First Steps

Last July (2012) I took the first step. I joined the gym by my house. I was inspired by Chris Powell's Extreme Weight Loss Makeover TV show. I mean, just about everyone on the show had just as much weight or close to what I need to lose. And, they did it! Why couldn't I? So, I bought the book. Read the book. Started carb cycling. Going to the gym. Dropped 40 pounds. And, I was only doing the program halfway, if I'm honest with myself. The premise of the carb cycling was that one could have a cheat meal every other day if that's what it took to keep the clean eating on schedule. Well, my cheat meal came...every day. I did not minimize the amount of fast food I was eating, or the diet sodas (or regular ones, for that matter). Sure, I ate a few more green vegetables (not hard when you eat none). I went to the gym. Like I said, I lost 40 pounds. Then, I got sick. And off track. And finally just abandoned ship completely. In no time, I was back to eating fast food three meals a day. That's where I camped out pretty much until April 2013. I gained back 25 of the pounds I had lost. 

I did the typical New Year's Resolution. Going to make a healthy change. 2013 is going to be my year. And then, January 2nd rolled around. Okay, I'm kidding. Maybe not the 2nd. But it wasn't long. I kept meaning to go back to the gym. Really. I allowed too many things to get in my way. 

Fast forward to March 2013. Sara is going to join with me. So, we go to the gym to sign her up. One of the gym's trainers is there. He introduces himself to us. Then, he says Sara gets two free sessions and we should sign up to use them. I'm pretty sure Sara a d I laughed and said something the effect of, "maybe when we lose some weight. Fat girls have no use for trainers because we cannot do anything substantial." Every month at the gym, our wonderful h2i, Jenn, puts birthdays on the wall. At the end of March, A friend of mine (Cynthia) that I hadn't talked with in a good long while messaged me on Facebook and asked if I went to Anytime Fitness Mt. Pleasant. I think my answer was, "kinda sorta." So she encourages me to come work out with her. So I did. Then, she tells me she is part of Body Challenge 6. What is Body Challenge 6? That's a whole separate post. Maybe I will ask her to guest blog about it. As a side note, I can't wait for Body Challenge 7! 

Then, she tells me she has been working with a personal trainer. Yep, you guessed it. The same trainer that had introduced himself to us when Sara joined. Enter, Danny. 

Stay tuned for the next segment...it only gets better from here. 

New Beginnings

This journey is all about new beginnings. Lifestyle changes. Celebrating success and overcoming failures. For as long as I can remember, I have always been "the chubby girl." Always. I was the fattest 6 lb. 3 oz. baby you ever saw. Literally had fat rolls (no joke, ask my mother)! This is the journey of overcoming my biggest fears and doing something for me.

For the longest time, I only wanted to be truly loved. Not by scores and scores of people, but by those who claimed to be my friends. I sought comfort in the "they have to like me, so I'll do anything it takes," mentality. I was well-liked...when I was doing things for people, or buying them things, or giving of myself. Unfortunately, that table never reversed. It took a long time and many "friendships" for me to see that. Now, I can honestly say that in the past three years or so, I've gained true friends. They are there for me through thick and thin. I have a list of people I can call on in a pinch or need to talk to.

Unless you've walked in the shoes of rejection, I'm not sure you can understand. Let me just give you two vivid examples of things that happened when I was younger. First, in elementary school, I went to a small school. Very. Small. School. I can remember playing outside at recess and everytime I would walk by, one of the boys would state, "Choo-choo...here comes the train." Devastating, let me tell you. Couple that with no friends, and school was pretty miserable for me. Then, when I was in junior high, I went to youth group. I was a few minutes late, so I slipped in during prayer time. By the time the prayer was finished, the whole row of people had moved to a different row. I do not know why to this day. I do know that I never went back to that youth group. Both of those incidents are in my head like they happened yesterday.

High school was not a fun place. Many lunches were spent eating alone or at a table full of other people but still alone. I did not have many friends in high school, and none that I truly keep up with today. I do not keep up with friends from youth group. I have a small group of people that I can share my heart with and that love me for who I am, and not what I can do for them. I am so honored to know those people. They are the ones encouraging me to blog this journey.

Because this post is so long, I will break it up. There will be a couple introductory posts - after all, there are 29 years of bad habits to bust wide open. No time like the present.  Most of you know I have struggled with weight issues all my life. My parents used to tell me I had everything going for me, and that was the only thing hindering me. It's true. I was blessed enough to find a job that I love with people that I enjoy working with. It was a harsh truth to hear from my parents, but one that finally ingrained in me.

Stay tuned for the next post. I'll discuss what made me join the gym the first time around.