Day 4: Finding inspiration

I had a really horrible post written in my head for tonight, it was negative and depressing and one of those "woe is me, my life sucks" posts.

Then when I was at the gym tonight (because I couldn't get out of bed this morning), the most amazing thing happened. I got inspired all over again.

I was perched on Sadie, climbing up her stairs, one step at a time, thinking about the agony of it all.

The glass window to my right looked down on a group of young men in their twenties, playing basketball. All of them were very physically fit, most of them were very tall.

There was one guy that was noticeably shorter than the rest, maybe 5' 7", with a thin build. I noticed he moved more than the rest of them. He was all over the floor. Then I saw the tall guys on his team kept passing the ball to him. He was making basket after basket, often from center court.

He was doing this with guys all around him, much taller than him, trying to block him, yet he could throw that ball perfectly into the basket, regardless of where he stood or who was around him. The ball would drop through the hoop and not even touch the netting or the rim. This kid was amazing.

As I was watching him I realized that even though his stature made him an unlikely basketball star, he had obviously practiced making baskets until he could do it perfectly every single time.

I thought this kid and I had a lot in common. Even though I feel like I have it a lot harder than a lot of people when it comes to food and the desire to eat, just like this kid, I have to work harder at being healthy.

I have to practice and hone my skills as a healthy person. It doesn't come naturally to me. Exercise was never my thing. I was a couch potato for many years. Now for the last eighteen months I've been a gym rat, working out six to seven times a week, now for an hour and half each day.

In my past life I was a junk food junkie. Now I couldn't even tell you the last time I ate fast food. My digressions into junk food are pretty rare these days. I remember in the old days I could eat an entire cake in one sitting. Now I don't even remember the last time I had a piece of cake.

Just like the basketball kid, I have to work harder at this. I know my love of food isn't normal. I know most people don't have an unhealthy "relationship" with food. Most people think of food as sustenance, not as comfort.

After watching the basketball star for fifteen minutes, I realized that even though I drew the short stick on my natural ability to eat right and exercise, that I could still train myself to eat right and exercise and do it for the rest of my life. I might have to work harder at it than some people, but I could at least look like someone that was naturally healthy.

That's when I pumped up the speed on Sadie from 5 to 8 and felt the burn (63 steps per minute, not even in the Weight Watcher activity list). Yes, I sure found my inspiration today.

Note: Fourth day in a row of perfect journaling. This from someone that hasn't journaled in months. Today I ate 33.5 Points. Sort of a lot, but I'm earning about seven activity Points a day, so it all works out.