Day 3: I Didn't Know I Was Already Wearing The Ruby Slippers!

I was thinking about The Wizard of Oz during my workout at the Y today. As we find out at the end of the movie, Dorothy had the ability to go home whenever she wanted, as she was wearing The Ruby Slippers. (However, in my opinion, Glinda The Good Witch of the North could have clued Dorothy in on that secret code thing a lot sooner (i.e. click 3 times and say 'there's no place like home'). I mean, really, did Dorothy (and I!) really need to go through the Flying Monkeys ordeal? I still have nightmares...



But back to those slippers...it occurs to me that we are all wearing The Ruby Slippers; we just don't know it. All my life I've had the ability to get into shape but instead I made excuses. I never "watched" what I ate. My doctor asks me at every visit, "Are you watching what you eat?" and every time I want to say, "Yeah, I watch it as I bring the fork to my mouth." But instead I lie and say "yes."


It is so much easier to make an excuse as to why I can't  exercise, rather than just doing it. I tell myself that I have allergic asthma and exercise might trigger an attack. I lie to myself when I say that my allergy medicine makes me groggy (even though it says right on the box ('Non drowsy formula'). I tell myself I'll exercise later because right now I have a headache, or a stomachache, or an ass-ache. And on and on it goes, the lies, lies, lies and pound after miserable pound. 


Occasionally, I would get real and give myself a good talking to. But instead of facing the obvious, the oh, so tedious path of diet and exercise, I would set off on a quest for a magic bullet somewhere, something that I could just take every morning and the weight would miraculously fall off. I'm smart enough to know better than to fall for all those diet scams, but just dumb enough to put all my knowledge of diet and exercise aside and go for the quick fix.


That is, until three days ago. At the age of 56 I finally came to the realization that I was only hurting myself with these lies. I looked at a picture of me when I met my husband 30 years ago. I was cute! And sexy! I had curves in all the right places and legs that went all the way down to the floor.


And now I am doing the hard thing. Diet and exercise are not bad words and they are not trying to kill me. I am embracing them and hopefully one day they will embrace me back. As for now, we are just barely talking. But I'm the one with the ruby slippers and I know the secret code.


Betsy