Growing up I never had to worry about what I ate. I was actually
probably too skinny but I never knew any different. I seriously could eat
whatever I wanted and it would not stick; sigh... memories. I was also very active;
I played sports in middle school and was a cheerleader in high school. But once I got to college, I noticed that my body was starting to change, I was
turning into a woman (I did not mind that part). However, when I hit my junior year, my
schedule started to pick up, and I did not work out as much. The pounds slowly
started to creep on and before you knew it my clothes started not to fit and
not because I was getting taller! I knew I had to get on a regular
exercise plan. However, the one thing that I really did not change was my
eating habits. My senior year I got engaged and was determined to lose some
weight for my wedding and did a fairly good job. I was satisfied with my weight
on my wedding day but wanted to continue to work on toning. Obviously, on our honeymoon,
the sky was the limit and we ate whatever we wanted...what a dream. However,
once we got settled into our home and life, that mentality stayed with us! I can
honestly say I gained about 10 pounds my first year of marriage!! Late night
pizza orders, random ice cream runs, it was bad folks. The husband gained
probably half what I gained!! I would exercise here and there, mostly doing
zumba. When we celebrated our 1 year anniversary and I saw the pictures
afterwards I was sickened by the weight I had gained. In other people’s eyes
they might have said you did not look bad, but knowing what I use to look like
I was not happy.
It was then that I determined to work out regularly and started to sort of watch what I was eating. I
did work out regularly 4-5 times a week and got serious about it. I then started
training for a half marathon. To my disappointment, I still was not
seeing a huge change in my weight. I was gaining muscle but the main problem,
my stomach pouch, was not leaving. It was not until I got a stomach ulcer and
really had to watch what I was eating that I noticed a weight loss. I finished
my half marathon, was pleased to have lost about 7 pounds, and was looking
good. After my half marathon, life really picked up again and I was very inconsistent
with working out and not watching too well what I was eating and gained most of
the weight back. I was determined that our eating habits had to start changing.
All the research I had done was saying that 70-80% of losing weight was what
you ate and the rest was exercise. I started looking into clean eating. I did
not want to get on a diet but wanted to make it a lifestyle. Since my husband
and I are in ministry and our lives can get busy we eat out a lot! So we were
doing great at home but terrible when we ate out. I then started a 6 week boot
camp and still did not lose weight! Ok yes I gained muscle and was getting more
toned but again my stomach pouch was not going anywhere! I wrote down
everything I ate for a month and to my amazement was quiet disappointment of
what bad foods I was still sneaking in, again eating out got
me every time!
I am determined to
lose the extra weight and get in the best shape of my life! I know in a couple
of years I want to have children and life will only get busier. I want to make
it a habit in mine and my husbands life to live healthy, eat right and
exercise. So I say all this to say that I am started a new journey, a jump-start you
can say in learning how to eat healthy. I joined this program and I will share
more about it later, and I know it is what I need right now to lose the extra
weight and start from scratch. I have a life coach that will be assisting me in
which I am thrilled because I do better with accountability. I am beyond
excited for this new journey. In faith, a month from now I will be posting a
before and after picture :) So far 5 pounds down, 10 to go!
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