Swim Your Way into the Arms of Matthew McConaughey

Matthew McConaughey

No, not INTO Matthew McConaughey's arms, romantically, but into the type of strength and confidence those famous arms exemplify.

Note: this is not just a fitness article, but also a bit of autobiography. Enjoy!

 Swimming Pool

I love swimming.

I love the sensuality of sliding my body into the water. I love the feeling of the water lifting and supporting me. I love the way water equalizes people.

Morbid Obesity

When I weighed 350 pounds, friends would say, "just exercise and eat healthy." Well, "Duh!" - if only I could MOVE! But at my size, the normal activities that smaller people took for granted, ranged from painful to impossible.

Imagine going through your everyday life wearing a 200 pound backpack. Imagine wearing it to work. Imagine wearing it while you clean the bathroom or shop for groceries. Imagine wearing it to the State Fair on a hot summer day. Imagine wearing it when you try to play with your child. Imagine the stress on your back, your feet, your knees. Imagine the fatigue.

Imagine the only time you could take off your backpack was when you slipped into the swimming pool. Then, and only then, could you be on equal footing with "normal"-sized people. Then, and only then, did I dare to imagine what life might be like without my backpack. There, I could streeeetch. I could envision myself as graceful ballerina or a gymnast. More importantly, I could MOVE like a ballerina or a gymnast! (Well, almost.) Fat tissue is buoyant. In the water, instead of impeding my progress, it became an advantage! I didn't know how to swim, but at least I couldn't sink! Step3So I started slowly walking laps in the pool. Gradually, I learned to float and to propel my body through the water. I soon developed swimming strength, stamina, hope. When I moved through the water, I visualized a polar bear or a whale. But that's okay. I was moving; I felt free.

Gastric Bypass Surgery

For me, the next step was gastric bypass surgery. Because of all the water-walking and swimming, I was strong when I went into surgery. I was blessed to heal quickly and was back in the swimming pool after about two weeks.

Morbid obesity is a serious illness, and weight loss surgery is a big deal. The surgery is not for everyone, nor should it be. I had already seen death up close and personal on two occasions. At my size, a third episode was likely, and my survival odds decreased with each one.

Weight Loss

Pounds came off. Diabetes went away. Mobility returned. I lost the equivalent of a whole person in weight. I could fit both legs into one leg of my old jeans. I landed my dream job. Men smiled at me in restaurants; held doors open for me. Through it all, I continued swimming workouts at least 3 times a week, and as I got smaller, the strength in my body more than made up for the loss of buoyancy. I began to depend on swimming workouts more and more for mental serenity and stress-relief. As my strong arms pulled me through the water, my mind could be miles away, writing articles, designing business plans, imagining life as it could be. As it turned out, I would need those serenity-breaks, over the next few years.

My "dream job" turned into a nightmare. It became increasingly difficult to get to the swimming pool. Pounds returned. My daughter became seriously ill, and needed a great deal of care. Sometimes I thought we were losing her. Exhaustion set in, and swimming workouts stopped altogether. More pounds returned. The backpack was reclaiming me.

Stress

One day, I hit the wall. I still remember it as a kind of brokenness. My husband remembers it as a burst of insight. Interesting how often those things go hand in hand. My child NEEDED a full time parent. I NEEDED to reclaim the health I had fought so hard to claim. I thought I NEEDED my career, and that my family NEEDED my income. But SOMETHING had to give.

I will always regret the sudden resignation I tendered to my employer, but I cannot regret the healing that began that day.

I became a hands-on parent, and my daughter slowly began to recover. I went back to the swimming pool and the weight gain was at least arrested. As my body grew stronger, I began feeling increasingly capable. I swam my way through the start-up of a home-based business, as well at it's subsequent failure when the economy tanked. I swam through the foreclosure on our house, and the downsizing of our lifestyle that followed.

Those strong swimming strokes allowed me to embrace the changes in our life and shape them into something that was satisfying and simple. Pounds slowly began melting away. Now I embrace the second half of my life. I imagine the "empty nest" in the not too distant future. There is no dread or fear attached to it. I returned to my roots as a writer. Each day I work hard, pray for blessings and do what I can to bless those around me.

Christian Faith

As a person of faith, I give credit to my Savior, Jesus, for every blessing and for every turn in the path. Sometimes when swimming, I imagine His strong arms infused with mine, clearing the path ahead, pulling the water toward myself, and drawing others into His warm embrace.

Now, I swim almost a mile each time I visit the gym. My swimming strokes slice through the water, propelling me lap after lap. I am mindful of every muscle group and how they interact seamlessly, perfectly, with my body and my soul.

Peace

So where does Matthew McConaughey fit into all this?

Well, as a middle-aged, plus-size woman, I know my arms will ever look like his (at least not without serious plastic surgery!). But they are strong, they are able, and I am confident using them to bless my world.

For me, swimming feels like Matthew McConaughey looks. When I think of my strong arms, and how they got so strong, I imagine muscles like Matthew's in my mind's eye! And that feels wonderful!