“Living Fit” by Greta Eskridge

QuoteIf you would have told me a year and a half ago that I would be writing a blog about
fitness and fit living, I’d never have believed you.
Well, I might have believed the writing part, because it has always been a passion.
But fitness has not.
I’ve been active my whole life: swimming, hiking, and playing numerous sports while I
was younger.
But dedicated, everyday, get sweaty and uncomfortable, kind of exercise was not my
thing.
I didn’t want to do it, and was pretty resentful when anyone suggested I try it.
I wish now that I would have listened to that helpful advice earlier (sorry Mom!), but it
wasn’t until I was really sitting in a hard place that I was ready to do what it took to
change my life.

It was the summer of 2012 and my 5th baby had just turned 1.
I usually lose my baby weight within a year, but this time things were different.
I didn’t have a single pair of shorts that fit, I could hardly button my biggest pair of
pants, and the only things left in my wardrobe that were any bigger were my
maternity clothes.
I wasn’t going back there.
I was frustrated with myself, and uncomfortable in my own skin.
I had never before felt such a dislike for my body.
I wanted to keep up with my kids, to be active and healthy with them.
But instead I was mowing down the chocolate in an attempt to make myself feel
better, and then ending up in tears because my clothes didn’t fit.
I was desperate.
And I was ready for a change.

I wasn’t sure how I was going to make the change, but I knew it was going to have to
be drastic.
I wanted it to be a lasting change, so I knew I was going to have to do something I
hadn’t done before.
I was going to have to push myself and step out of my comfort zone.
That was when I saw an email in my inbox for a 1 month membership to Long Beach
Boot Camp.
Boot Camp?
I didn’t do boot camp.
I didn’t run, lift weights, or do push ups.
The thought of it terrified me.
But this was exactly the kind of thing I was looking for.

All the excuses I usually had didn’t work this time.
It was affordable.
I wouldn’t have to find childcare for my kids. (I’d just have to work out at 5:30 in the
morning!)
There were no long-term contracts, or pledging away 2 years of my life to a gym.
It was doable.
I signed up.

I waited a month to tell my husband because I was scared to get started.
I was scared to admit out loud what I already knew in my heart to be true.
I was scared to be accountable for making changes in my life.
I was scared I might fail.
I’m not usually scared much.
But we all have our something–and this was my something.

It might not seem like much, this signing up for a month of boot camp classes.
But to me it was a big thing.
And little or big, it was the thing that I was looking for.
It was the thing that changed my life.

There is so much more to tell, and I can’t wait to share more of my story with you.
Right now, wherever you’re at in your fitness journey, I’ll leave with this inspiring
thought.
It’s been a help to me from the very beginning:

“You must do the thing you think you cannot do.”-Eleanor Roosevelt”

All the best,
Greta