Fitness Obsession?

I workout at Fitness World West every day. I love it. I love how I feel, the energy I get, the inches I lose, the muscle I gain.

More and more however I am getting the questions: When are you going to stop? Don't you think you have lost enough? How skinny do you plan to get? Don't you think you are a bit obsessed?

Answers: Stop? - Never, this is a lifestyle, not something I can do for a while and then I don't ever have to do it again. I want to be healthy for the rest of my life.

Lost enough? No, I have looked hard at my body composition and I still have excess fat. When I have completely addressed that, I will set a maintenance level.

Skinny? This is one of my favorites. I have recently been called "skinny bitch". I am a size 12 leaning toward a 10 and wear a large shirt. I am 5' 4" and weigh 149 pounds. I am the average American woman right now.

Obsessed? No. I am not. However, for the first time in my life I am engaged. I actively account for what goes into my body. I workout to keep myself energized, flexible and healthy.

That's really what it comes down to. I am the healthiest I have been since junior high. (That's a LONG time ago.) I want to continue to improve my health, get it to a point I am proud of and then maintain it until the day I die.

That last part, quite far away. I just had my physical - my doctor was thrilled! All of my tests came back near perfect. She is proud of me. I have been able to put the possibility of heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes and other obesity related diseases back where they belong - in the back of the closet to collect dust and be forgotten.

I am proud too. I am proudly engaged in living my life to the fullest.

Yours in fitness, Kate