And the WINNER of InDependent’s spring giveaway is Bonnie Pritchard. You are an inspiration! Thrive on in your new Asics® Performance Running Shoes courtesy of Deena Kastor, U.S. Olympian.
To help us celebrate our 6-month anniversary, we wanted to know what makes you Spring Into Action and many of you shared your inspiring stories. The InDependent team thanks everyone who participated. Your stories encourage us to not only to continue on our mission to help military spouses thrive through health and wellness, but also to continue working individually to learn what works for us in the face of the many challenges that military life presents.
These are your stories:
Bonnie Pritchard
I’ve stopped glorifying being busy and have (am trying) tried glorifying my health instead. What’s most inspiring is absorbing all the motivation and energy from women who find a way to fit it in no matter what. Anytime I don’t feel like getting up and getting moving, I try to kill two birds (or pounds) with one stone. Like cleaning out the flowerbeds, digging up old plants, getting my dog out for a walk we haven’t tried before, and starting my garden. I’m able to get two things crossed off my list at once!
Jennifer Wake
What is causing me to “spring into action?” Turning 50+. I had decided that by the time I turned 50 I would be healthier and more active. That date came last year and I had done nothing. This year I am teaching a Bible Study called Bod4God. It is helping me realize that only God and I working together can change me. I always say “I can’t… I can’t run… I can’t do Zumba (no coordination)…. add in your own “I can’t…” Through this group of ladies I am seeing how much I can. I can walk 3+ miles with my dog, I can do yoga (It may not be pretty or perfect but I did it…thanks Kimberly). I can eat better. I don’t have it all together yet but I can do more and eat less. I can be healthier for myself with God’s help. I want to be healthier to be around for my family. I can do this….
Tara Crooks
I am motivated to SPRING into action because I want to be different. I don’t want the same challenges and frustrations that those in my family face. I don’t want to have my children having to take care of me after surgeries and because of depression. I deserve, THEY deserve, a better me.
Staying active (despite a heel/ankle injury) and counting WW points is my reality. I am proud to say 3 months in and 21.6 lbs lighter!
Anna Fitch Courie
Training for a half marathon is making me spring into action!:)
Nicole Barnard
Husband coming home from deployment!
Paula Swanson
What is causing me to spring into action? As a wife, mother and {gasp} grandmother with very, very little family history to pull from concerning my health and wellness, it is up to me to take all the necessary steps to ensure I am healthy, happy, and whole. It starts with me doing everything I can and making it my priority – from eating right (portion control), getting enough exercise (walking to and from the parking lot to my office – a mile each way regardless of the weather!) and sleep, to eliminating stress. It is a journey I have not always been successful with, but one I am certainly not abandoning. I have incredible support from my husband and my son especially is my biggest cheerleader – both of them service members (go Army!). And I will run my first 5K this year. That’s my plan and I’m sticking to it!
Jessica Reed Holm
I don’t have time to count calories or step on a scale regularly–and I would go crazy! I just need healthy, whole, real foods so I don’t feel nauseous from processed junk, enough sleep to not have dark circles under my eyes, and exercise to have enough energy to keep up with my kids and be able to zip up my dresses that I adore! I’m a dress girl. I mean…not that maintaining awareness of calories and health stats are necessarily a bad thing! It just didn’t fit MY life when I attempted in the past. To each his/her own!
Kowanda Engels McBride
What is causing me to spring into action? Well, I’m a wife, mom, and volunteer. All the giving and doing has to be balanced with taking care of myself. I recently started back with martial arts training. Also, we (husband, son, and dogs) go for a run together 3-4 times a week.
Pamela Hodson Emmons
I’m springing into action to help my extended family. I’m hoping that by showing them how to eat healthy and workout on a regular basis, that they will be more inclined to join me this summer when we move back to our home state!
Jessie Herrmann
I’ve always wanted to run a half marathon with my dad, a marathon runner my entire life. Neither of us is getting any younger, so the goal is this December! Plenty of time to be ready.
Debbie Becker Herald
There’s a spring in my step this year! I’ve found a buddy who keeps me showing up at the gym, and a group of fellow spouses and I are training for a half marathon while our husbands are deployed (watch for some artillery red at the See Jane Run in Wichita!)
Lindsay Lathinghouse Teplesky
Although I always knew that I should eat healthier, it wasn’t until the lovely Christie Nix turned me on to the idea of a plant-based diet that I finally made some significant changes. Once I watched Forks Over Knives and read some books about the benefits of a whole-foods, plant-based diet (especially those by the Campbell and Esslestyn crew) it was a pretty easy transition. What motivates me to continue “springing into action” is not any weight-loss or weight management benefits (since I’m one of those chronically skinny people), but a completely unexpected improvement in my relationship with exercise and my overall psychological health. Now I can simply exercise for the enjoyment of it rather than always feeling like it is an obligation to somehow compensate for whatever unhealthy foods I eat that day. Exercise is no longer a chore to cross of the daily ‘to-do list’ and there are no more feelings of guilt if I skip the gym in lieu of playing outside with my daughters. And there’s another great motivator – the knowledge that I’m setting a healthy example for my girls!
If you weren’t able to participate, but would still like to share your story please leave it in the comments below.
