At some point you have to see where you are in your journey and take a look back. Not to turn around and go back or dwell on the past, but simply to admire how far you've come. So I'd like to take you back briefly to how I started my fitness journey. And later (if my mom brain remembers) I'll reflect on the road that evolved into much more than fitness.
I've never considered myself to be 'skinny' or 'fit'. As I grew up and went straight from little girl pants to size 12s in juniors size jeans and then 14s in womens jeans.. All of my friends in school ate whatever they wanted to and stayed small. I was always jealous of their size, their ability to wear whatever prom and homecoming dresses that they wanted, wear cute bras and tank tops, and thought that was the definition of health. And I was bummed that my body wasn't in that category. I played sports in high school and I think burning those calories and sweating my butt off in the school gym with no air conditioning is what kept my weigh gain to a minimum until I graduated. I went into college, able to eat whatever I wanted at school and started working at Applebee's my sophomore year. Fried foods, Sonic ice cream, burgers, booze and late night Taco Bell,...and the 'freshman 15' turned into the 'sophomore, junior, and senior 40'. But I never realized how bad it was. When I told my girlfriends my weight..'Really?' 'You don't look like you are at that weight at all'. And I thought it was okay, that mitigated my desire to lose the weight and be healthy. And my habits didn't change. And I gained 20 more pounds. And at the beginning of 2015 I was 220 lbs and on the verge of a new pants size. Again. I was done. I was going to get into gear and I got the Beachbody program PiYo for Christmas to start in 2015. I was about a month in and we were blessed with pregnancy. And I just wasn't conditioned enough, mind and body, to keep going on my own. I gained 40 (ish) pounds during my pregnancy and I knew when I gave birth that I would do what I set to start at the beginning of that year and get serious about my health. That became an even bigger reality near the end of my third trimester. I began to swell, I chalked it up to summer as well as just being near the end, but then I also developed high blood pressure. Pre-preeclampsia and I had to be induced at 38 weeks. It was totally against my birth preferences but for our safety it had to be done. And when I got home with my first son, I couldn't bend down onto the floor and put pressure on my knees to pick him up and stand up. He was 7.5 lbs and I knew he was only going to get bigger (and fast!). It was another wake up call to get serious. Through my Instagram scrolling I connected to who would become my coach to upline to mentor to best friend. She gave me what I desperately needed. Accountability and community. I began documenting my journey on Facebook and Instagram to stay accountable to myself and encourage and inspire others. I've learned great lessons since starting this calling. You never have to do your journey alone. You always have love and support from someone. And that a balanced life filled with growth and faith is better than perfection and physical fitness goals only. I'm truly thankful and blessed that you take the time to read my stories about my life and journey. If I've inspired and loved on even one person to give themselves grace and, at the same time, work towards being their best badass self then I have achieved my calling.
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September 2017
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