Intro

Here we go…

71% of American adults are overweight/obese and 48% of us are in rural areas.

Wait, did she just say, “Us”?

Yes, yes I did.

Raising my boys as a single mom was rough. Money was tight, bills were paid late or just in the nick of time. Malls and stores were everywhere, tempting me to buy this and buy that. I lived in a small apartment in Sparks, Nevada that I liked, but had a hard time getting rent in on time as well.

Then a huge gigafactory moved in. My rent went from $900 to $1150. Mind you, this was nine years ago and I was making a lot less. So I decided to take a leap and move to a nearby rural town that wasn’t too far away from my family.

I was in love with this place, at first. No lines at the store, people were nice, there were no malls around to tempt me into buying something. It was great.

“What does this have to do with being overweight/obese,” you ask.

Let me tell ya.

In Sparks/Reno, I was active. I swam, danced, had nice places to walk, tried going to jujitsu, and I hit the gym daily. Yoga and spin classes were my faves, with a small sampling of a group class that included some form of light weights. And CrossFit & boxing, oh my! So much fun!

I didn’t realize what I was giving up. Or maybe I did and living comfortably sounded better. Who knows?

It didn’t take long for me to realize that living in a rural town was part of the reason I began to gain weight. I tried to fight it, at first. I went out to ride my bike and had to avoid from getting hit by people in cars who were on their way to work on our two lane roads.

One day, a uniform delivery truck almost turned me into a hood ornament. The driver was enjoying his cup of coffee instead of watching the intersection for oncoming traffic. As he took a sip of coffee, he decided he didn’t need to stop at the stop sign and chugged onto the main road not realizing there was someone on a bike (me) crossing the intersection. I aimed my bike for the far right hoping to hit gravel and not land in the canal two inches away from it. I was able to stop just in time with a few choice words spewing from my mouth as I was stopping.

The driver wasn’t a jerk. He pulled up next to me and asked if I was okay. He said he didn’t see me. No one rode a bike on the country roads out here that he’s seen since he started driving so many years ago.

I tried to find something else at a locally owned gym, but in the end I got heat exhaustion and then the place closed. So that was that.

I got a second job at home where I could make my own hours and settled in.

A few months later I had to move to the dump I’m in now. I got bored and depressed. I crafted and ate, but was able to pay my bills, so I was happy about that.

I’d try to start getting healthy when I’d see my weight go up. I’d take walks, go to the gym, but ended up back at home rifling through the fridge or pantry trying to find something to eat. I was so bored.

What about friends? My friends lived in Reno and/or worked opposite shifts.

I thought the people here were nice when I originally moved in, but came to learn quickly that this is a transient town. People don’t stay for long, so making a friend or two was a challenge because they thought I’d be moving away soon.

You could also say my personality is a bit different from the people here. I’m always one to find the humor in most situations and I like to add a bit of spice to the conversation. Some people here don’t find that amusing- that’s totally ok!

Then Covid hit.

I was having a great time staying home and crafting and eating.

My weight kept increasing.

My youngest finally graduated from school. That’s a stress story in itself, which had me hunting for anything salty, greasy and bad for me in any way possible.

After a while, I got tired of sitting and eating and being bored. I thought about how I used to be so active and happy when I lived in Sparks/Reno. I needed a change for the better.

In March, I signed up for personal training classes through ISSA. I thought I could go on this fat loss journey by myself, but then thought, “Wouldn’t it be cool if I could inspire others along the way? What if I go on this journey with people who want to get healthy?”

I’m older – let’s just say I’m in the Gen X era – and I’m determined to get healthy again. I want to inspire others- young, old, obese, overweight, thin – as long as you want someone to do this with you, I’m here.

I’ll start by saying I’m in the overweight/obese range depending on who you ask or what you research. I started at 42.5% body fat. My goal is to get to 22-25% body fat. I don’t have a goal date, I just want to get there as healthily as I can. I’m now at 40% body fat just by making small changes.

So whatdya say?

Let’s be Unbreakable.