"you'd be so proud of me"

I'm sure I'll be hearing this line more than usual in the next few months.

It's not uncommon for a lot of people to resolve to lose weight at the start of the year. One of those people is a coworker of mine. The timing of her 'lifestyle change' just happened to coincide with the new year, so it's not really a resolution per se. The realization came in October/November with one of her grandparents died. Usually it's an extreme event like this scares someone into changing there ways. She realized that her current eating and working out habits are very poor. She realizes she's a perfect candidate for diabetes. She realizes, after turning 30 this past September, that she's not getting any younger.

It just so happens that she scheduled a meeting on Dec 28th with a personal trainer/life coach who is a consultant for our company to help her get healthy. When she tells others about this, they assume it's a NYR, but she is quick to point out that it was just a good time for them to meet. She also scheduled a physical with her doctor for early January, and people think it's NY related. For her, I think it's best that she get out of the NYR mindset and she's doing a good job of it... so far. This isn't something she wants to accomplish in 6 months or before December 31st, this is something she hopes will prevent her from getting diabetes and possibly living longer than her grandparents. It's getting healthy. This year, her focus is on "self".

It's an admirable goal and it will be tough. She admits that she loves to eat. She just loves food. She loves good food. She loves cooking. She has no sense of portion control. She has started to eat more healthiful.. as has most of my department. I think the number of SmartOnes, Healthy Choice, and Lean Cuisine frozen entrees in the freezer went up exponentially last week. And it's not uncommon for me to get comments like "that looks really healthy", "you're such a healthy eater", "lunch number 1 or 2?", or "all I have for lunch is leftover KFC" when I'm preparing.. well, lunch #1 or #2. I've learned to tune it out or just smile it off. They mean well.

I also have a few coworkers that will come back after lunch to report their choice of salad for lunch instead of a burger and fries. "You'd be proud of me," they start. I just smile. They mean well.

So to help my coworker, I've been working out at the gym here at work after hours. A close friend and coworker of hers was all gun-ho last Tuesday to "workout everyday!", as she put it. She's gone once. I make it a point to work out with her at least 2x a week. I know she appreciates me being there as she probably wouldn't be as motivated to workout if she were to hit the gym by herself. It's not like it's adding to my schedule or that I'm going out of my way. Besides, it gets me out of the office at a decent time.

She's starting easy with 30 minutes of some form of exercise every day. She's starting off slow and she has a long ways to go. There are no big goals like lose 30lbs in 3 months, but she does want to be able to hike without getting winded on a possible trip to Costa Rica in July.

I'm glad to help out and I hope she sticks with it.