My fitness journey isn't about getting a 6 pack or weighing 115 pounds. I don't workout for hours a day or starve myself. This journey is quite the opposite.
It's about learning to love, appreciate, and care for my body. When I was at my heaviest, ALL areas of my life suffered. Getting my health under control has been one of the best decisions of my life.
What makes my story relevant? The short version...I've been through a lot of stuff! In spite of the complications in my life, I've found a way to get my life back on track. I'm reaching my personal, health and fitness goals. My spiritual life is thriving. I'm becoming the person I always thought I could be. I'm still struggling in some areas, but I believe there is hope for me...and for you too! I'm happy to share my story in hopes of helping others that may be stuck in a REAL LIFE FUNK! The early years.....
My health wasn't an issue when I was a teenager. I was active through high school with running, and I LOVED swimming. I remained fit all through my teens, with a pretty healthy body image. One of the most amazing events of my life, was finding my soul mate so young. We were 15 and 16, and instantly became inseparable. Young LOVE! We beat all the odds and remain happily married 18 years later. |
| Just before we married in 1997 |
Those early years seem like a blur now. We moved, a lot! Those little tiny apartments. Short on money. No time for each other. Going to college. Working 2-3 jobs. Becoming parents...
I gained A LOT of weight! I just let myself go. I didn't care. I figured now was my chance to eat whatever I wanted. It took a year, but I got all the extra weight off. I remained slim, but out of shape through my early 20's.
After my daughter was born 4 years later, I struggled to get the weight off. I needed to exercise, not just eat less. I felt better about myself, even with my "mummy tummy". I was healthy, active and happy. My family was thriving.
Of course, I was unhappy with gaining weight so, I would "diet". My "diet" was usually some extreme, starving all the time, type diet. I would lose the weight and then quickly return to my old eating habits. I loved to eat sweets, fried foods and anything CARB! I was either "on a diet" or "off the wagon". There was no consistency to anything I did. I had ZERO confidence. My weight was up 20 pounds and down 20 pounds-- several times a year! Yo-Yo Dieting at it's worst.
My metabolism became seriously damaged and very sluggish. I could never find a healthy balance and stick with it. I started to develop a poor body image. Even when I was at my thinnest, I still felt like I was huge.
My metabolism became seriously damaged and very sluggish. I could never find a healthy balance and stick with it. I started to develop a poor body image. Even when I was at my thinnest, I still felt like I was huge.
The Competition years....
Thankfully, I was exercising regularly. I found that running really helped control my mood. I even trained and competed in 2 Sprint Distance Triathlons. Being able to compete was very empowering for me. I trained harder and harder, but my eating habits got worse and worse. I had to workout longer and harder to keep up with all the overeating. Eventually, fitness became an unhealthy obsession for me. I pushed myself to serious pain and injury.
Surgery, Surgery, and mystery health problems....
Shortly after my second Danskin Triathlon, I started to have pain in my feet. It was hard to run. I could barely walk without pain. I went to several doctors before I was told I needed to have surgery. I was TERRIFIED. Running was my best friend. I just KNEW I would gain weight...A LOT of weight!
So I put the surgery off. I just had to do....one...more...competition.
But, the pain became unbearable, forcing me to have the surgery. The surgery took way longer than expected. I had a torn Achilles tendon that required repair, which meant a much longer recovery.
And, just for fun, I had the other foot operated on at the SAME time. I mean, who wants to recover twice? BAD IDEA! I crawled to the bathroom for weeks.
I can honestly say that recovering from that double foot surgery was one of the hardest times of my life. I couldn't exercise, my mood was ALL over the place and I piled on weight. I gained 25 pounds in a couple months. After, I was recovered I started to walk. Immediately, I developed plantar fasciitis. It's a horrible, painful inflammation of the tendon in bottom of your foot!
That's when the deep depression sunk in. I began to believe that I would never be the person I was before. I hated my body. I hated my life. Nothing felt right.
And just when I thought things couldn't get any worse, I contracted Lyme's Disease. Many months of antibiotic treatments left my immune system out of commission. I spent the next several years, sick with every cold and flu virus known to man. Chronic sinus and ear infections causes damage to my sinuses and I required sinus surgery to repair them. Worst. Surgery. Ever.
Those are the highlight of the surgery/illness years. All in all, I had 5 surgeries, in 5 years. I still have "mystery symptoms" related to my Lyme's Disease exposure.
During these years, we also made a huge change as a family and moved back to our home town. We left the place we had lived for 11 years, our friends, our jobs and everything we had built together. Moving was a good decision, but change is hard.
I decided to finish my nursing degree and spent several years working and going to college. My health was the LAST priority. I gained 25 more pounds while in college. I finished school at a solid 200 pounds. Man, I really hated that! I was barely fitting in a size 16 pants. They were skin tight.
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| At my graduation from Nursing School |
The REDESIGN
That moment when I knew I had to change. I will never forget it. We were vacationing in Florida last spring. I was 200 pounds. A very tight size 16. I thought maybe I would feel better about myself if I bought some nice clothes. I cried when I tried on swim suits. It was so demoralizing. I left the store with a few things and decided I was going to make the best of it.
When I got to the beach I felt so out of shape and completely embarrassed of myself. I had REALLY let myself go. I spent the week wrapped in a towel, sitting on the beach...watching everyone else enjoy themselves. I just couldn't believe what I was missing out on....all because I made poor eating/drinking choices and didn't exercise. I used to be the "fun Mom" in the water and playing in the sand. Something had to seriously change!
We returned home and I started researching diets and workout programs. To the bottom of my heart I KNEW I needed to do something totally different. I wanted lasting results and not another crash diet. I also knew I needed support, a group of people to count on.
By some stroke of miracle I stumbled upon an online Fitness Challenge Group. The group offered a fitness coach, fitness plan, meal/nutritional help, accountability and encouragement. I thought "now here is something I have NOT tried before". I decided to go ALL in! I paid for the fitness program and started to workout, eat better and drink Shakeology everyday. The results of my efforts are more apparent everyday.
The biggest change was in my mindset. I lost my "quick fix" thinking. I began to think about my health vs weight loss. There have been some ups and downs. I've struggled with my health issues flaring up. I need to modify the workouts due to the screw in my heel and bad knees. But, I'm overcoming. I have lost weight, but more importantly, I've found my voice. I'm finding that spiritual part of me that was lost. God isn't a distant thought. I'm excited about the future. I don't feel like a prisoner in my own body any longer. I know the rest of the weight I'd like to lose will come off because after all these years ---I've learned consistency!
Can you relate? Are you ready to make a change?
Thanks for reading--
Karen
Thank you Mommy! I love you :D
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