Mom

Today was pretty good until people came over. Maggie had a little get-together for our rugby team at 7 pm and I had an indoor soccer game at 8:30 that I had every intention of going to. But then 7:45 came around and then 8 and I figured I'd rather hang out with people than kick the ball around. Stupid me. Instead of getting a work-out in, I drank wine and beer and ate cupcakes that I shouldn't have. Oh, well. There's always tomorrow.

Since I've become nocturnal, I've been reading a lot of 3FC threads lately. One of them really made me think about my mom and how, although I'm obese myself, I always get on her case about her weight. Yeah, it's kind of "returning the favor" of her always mentioning my size in every conversation we have, but now I've realized that I'm just breaking her down instead of helping her be healthier. It's a huge fear of mine that she'll die in the near future because of her size. I love her to death and I have no idea how my family would function without her. She keeps us together and keeps my dad super healthy, even with all his health problems. Yet, she doesn't take care of herself as much as she cares about others, and that hurts a lot. I want her to be around forever and I feel the only way to do that is to get her on a healthier life track.

I mean, she doesn't eat badly. Surprisingly, the things she cooks are mostly thin, yet totally delicious, soups and meats. But I feel that her metabolism, like mine, is as slow as a turtle and it doesn't help her out at all. I don't know what to do besides get her to exercise more. Over the years, I've been complaining to her that she eats too much in volume and should start writing down everything that goes into her mouth. I know that's been scientifically proven to be a great help in weight-loss, but I feel that that's only part of the problem. I'm too harsh with her and I should just lay off the nagging.

So next time I'm home (which won't be til Christmas), maybe I should try a different approach. Inviting her out for a walk or getting her started on C25K may be the way to go instead of always complaining that she eats too much and exercises too little. Maybe the way to go is to lead by example. Like, "Mom, I'm going for a bike ride. Do you want to come?" I think she'd be more appreciative of that than some of the things I currently say to her.