Dreams do come true, even the bad ones...

I (Melissa) started my career in the health industry when I was a freshman in college. I started out working at a natural foods and supplement store, then went to work for the American Cancer Society, then became manager of a different nutrition store, then became an Account Manager for the SilverSneakers Fitness Program, and finally became a manager/part-owner of a great family health club.

Everyone that knows me, knows that I have struggled with my body weight my entire life. Partly due to “fat” genes (the ones that give you a SUPER slow metabolism, low thyroid, and fun hormone imbalances that make you heavy) and partly due to poor lifestyle choices. Lets face it, even though I do have diagnosed medical conditions that make me heavier than the average girl, I also made poor lifestyle choices. I didn't have to eat that fatty food or those delicious sugary deserts, I chose to.

With that said, my biggest fear since I started working in the health industry 9 years ago, and my repeating nightmare (yes, I do have vivid, stupid dreams) was that one day I would be talking to someone in my health store, the gym I was working at, or a health fair/health event, and that person would say to me, “So if you know so much, and work in the health industry, why are you fat?” Lucky for me, most people have a filter; the kind of filter that allows you to THINK those things that may be hurtful to others if said aloud, but not actually SAY those things. I had never met anyone whose filter allowed this kind of comment to get through to me, until the other day.

The last time I was in my club, my sales guy was on lunch and a lovely senior lady came into the club wanting to check the place out and get prices. Being the friendly person that I am, I sat down with her, found out what she was looking for, determined our club would be a good fit for her, and then proceeded to show her around. She had never been in a gym before in her life, so I decided to take a little extra time with her and show her more specifically what each piece of equipment actually did and what muscles it worked. I got to the back machine, which works the lats, and I told her this was one of my favorites because it helps to get rid of the dreaded back fat. She then stopped, looked me up and down and said, “If you work here and understand this stuff, then why are you still fat?”

The bad dream I had been dreading and hoping to avoid for the last 9 years, finally came true. Someone actually ignored their filter and said it. I'm sure she was not the first person to think it, but come on lady, did you really need to SAY it? Who do you think you are, my brother? (since they would probably be the only one to say something like that to me, but at least they'd only be joking around)

What did I do you ask? Without even missing a beat, I smiled sweetly at her and said, “Well actually I just lost 40 pounds. You should have seen me a few months ago. And, I'm still losing about 2 pounds a week, so give it a few months and I won't be fat anymore.” She just looked at me, smiled back, and said, “Oh, wow. That's great.”

Surprisingly, after she left, I just laughed about it. I didn't run away and find a corner to cry in like I might have done 9 years ago, I let it roll off my back. I guess that shows I've grown up a bit. I used to want to lose weight just to look good. I would do anything, even sometimes unhealthy things, just to lose weight. Now I just want to lose weight to be healthier, and hopefully to be able to get pregnant. Sure, I want to look good, but that's not the most important reason. I want to be physically fit enough to go running with my dogs everyday, take hikes, bike rides, and have the energy to run around and play with the kids I hope I'll have some day. I want to avoid health problems related to be heavy, and live with my husband on this earth for at least 60 more years so I'm around to meet the generations of our family tree. If the side effect is that people I come across in my work don't think (or maybe even say) bad things about me anymore, well that's nice, but truth is, I really don't care anymore.