I have been so inspired by all the health/fitness/weight loss blogs I have been reading lately that I decided to start my own. I'm excited about the opportunity to be able to share my "get healthy" journey. So let me take you back to the beginning.
I have struggled with my weight my entire life. In fact, I would go so far as to say it has been a major focus of my life since I was a child. Sad, right?
I managed to keep it semi in check through tennis in high school, but after graduation I started gaining. And gaining.
In 2003 I decided to have the Gastric Lap Band procedure. And I lost some weight. But it wasn't a "cure all", and I gradually gained it back.
In 2006 I got married to my wonderful husband, Charles. At the time I weighed about 212. (I'm 5'8"). We got pregnant a few months after we were married. And the weight gain started again.
Since I was pregnant I had the lap band completely drained. Meaning--it was still inside of me, but was no longer restricting what I could eat.
And boy did I EAT!
After having that band in me and being restricted on what/how I could eat for a few years my new found freedom was amazing. And I took advantage of it. Then at 19 weeks of pregnancy I was put on bed rest.
So I laid in bed. And ate junk food. For 20 weeks.
Yes, I'm proud (sarcasm here) to say I was tipping the scale at 300 pounds the day I delivered my son. Can't believe I just put that out there for the whole world to see. Have to say though, there is something cathartic about being able to admit it. So I'll say it again.
I weighed 300 pounds the day I delivered my son. I was miserable.
Somehow I thought the weight would just melt away. I was breastfeeding and people kept telling me how that helped you lose weight. So I did nothing about it. Other than wish I was skinny. Amazingly enough all that "wishing" didn't work.
We had moved away from our family due to my husbands job. I was in a new state, with a new baby and no friends. I was depressed. So I focused on my son and ignored myself. For a year.
And would you believe that when his 1st birthday came along I had only lost 22 pounds. And I was still miserable. I was mortified when I saw how I looked in his 1st birthday pictures. Our photographer (lisa @nowandthenphotography.com) had done such an AMAZING job, and I was to ashamed to have any of the family pictures printed because of how I looked.
And yet, I still didn't have an "Aha.." moment. Why? I'm honestly not sure. After 25 years of hating the way I looked you would think I would've been ready to say, "Enough is enough." But I wasn't.
By December of 2008 my son was getting pretty active. And I was having a hard time keeping up with him. Up until this point I had been able to make excuses to myself about my weight. I told myself I was too busy being a "good mom", too busy doing everything I could for my son. Until I noticed that I actually looked forward to my sons nap time. I know all moms look forward to nap time, but I looked forward to it because I was worn out. Completely exhausted simply from trying to keep up with my one year old. I was constantly sweating and short of breath. How could I be a "good" mom if I couldn't even play with my son. I REFUSED to be the mom that parks their kid in front of a TV.
So I decided to change.
January 5, 2009 was the day I stopped making excuses and started making changes. I weighed 278 pounds. Today I weigh 179. Eight and a half months later I have lost 99 pounds all on my own. No fad diets, no pills, no aid from surgery. Just my own perseverance.
Here is a picture of me now. I still have more weight to lose, but more importantly, I am constantly working on being healthier. I appreciate every ones support along this journey. Talk to you soon!
