Why I strive to live healthfully:

Support my husband. 

Everyone who is drawn to this website has something in common – we love and support our military spouses.  For my husband to succeed at his job, I must give him a supportive environment at home.  He puts on the uniform and earns the paycheck but what happens if his PT score fails and his weight is unacceptable?  We are a team.  My goal in supporting my husband is to foster a healthy environment where he can succeed at his job, both mentally and physically. That means cooking healthy meals which require meal planning.

Family medical history.

My family history is cluttered with ailments that run the gambit of possibilities. Type-2 diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, cancers, hypertension, arthritis, and the list goes on.  I am predisposed to all of it but there is hope.  Everything I just listed can be prevented and I can control how I treat my body. I choose to be active in order to keep my joints healthy and prevent arthritis.  I choose to eat healthfully to avoid developing diabetes, heart disease, and high blood pressure. My husband has a similar, though not quite as cumbersome, family medical history. It is necessary for both of us to prevent the onset of such diseases to live long, healthy, functional lives.

Combat depression. 

The military life is hard.  We’re far from the family who raised us, we move constantly, face deployments, give up our own careers, and if you have children that adds a whole other level of stress.  When I first got married I’d have a “melt down” at least once a month due to an identity crisis.  I met my husband in college, got my degree, but gave up a great job and the opportunity to continue my education to follow him.  While I love him and 100% support his career I struggled to find my identity as well.  Another major stress is living so far from family.  A year ago, my husband received orders for Germany – our top choice! Only two weeks later my grandmother, the woman who raised me, was diagnosed with Stage 4 Endometrial Cancer. It was incredibly difficult to leave her to live across the world and I often sense depression creeping in.  My constant go-to solution to de-stress and fight depression is working out. It is that time that gives me the opportunity to leave behind all the stuff and focus on the one thing in my control – my workout.