From the Beginning.....

I am going to follow suit of naming my blog and start by talking about the positive accomplishments throughout the past months as remaining positive throughout this journey is my biggest priority. On January 15, I set out to accomplish 120 miles on the treadmill and bike prior to my husband's 30th birthday, which is tomorrow! I am elated to announce that not only did I accomplish this feat, but I have exceeded it and am excited to start thinking of my next goal for the months to come.

A little bit about where I started and where I have come: I have always enjoyed working out as it gives me a sense of, not only, accomplishment, but also an enhanced self-esteem and comfort with my physical body. I have never been a "small" woman and I gave up that dream long, long, ago. Something I had always dreamed about, though, was feeling comfortable in my own skin and not worrying putting on a swimsuit or a pair of shorts without shame. These feelings of embarrassment over my body began when I was in college when the weight gain really started when I entered college....

While in high school, I participated in sports year round and spent most of my childhood days outdoors playing with neighborhood friends so my metabolism was constantly being challenged. However, when I entered into my college days, the activities that required physical activity diminished and the weight piled on. My freshman year at KSU, I remember being in complete denial that I was gaining weight so rapidly and often put it off as "the normal freshman 15." The weight continued to rise as I finished out my undergraduate work and physical activity was no longer a priority for me. I eventually gained a job working for The Cheesecake Factory in Kansas City and was "rewarded" for training new staff and being shift leader with free food and desserts. By the time, I moved to Chicago for graduate school, I was thirty pounds above my high school weight just 5 short years later. I was ashamed and embarrased, but put on a happy face as to hide the misery of self-defeat. While in Chicago, I was diagnosed with diabetes and hypothyroidism and started managing these diseases with medication, but was also urged to increase exercise and diet control. The results of this lifestyle change was fantastic and I was eventually back down to an ideal weight range. Life was good!

Shortly after this time period, I returned to Kansas with my soon-to-be husband and I began planning our wedding. I was escatic to be planning one of the most proud and exciting days of my life, but this did not come with additional stress and worry! As most women know, planning a wedding ranks amongst the highest of stressors that one can endure. This stress and the change in environment (i.e driving 2 blocks to grab a bottled water rather than walking in Chicago) promptly added the weight back on. Sigh....
Before I knew it, I was expecting my first child. YEAH!! Being diabetic, weight management and a careful eye on diet is essential for a healthy baby, so I was sure to make this a priority during the next nine months. The watchful eye and lowered sugar didn't make a lot of difference with my weight during my pregnancy as I still gained 50+ lbs when I was pregnant with Owen. Like all pregnancies, my body took a hard hit and I really struggled getting back to my pre-pregnancy weight. About 7 months after having Owen, we decided to move back to my hometown of Beloit and stress and I became great friends, once again. Once we got settled in our new community, I began refocusing on the weight loss and where I wanted to be before getting pregnant with my second. It took my husband and I about 9 months to conceive our little firecracker, Owen, so we assumed that getting pregnant the second time would take equally as long. We were wrong and I ended up finding out I was pregnant shortly after Owen's first birthday! We were excited, but deep down, I was worried about the weight gain to come and the fact that I hadn't lost all of the weight from the first pregnancy. I decided to dedicate my time and efforts this pregnancy to prevent weight gain like I encountered during my pregnancy with Owen. The first months were easy to manage this as I had morning sickness and was too tired to do anything, including eating. :) 9 months later, however, I was up a whopping 65 pounds! YIKES!! Now, the difference with this pregnancy was that when I delivered Owen, I returned home from the hospital weighing 25lbs less I had gone in weighing. With Harper, I had a c-section due to a few complications and left the hospital weighing 5 pounds less than when I had gone in. I'm not even sure how this is possible as I had a 7+pound baby! Anyway, this was the highest weight I had been at to date and I felt it!! I felt tired, grumpy, lazy, and had an overall HEAVY feeling. I was pretty fun to be around...wink, wink!

I knew it was time to change, but I had to wait to workout until I healed from the c-section. Timing was great and I decided to participate in a Survivor Challenge that started right when my 6 week restriction period was up. This challenge included 6 weeks of workout challenges, dietary challenges and an overall commitment to fitness. I lost an amazing 40 pounds during this challenge and really gave my metabolism a kick in the rear! Right after this challenge, the NCK Wellness Center conducted a swim challenge where members were required to swim 30 miles in 10 weeks. I have to admit, I was extremely hesitant to not only try to swim laps in a lap pool as I had never done this, but my biggest fear was putting on the dreaded swimsuit to do the laps. Stretch marks, cellulite, loose skin, and fat in places I didn't know were possible were what I saw when I looked in the mirror and getting the courage to look past all that and see the body that I really wanted to have was what helped me put that itsy bitsy, teeny tiny, swimsuit on that first day. The pounds nearly fell off and I made it through the challenge with ease finishing up a week prior the challenge deadline. I was now at 54 pounds lost in just 3 months and I couldn't wait to start looking for my next "challenge." So, I grabbed a few friends and we are currently participating in the Lose to Win Challenge at the gym. The goals is to lose as much weight in an 8 week period as possible. So far, I have lost 13 pounds and decreased my body fat percentage by 3%. My goal was to lose 30 pounds so I have to work extra hard over these next 3 weeks! Setting small, acheivable goals (i.e. 120 miles as mentioned above)for myself have really helped me to lose the extra weight that I have been carrying around for all of these years!!

In the months to come, I hope that this blog not only helps to keep me focused, but also assists with reminding me about how much I love the new positive and healthy me. I used to get on a treadmill and huff and puff, barely making it a mile without collapsing. Today, I am running 5Ks on a daily basis, swimming over a mile at a time and biking up to 15 miles in a workout session. It feels great to be in better health and my family is reaping the benefits as I have never been happier!