My mom taught me so many wonderful things, but a healthy lifestyle wasn’t one of them. For most of her life, she smoked, loved fattening cooking, and didn’t exercise. Growing up I adopted those habits, too, and by 44 I was overweight and a closet smoker, and my health was deteriorating. Both my blood pressure and cholesterol levels were on the high end of normal. Even though my husband, Gary, worked out, my most physical activity was shopping. If I kept this up, would I be destined for cancer, too? Arnold and her mom throughout the years. Looking at myself in the mirror, I felt scared, sad—and determined to change. When my mom got sick, my life came to a halt while I took care of her. She lost her independence, her strength, and her dignity. I didn’t want my kids to go through that with me. “I’m going to get healthy,” I told Gary when I got home that afternoon. He was shocked—for years he’d encouraged me to join him at the gym or go on bike rides, with no success—but once he realized I was serious, he quickly hopped on board. Soon we started working out every morning and taking long rides on weekends. And I enjoyed it! MORE: How One Woman Lost Weight And Clutter Today exercise is part of my life: I take aerobics and kickboxing classes. I even ran my first 5K. And I haven’t touched a single cigarette in nearly 3 years. So far, the combination of all that effort has helped me get my blood pressure and cholesterol under control and lose 78 pounds. Weekend rides are part of Arnold’s exercise adventure. I know making these changes doesn’t guarantee that I won’t get cancer. But the positive steps I’ve taken have already benefited me—and my family. Who knows? Maybe Mom was with me in the fitting room that afternoon to set me on a healthier path. She always wanted the best for me…and she sure did love shopping. MORE: This Wall Workout Will Transform Your Body
