Are you pregnant?

So, you know you gotta go to the gym when not one, not two, but three people ask you in a period of a week if you are pregnant. I am a newlywed so, usually people look for what the "next step" should be and to add to that, I have gained about fifteen pounds. I joined a gym anyway. But, that's not the point of this blog.

Some would describe me as a dedicated, loyal, and committed person. And to other people, I usually am. I can honestly say that I haven't always been that way and have left some pretty disappointed people in my wake. One of those people...is me. I crack me up being able to keep a promise to someone else and will consistently falter on the ones that I make to myself. Why? Because if I don't keep a promise to myself, no one will know it but me. Little did I know that I was actually holding me accountable.

On December 28th of last year, I made a promise to myself (and to the gym that deducts their membership fee from my bank account every month): I will go to the gym, when I can, and work out as hard as I can. My goal wasn't to lose any weight or to get rid of this eleven-going-on-twelve-year-old baby pooch. It wasn't to build muscle or to tone up, even though that's what I told my trainer. My goal was to merely do something different so that I can expect something different.

See, what I haven't told you is that diabetes, cancer, and hypertension run in my family. I have been what most would consider to be thin all my life. I, like most Americans, equated thin with healthy. I couldn't have been further from the truth. I was lethargic, anemic, and was a borderline diabetic. I kept promising myself that I would start running, biking, walking, dancing, skipping, rolling, hopping, jumping, something so that I can be healthy, or even healthier. I would quote scripture about health and rebuke the devil. I just knew that neither I or my children would be affected by any ailment that preceded me. I was going to break the curse...from my couch with my pint sized ice cream watching Netflix. Yeah, I know...bogus.

So, as of yesterday, I have kept a promise to myself for first time in as long as I can remember, for the past three weeks. I've gone to the gym at least twice a week. I haven't lost weight (well, 1.5 pounds but who's counting) but, I've toned up a bit. The more I keep my promise to myself, the easier it is.

Now, if I can just leave the ice cream alone and NO...I'm not pregnant.