In the beginning.....

I grew up being your average thin kid. My mom and the rest of my family always teased me about how thin I was. After the birth of my eldest son, I started to put on weight. I got to a size 14 which was the largest I had ever been. I tried weight watchers and failed miserably. After the birth of my daughter, I really packed on the pounds. I remember working in the front yard and being bent over and having someone drive down the road and yell something crude at me because of the size of my behind. I wasn't going to take it anymore and resolved to lose weight. My husband and I joined the Y and I became "super healthy woman". I went from 238lbs to 138lbs and was in a size 2. I could bench press 150lbs. I rode my bike back and forth to work as the weather allowed and did water aerobics twice a week plus I was running about 5miles per day. I started having pain in my legs and visited the orthopedic surgeon who advised me that I have a genetic defect in my knees and that running would only accelerate the arthritis. So I packed on the pounds once again, eating anything I wanted without a care in the world to the tune of 289.5lbs. My blood pressure went up, my blood sugar went up and I was in danger of having a heart attack or ending up diabetic. We have been planning a vacation to FL for this summer and taking the kids to Disney and I want to be able to enjoy the rides with the kids. I really don't want to go through the emberassment of not being able to fit on the rides. I want to have the energy to keep up with my kids and really enjoy myself. I'm tired of hurting all the time, I'm tired of being afraid that I might have a heart attack, I'm tired of being out of breathe when I walk from my office to my car.

I have recently become conscious of what I am putting in my mouth and where it came from, trying to cut out processed foods and eat a little healthier. At the same time, I thought to myself that I like exercise. I am an adrenaline junkie and I love the way you feel right after a workout. One February 28, 2010 my husband and I joined the Y once more and I have resolved this time to keep it off for good. 2 years ago at work we did a blood profile and we did that again this year on March 12. Already I was realizing the fruits of my changes as my cholesterol had gone from bad to good and my A1C went from 101 to 82. I believe that God wants us to be healthy and that He truly wants us to be able to enjoy our life and all that He created for us. I believe that this journey is something that I have to do full out or not at all in order to fully integrate excercise into my lifestyle. I have begun reading labels, eating fresh fruits and veggies and working out at the Y on Monday, Thursday and Saturday and doing an excercise class at my daughters dance studio on Tuesday and Saturday. I like to keep track of weight watcher points just because they have a proven method that works and makes a good guideline to help you know how "bad" for you something might be. I try to focus on freshness and high fiber. I wish I was able to get more things that are locally grown and fresh but am not sure even how to go about it or even that I could afford it. Fresh food has a significant cost difference from processed foods. My family and I need to change how we look at food from a worldly perspective to a Godly perspective and eat to live and not live to eat. So far I have lost 24.9lbs and I feel great. I am down to 264.6 and almost a size 18 again (ah it feels good to be in the teens again!!) My goal is to get to 10 however, I wouldn't be upset if I got into the single digits. My goal weight is 150lbs. I have a long way to go but I know that I can do it and that God can change the way I look at food and my health. I was brought into this world healthy and God is trusting me to be a good steward with what He gave me. I hope you will follow me and encourage me on my journey.