With the sound of fireworks just a memory, and the cold winter snow piling up, I found my inspiration to change my life. I have admittedly, tried many times to do this and failed just as many times for one reason, or another. I'd almost lost hope entirely until this winter. Freezing temperatures and increasing depths of snow, brought me back to childhood, if only for a moment. Yet a moment was all that was needed to remind me who I used to be. Last night I climbed in the pool for the second time in twenty years and swam laps. There was a time I could swim 500 yards and it was easy. Now though, all the challenges with being very overweight, and having things like asthma and arthritis, even age, all fight against me with every stroke I took. By the time I reached the wall it was a relief to have a moment of air without fearing i'd inhale the pool. After just 50 yards (two lengths of the pool), I needed to use my inhaler and wondered if hope was going to fizzle. As I wheezed and used my inhaler, a lifeguard came over to ask if I was alright. I told her I was fine and she left me to my workout. I'm not a novice swimmer. I swam as a youth competitive swimmer for twelve years and retired at eighteen due to an ongoing injury to my knee. I was 109 lbs at nineteen.I shattered my wrist a few years later and two years after that had my first child. After divorcing my first husband two years later I tried getting in the pool to lose the weight i'd gained from the pregnancy. After a few months however, I gave up. With each passing year I maintained the weight until eight years after my first daughter was born, I miscarried and found myself thirty pounds heavier, topping my weight off at 280 lbs. Two years later I welcomed my second daughter in to the world. My kids are ten years apart. By the end of the pregnancy which I had preeclampsia and ballooned to just over 300 lbs. Suffering postpartum depression, and relocating from where my husband was stationed in Italy, back to the US had me at 330lbs. This eventually climbed to 365 lbs, which is where I still find myself. I'm tired of seeing the number get larger with every year so now i'm doing something about it. I hope to inspire others to find what they love and use it to improve their life and well being. For me, it was remembering when I was defined by being a swimmer. Last night I swam 700 yards, alternating between kicking and swimming. Resting at the end of each length for twenty seconds to a minute. The snow here, which is now 12" deep, is keeping many at home, so it was the perfect time for me to get in the pool and see if I could do it. Swimming fat is not the same as swimming when you are thin and muscular. You have to learn to adjust your stroke to your wider body parts. You float, making it hard to find the right position in the water as you swim. I have gone to using training fins which seem to help my knee not flare up. My biggest challenge was breathing which I plan to do some dry land exercises to help improve it. I've given myself three months of swimming to see if there are any changes to my body, dress size, or weight. At the same time reducing my portion sizes despite how hungry I was after swimming last night. I swam Wednesday night and now the next chance i'll have is Saturday morning. I then plan to go Tuesday and Friday. I'm hoping the snow will melt soon so we are back to having two cars to drive giving me more opportunities to get to the pool. I challenge you to take the plunge, whether it is your first time or just been a few years. Improve your body, weight, metabolism, and overall health by getting in and lap swimming. Your heart will thank you!
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