Fertilehealthy

JM from Finally Getting Fit has a very interesting Monday Mailbag question this week (I know it’s Wednesday already!):

Are you working by yourself to make your life healthier, or are you doing it with your spouse/family/friends?

I was very moved when Barack Obama spoke about his wife last Tuesday night, calling her his best friend, the love of his life and the rock of their family.  I know very well what he means, because my husband Craig is all of that for me.

Remember that he’s never known me thin.  And no, he’s not one of those guys who dig fat girls!  He just fell in love with me.  Go figure.

But, he has always encouraged me to lose weight and become fitter and healthier.  Not because his love for me depends on it, but because my life depends on it.  He wants us to have a long and meaningful life together.  He wants us to have children and actually be alive while they grow up and beyond.  He always comments on my shortness of breath when I get into bed at night after brushing my teeth and cleansing my face.  He doesn’t fall for my explanation that it’s his mere presence that takes my breath away.  Getting anything past that man is like trying to sneak the sunrise past a rooster!

We are quite different in many ways.  He was very active in sports when he grew up.  He played rugby and cricket, ran long distances and at the age of 17 completed the gruelling Dusi canoe marathon.  As an adult he ran many marathons and even completed a 100 km for charity.

I never really took part in sport after the 7th grade, and even before that, it was not a big part of my life.  I did some walking in the mid-90’s when I was living in a seaside village with lots of wonderful walking  trails.  Of course, I didn’t have a car until I got married for the first time in 1995, so I walked everywhere.  I also did some horseback-riding.  But since then… pretty much nothing.

So, he supports me wholeheartedly.  He will eat what I eat, drink what I drink and do whatever he can to help me and encourage me.  He reads the books I recommend and buys into the philosophy of eating a mostly plant-based diet consisting of whole foods and lots of fruit and raw veggies.  My efforts benefit him greatly too!  When I ask him what he would like for dinner, he invariably says:  “Salad”. 

We are also in perfect agreement as to how we want to raise and feed our children.  I am making permanent dietary and lifestyle changes, which will apply to the whole family.  And speaking of children, we both know that the only way we will ever have children is if we restore balance to our bodies (we both have fertility issues).  We decided right at the outset that we will not resort to Assisted Reproductive Technologies, but rather strive to restore our fertility naturally.

I know that I am very blessed to have this level of support.  Most women probably don’t.  There is just one downside though…  Whenever I lose the plot and start sabotaging my own efforts, I have to deal with Mr. I-ran-100km-with-a-bleeding-blister-under-my-foot, who thinks I’ve should just “toughen up”! 

He has learned over time, though, that I need to work through my emotional issues and is grateful that I don’t just dump them on him.  He supports my blogging because he knows that it’s a great way to examine, share and discuss my problems.  For the same reason, he has always been hugely supportive of my friendships with Charlotte and Lizana, my two best friends, who are a formidable cheering squad.  They will both go out of their way to help me reach my goals and see me through the tough times.

I’m pretty good at getting in my own way.  Fortunately I don’t have to deal with a husband who does that, although it would give me someone to blame if he did!  Now I just have to take responsibility for my failures, take the hand that is always ready to help me up again and press on…