This is my health and fitness story...
After my “Freshman 15” turned into the “Freshman 50”, my struggles with weight-loss began. I was the classic yo-yo dieter. Initially, I tried my own way to lose weight, with working out and diet modification in college. I remember eating a ton of veggie burgers and steamed corn (because corn was about the extent of my wandering into the veggie world!). I arbitrarily used the weight machines at the gym and jogged on the treadmill, following no specific regimen. I didn’t understand that eating a ton of Fat-Free chips was different from eating a ton of fat-free vegetables. Yet, I was discouraged when a summer of following this plan only yielded a 10# weight loss. I felt like I was working my butt off! Because of my short stature, people did notice I'd dropped a few lbs. It felt good and fueled me to lose more. I was extremely uneducated in how to do so, and being in grad school, I didn’t think I had the time to work out (nor was I very motivated to do so). So, da da dum....I did what anyone looking for a quick fix would do--turned to the market of “miracle” diet pills! I lost some weight but felt awful! I would have these episodes after taking them where my skin would turn bright red, hot and itchy. My hair was breaking off and the top of my head looked like a porcupine, and I would get these waves of dizziness/nausea. Still, taking those combined with hardly eating resulted in shedding some pounds, so I convinced myself it was okay. I think now of the damage I caused my body just to be thin! YUCK!
Shockingly (or not at all!), I gained the weight back over the years and ended up back around 170# the day I married my husband. I had no idea I’d gotten so large again until I saw the wedding pictures. I was devastated! That was NOT how I’d wanted to look on my wedding day! A week after our wedding, my dad suddenly passed away from a heart attack. That, combined with seeing our wedding photos, gave me motivation to seek drastic measures. My husband and I both signed up for one of those popular weight loss programs. It cost a FORTUNE (thousands!), but we diligently went to the center weekly, followed the program consisting of some real food, and some of their extremely processed snacks. We did lose weight. I hardly exercised, though, because every time I tried, I felt like I was going to faint from all the "supplement" pills they had us taking. So again, I was back to being thin but unhealthy. And there was no way to maintain that unless I continued eating their snacks and taking their supplements that would "block" carbohydrates (aka: rip me off!!).
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Shortly thereafter, I became pregnant with our first child. Because I was "eating for 2", I actually didn't binge on 5 tubs of Ben and Jerry's slathered with mustard and pickles and a sprinkling of skittles each night (what? Does that sound gross??) Instead, I realized how important it was to put good food into my body. I didn’t want my child receiving chemicals and artificial ingredients from my poor food choices! So, I ate tons of fresh fruits and veggies, walked daily, and managed to gain a mere 20# with that pregnancy. Still, I was unhappy with myself after he was born. I actually thought I'd go home and put on my pre-preggo jeans. HA HA HA!!! ;) I now knew what it felt like to be thin and I desperately wanted that feeling of confidence back! I refused to do anything stupid like diet pills, fake foods, or spending our life savings to drop 20#. So, after I was done nursing, I began to track my calories religiously (I become slightly competitive with myself, so it became just part of my daily routine every day), exercise in group fitness classes and train for a ½ marathon with my husband and some friends…something I NEVER thought I’d do (I always loathed running!)! Over the course of 8 months, I was down to the smallest I’d been since junior high…except this time I was healthy!
After my “Freshman 15” turned into the “Freshman 50”, my struggles with weight-loss began. I was the classic yo-yo dieter. Initially, I tried my own way to lose weight, with working out and diet modification in college. I remember eating a ton of veggie burgers and steamed corn (because corn was about the extent of my wandering into the veggie world!). I arbitrarily used the weight machines at the gym and jogged on the treadmill, following no specific regimen. I didn’t understand that eating a ton of Fat-Free chips was different from eating a ton of fat-free vegetables. Yet, I was discouraged when a summer of following this plan only yielded a 10# weight loss. I felt like I was working my butt off! Because of my short stature, people did notice I'd dropped a few lbs. It felt good and fueled me to lose more. I was extremely uneducated in how to do so, and being in grad school, I didn’t think I had the time to work out (nor was I very motivated to do so). So, da da dum....I did what anyone looking for a quick fix would do--turned to the market of “miracle” diet pills! I lost some weight but felt awful! I would have these episodes after taking them where my skin would turn bright red, hot and itchy. My hair was breaking off and the top of my head looked like a porcupine, and I would get these waves of dizziness/nausea. Still, taking those combined with hardly eating resulted in shedding some pounds, so I convinced myself it was okay. I think now of the damage I caused my body just to be thin! YUCK!
Here I am near my biggest (close to 200#)....
This is me after taking "miracle" diet pills. What you can't
see in this photo is my broken strands of hair, the constant
dizzy feeling and red itchy skin! I liked this haircut though ;)
Here is after gaining about 30# back.... (yo-yo'ing at it's finest!)
Shockingly (or not at all!), I gained the weight back over the years and ended up back around 170# the day I married my husband. I had no idea I’d gotten so large again until I saw the wedding pictures. I was devastated! That was NOT how I’d wanted to look on my wedding day! A week after our wedding, my dad suddenly passed away from a heart attack. That, combined with seeing our wedding photos, gave me motivation to seek drastic measures. My husband and I both signed up for one of those popular weight loss programs. It cost a FORTUNE (thousands!), but we diligently went to the center weekly, followed the program consisting of some real food, and some of their extremely processed snacks. We did lose weight. I hardly exercised, though, because every time I tried, I felt like I was going to faint from all the "supplement" pills they had us taking. So again, I was back to being thin but unhealthy. And there was no way to maintain that unless I continued eating their snacks and taking their supplements that would "block" carbohydrates (aka: rip me off!!).
Shortly thereafter, I became pregnant with our first child. Because I was "eating for 2", I actually didn't binge on 5 tubs of Ben and Jerry's slathered with mustard and pickles and a sprinkling of skittles each night (what? Does that sound gross??) Instead, I realized how important it was to put good food into my body. I didn’t want my child receiving chemicals and artificial ingredients from my poor food choices! So, I ate tons of fresh fruits and veggies, walked daily, and managed to gain a mere 20# with that pregnancy. Still, I was unhappy with myself after he was born. I actually thought I'd go home and put on my pre-preggo jeans. HA HA HA!!! ;) I now knew what it felt like to be thin and I desperately wanted that feeling of confidence back! I refused to do anything stupid like diet pills, fake foods, or spending our life savings to drop 20#. So, after I was done nursing, I began to track my calories religiously (I become slightly competitive with myself, so it became just part of my daily routine every day), exercise in group fitness classes and train for a ½ marathon with my husband and some friends…something I NEVER thought I’d do (I always loathed running!)! Over the course of 8 months, I was down to the smallest I’d been since junior high…except this time I was healthy!
Fast forward to now. Here I am after my 2nd
child, looking to get back into shape. I was lucky to join a 5-day challenge group put on by a friend. Since delivering my baby girl, I hadn't lost any weight until the challenge. It really got me back into clean eating, being conscious of what I put in my mouth and start exercising again.
I am a work in progress and nowhere near perfect. I have run the gamete in
the weight-loss world and finally know that healthy eating and exercise is indeed what works, what gets results and what
is healthy! I love the idea of being able to help and motivate others to
achieve the best version of themselves!
LET'S DO IT!!!!
Here are a few pics after I lost weight the healthy way. Now, after baby #2, I'm looking to find this girl again!!
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