Get Fit for Life: Roxanne Atkinson Shares Her Secrets

By Roxanne Atkinson.

CENTRAL — The year was 1980.  I was 32 years old and the mother of five children.  Three months after having that fifth child, I was still wearing maternity clothes!

I was shocked and dismayed that the weight I had gained during the last pregnancy was not just the baby!  He was born weighing 7 pounds, and I was 194 pounds!

At 5-foot-4, I was too small to be carrying so much weight, and I couldn’t hide behind the new baby in my arms.

I was miserably unhappy with the way I looked and felt.  How in the world was I going to keep up with five healthy children?

It was then that something clicked inside my brain and I made a decision:  I am not going to be this way the rest of my life!

I set out then and there to discover a way to find myself again.

Without really knowing what I was doing, I began to do something every day that was a challenge — I managed to carve out 30 minutes each day to exercise… yes, me….exercise!

I had never liked to sweat or workout.  As a student, I had hated P.E.  Just ask anyone who knew me then.  I always seemed to have P.E. the first hour of school.  As a result, my hair was ruined for the rest of the day!  Running around a track at 8:30 a.m. was not my idea of having fun.  Besides that, those red one-piece exercise suits never fit anyone right, and no amount of alterations helped!  Yet, here I was — an adult exercising every day.

At first, I tried jogging around the house.  I did some jumping jacks and knee lifts.  I jogged in place while talking on the phone.

I didn’t realize it then, but I was doing aerobic exercise!  I was working my heart at a consistent rate for a set amount of time!

Years later, when I met Dr. Kenneth Cooper, the founder of aerobics, he shared with me that he had made this discovery on his own as well.  With the information he gathered on aerobic exercise, he designed a fitness program for the astronauts.  He continues to share this knowledge and work out himself at the Institute for Aerobic Research in Dallas, where I received my certification to teach aerobics in 1982.

Back to my beginnings of exercise: After a few weeks, I noticed that I was feeling better.  My new baby was thriving and gaining weight, and I was steadily losing weight and becoming more energetic.

I knew that I needed to learn how to eat right.  So I went to nutrition counseling.  I learned how to cook balanced meals that were low in fat and high in nutritional value.  I added more vegetables and fruit to my diet and stopped drinking soft drinks completely.  I had discovered that they were high in sodium and sugar that my body just did not need.

I avoided fried foods, sugar, bread, and potatoes. The diet that the counselor placed me on was very limiting, but I needed that to cleanse my body of the many toxins that had built up in me for so long.

I also needed to learn how to discipline myself.  I stopped finishing what the children left on their plates.  I stopped the mindless snacking between meals.  I even stopped tasting so much when I cooked for the family.  Many times before, I was full before we even sat down for dinner because of all the tasting I had done while preparing the meal!

Within six months of proper eating and exercise, I weighed in at 119 pounds and lost over 75!

After reaching my weight goal, I stopped the rigid diet that the counselor had provided for me and began to add back some of the foods that I had always loved.

After I arrived at my weight goal, moderation was the key.  If I overindulged in certain foods one day, then I cut back the next day.  I weighed myself often and kept on exercising.

I was able to maintain this weight and energy level for many years, but then realized that I missed certain foods and didn’t like the feelings of guilt that I had learned to associate with them.  I have always loved chocolate, my mom’s corn bread dressing, sweet potato casserole, and rice and gravy.   My grandfather always ate his desert first so that he would always have room for it.  He is now 106 and still does that!

Therefore, it was wonderful when in 2000, I read a book called Rise Above by Gwen Shamblin.  After reading the first chapter, I realized that I was on to something when I read, “You may eat anything, but you are not to be mastered by anything, for ‘You are not your own; you were bought at a price.  Therefore honor God with your body.’ (1 Cor. 6:19b-20).”

From reading this book and attending the Weigh-Down Diet Workshop at a nearby church, I learned to take my focus off food and put it on a closer relationship with God.

I discovered so many passages in the Bible that encouraged me to think on Him instead of where my next meal was coming.

I learned how to only eat when I was really hungry.  I waited until my stomach actually growled before I would eat.  I served myself a variety of foods, but stopped eating when I was full.  I would then save the leftovers and have them later when I was hungry again.

I realized while learning this how often I had eaten without really thinking about whether I was hungry or not.  The lessons I learned as a youngster about cleaning my plate because there were starving children who would love to have what I was wasting didn’t work on me anymore.

I learned to serve smaller portions, and I also learned to eat small meals more often to maintain a constant source of energy.  I learned to not grocery shop when I was hungry. I also learned how to take home ‘doggie bags’ from the restaurant as the portions served in most restaurants are way too large.  I really like sweets but discovered that a little goes a long way.  I did not deny myself that piece of chocolate or that special cheese cake, but I ate only a bite or two, instead of eating a whole slice.

Food really tastes so much better when it is savored and only eaten when very hungry.  I enjoyed my meals more and made more of an effort at making each meal an event.  I set the table, served myself and my family, and we enjoyed meals around the dining room table instead of in front of the television.

Mindless eating became a thing of the past for me.  I was satisfied and able to lose weight in the process.  If I felt stuffed after eating a meal, I knew that I had eaten too much.

My goal was to feel satisfied and with much practice, I learned to recognize those feelings in me of being hungry, to eat until I felt comfortably full, and then to stop.

This is how I eat to this day.  It has freed me to enjoy food again in a healthy way.

Even the best of diets leave us lacking in certain vitamins and minerals.  I do believe in taking supplements and have supplemented my diet for about 20 years now.

For many reasons, our foods do not contain the nutrients they did 50 years ago.  The alarming fact is that foods (fruits, vegetables, and grains) are now being raised on land that no longer contains enough of certain minerals that we need.  No matter how much of them we eat, no man today can eat enough fruits and vegetables to supply his system with the minerals he requires for perfect health because his stomach isn’t big enough to hold them!

Believing all of this, I found supplements that are natural that really work for me.  I have a sense of well-being from taking them.  For my optimal health, I take:

• Glyconutrients for cell-to-cell communication and immune support

• Phytonutrients to detoxify the system (plant nutrients)

• Phytohormones for glandular function (plant hormones)

• Essential Fatty Acids for cell regulation, hormonal function and metabolism

• Essential amino acids, which serve as the building blocks for all proteins

• Antioxidants to protect cells from oxidative damage

I believe that top quality nutrients are no longer a luxury, but a necessity.  Thankfully, there are many out there from which to choose.  Regular blood workups clue me in on what my needs are as well as yearly visits to the doctor to monitor my health.

Staying hydrated is another thing I learned to do.

I actually learned to like water.  I tell my classes all the time that the minute they feel thirsty, they are already de-hydrated.  It is important to drink water before, during, and after a workout and throughout the day.  I discovered that oftentimes, when I thought I was hungry, I was actually just thirsty.

Staying hydrated gives our bodies the fluid it needs to function properly.  Everything works better in our systems when we hydrate regularly. Our skin especially likes it.  So many things in our diets work as diuretics; for instance, coffee and tea.  After a while of drinking water regularly, the body will start to crave it and it will be easier to satisfy that thirst.

Adequate sleep is necessary for the body to renew itself.  I go to bed at a regular time and wake at a regular time.  I also take time to read and meditate.

I grew up with a dad who always told me that “Attitude is everything!”  I believe that it is healthy to maintain a good attitude.

One of the benefits of exercising is that “feel good” hormones (endorphins) are manufactured in our bodies when we work out.  It’s what is called ‘the natural high’ and one can experience it in a workout. It’s often called a “second wind.”

After exercising, I actually think better.  Sometimes I get my best ideas while working out. These feelings make me want to continue exercising.  I have found too, that working out with a group encourages me and gives me emotional energy.

Here it is 2011, and I am now  the grandmother of 10!  Because of exercise, being more balanced in my approach to food, and finding time to recharge my own batteries, I was able to run and play with my own children. Now I can run and play with my grandchildren!

I am feeling so great that I have opened up to try and experience new visions in my life.  I was recently elected to the Central Community School Board, and I am excited about the opportunity to serve my community.  Earl, my husband of 42 years, and I are looking forward to traveling more and seeing this beautiful world God made for us to enjoy and experience.

I am so grateful that it is never too late to begin a healthy lifestyle.  It has become one of my missions in life to help and encourage others to believe this same principle.  I have seen hundreds of people choose this healthier lifestyle and become fit for life.  People of all ages come through my program from 10 year olds to 84 years young.

One of the biggest truths I have learned is that we have the power within ourselves to do something to change and improve our health.  It comes from first making the decision that we are going to commit to a healthier lifestyle.  That something clicked inside of me more than 30 years ago and has continued to inspire me to “keep on keeping on.”

Many in my classes have been with me since the early years.  We support and encourage one another in all walks of our life, and the chief thing that holds us together is our willingness to come together a few times a week and work out.  We have fun sharing stories of family, pets, hobbies, recipes, and friends.  We pray together when faced with a challenge.  The constant thread that binds us together is the coming together to work out.

In order to be fit for this life, of which we been blessed, we must learn to care for our bodies and respect all that this body can do for us.  To be healthy and fit for life, we must find something we enjoy doing and keep doing it!  Encouraging one another along the way, we must find something that works for us.

It has become a way of life for me and for many in my classes.  We go to church, we visit our doctor regularly, we brush our teeth, we take care of family, we work to find balance with our diets and our responsibilities, and we work out!

It’s a simple concept, but it must begin with a decision:  My decision to change has impacted my whole life.  I am so thankful that I began all those years ago.

It’s never too late to begin.

Become fit for life!

It’s a challenge that, if accepted, will bless you for all your life, however long it may be.