I had to hike

The illness is real.

The desire to exercise creeps up on you when you are denied the right; it's only when it was taken away I began to crave it.

Becky in the Grotto.

Today we hit Granite Gardens in the Dells.  Not super challenging, but not an easy hike.  A good one for getting sweaty and back in the swing,

Picture taking with one hand is easy, but that pony tail?!  Hard!

It was our first hot day, and I learned why under armour is far superior as exercise wear.   My Mackinac tee looked cute, but I sweated terribly.

 We live HERE!!

As always, I am overcome by the beauty of the Dells.  The rocks call to me; by that I mean they are perfect pieces of art.  It's like walking through a painting.

Yep, it's this amazing.  This is like 80ft of rock.

My hand swelled some, and changed colors.

It's entertaining, at least!

My shoulder, quite honestly, has given me far more issues than my hand.  The nerve pain while driving is intense; I carefully plot my travels.

Tonight, I replaced items the dog had eaten of mine (like really?!  Please stop eating my underwear!) and Jess shared oils with me.  By the time I get home I felt like a slave, driven to do all that needs to be done.  Not complaining in the least.

At least I got to do some exercise!

Stop clapping, I'm so embarrassed . . .

When Katie asked me to guest blog for her, I never imagined the outpouring of interest and excitement. It was overwhelming.  Still is.

Ok, so seriously - no support.  No excitement.  No one even knows who I am.  Which is just fine.

But I do have a fitness story to tell and I hope you'll buckle up for part 1!

I've always been the fat kid.  I'm about to turn 45 (Cinco de Mayo - keep me away from the margs and chips), and had been that kid for over 40 years.

One day, I looked down and saw how big my ass was (Spaceballs reference) and knew that I had to do something.

Seriously.  No seriously.  I have four kids.  Two of them are biological, one we adopted from China, and my youngest we adopted from Ethiopia.  My biological sons have a rare, life threatening and degenerative disease.  When my BMI was ski high - like my blood pressure, and I was pre diabetic - one day I realized that I was eating myself to death.  And I had to stop!

So about a year ago, I joined a gym (again) and made the commitment to eat healthier (418th anniversary of that commitment).  But this time, it was different.  Very different.  A lot of that was me, but one key element that was added was coaching and accountability.  Through FaceBook (I know, right), I joined a challenge group.  It was a private group and had 8 folks and a coach.  The coach posted challenges, recipes, and made us (well not gun to the head made us, but you know) check in and post our successes and failures.

That first 30 days was the best turning point in my health.  And now I'm proud to say that I lead those groups as a coach (fitness and life).  At least once a week, someone tells me the story that I just told you - that the group has changed their life or gotten them back on track.  That, my friends, is awesome!

Though part 1 is coming to an end, I must tell you that part 2 (tomorrow) involves bodily fluids, the gym, and the most awkward interactions with strangers.  All on our quest for fitness.  It'll be a fun one!

Thanks for having me and please visit me on FaceBook.  I need more friends.  :)  https://www.facebook.com/fosteringfitnesswithTroy.

Now stop clapping.  It's getting ridiculous.