other when we are eating yet another banana instead of a doughnut, and we can celebrate every success together even if it's a small one. We can be completely open, vulnerable, and honest with each other whether it's looking over each other shoulders on the scales or discussing our frustrations or fears. As tempting as it is to keep all of this a secret -- because, really, who wants to talk about the embarrassment of feeling fat and lazy? -- we are sharing it with each other and, ultimately, with you. What better way to stay accountable than to lay it all out there? What little we give up in feeling shamed will give us a return in confidence and success many times over. Here's to the journey!
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