I enjoy sharing the story about my journey because I believe it may help others in their own journey and if it can help just one person than it is worth sharing.
Though my story may sound similar to others it is also different and unique because it is about my personal experiences. I strongly believe it is impossible for an individual to go through this sort of excursion without experiencing some type of epic change in their life.
My journey began because I wanted “to get healthy” because I was trying to reel in my family to want to be healthy. You see ultimately “fear” is what initially bought me to this point and “habit” keeps me here. Habit and an overwhelming desire to see obesity defeated across America one pound at a time.
In 2011, my hubby was diagnosed with a rather large kidney stone. Due to the size and the unique shape of the kidney stone physicians told us it could not be passed in it’s current state; therefore, he had to undergo a procedure that would somehow crush the stone to several smaller pieces in order that it could be passed naturally. It happened to be a stormy, rainy morning on the particular morning this procedure was scheduled to occur and as we set out for the hospital my hubby took a little pill called “Cipro” as instructed because it was supposed to “calm” him and prepare him for his procedure. However, as I drove him to the hospital for this scheduled procedure he was in quite a bit of pain, very uncomfortable and nervous. We were finally a few miles away from the hospital waiting at a stoplight when it became clear my husband might become physically ill. Luckily we happened to have one of those fancy, unused, clean vomit bags from the hospital in the car so I handed it to him and in an attempt to respect his privacy I turned my head to look out my window so that I would not be facing him. As I was waiting for the light to turn green, all of the sudden my husband violently slammed into me! Immediately I turned to him and said, “Ouch!!! What is wrong with you?” but when I turned to look at him I was scared because he was completely unconscious and all I could see were the whites of his eyes!! In an instant I was a complete mess – I was yelling his name, “Tim, Tim”, but he didn’t respond. It was in that very moment that I feared the absolute worst and I placed my fingers on his neck to see if he had a pulse, but almost as soon as I touched his neck my husband suddenly jumped up and anxiously said to me, “What are you doing?”
Needless to say I was overwhelmed with a mixture of emotions from – fear, shock and scared out of my mind, yet at the same time so thankful he was alive. I asked him what happened and he didn’t seem to know. He said one minute he thought he was going to be sick, then he got dizzy, and then all of the sudden everything started going black, but he didn’t remember anything after that. The crazy thing was that he was no longer in pain or uncomfortable and wasn’t even nervous any long. In fact, he seemed to be completely fine, but I was scared sick. That day he didn’t end up having the procedure because once I told the doctors what had happened in the car they said, “Oh his heart probably just stopped for a few minutes so we need to check him out”.
Well, as time went on I relived that moment in the car many times, but it didn’t take me long before I starting fussing about how he needed to start getting healthy. I would say things, such as: “You need to make changes”, “You need to get healthy”, “You need to stop eating this.. and that”. Well, luckily it didn’t take long before something suddenly clicked in my head … and I began to re-think some of that because I began facing the truth…. “Hmm… at 238 pounds who am I to tell him he needs to get healthy?” and then I thought to myself “As the mother and wife in my house I need to be willing to make the change first and then my family will join in”.
Initially my journey was solely based on getting healthy. For the first time in our lives I was so scared, worried and freaked out about the us being unhealthy and the thought of losing one another – so I wasn’t even thinking about getting skinnier or sexier. My focus was entirely on getting healthy. I really think going in with that mindset is what helped me though because I was focused on eating more of the right foods, and portion control so the weight loss just sort of followed. In the very beginning I joined Weight Watchers (Points system) for the 2nd time and my only source of exercise was the Wii Fit, which I really enjoyed. In the beginning, I would get frustrated though because I’d buy healthy frozen lunches, but they were 7, 8, or 9 points leaving me little points for breakfast and dinner. I discovered fruit & veggies are zero points and my journey took a different direction!! Being a BIG fan (in fact, I believe the biggest fan ☺) of the Biggest Loser I began following some of the contestants and trainers on Twitter. I loved that Hannah Curlee, Olivia Ward, and Bob Harper tweeted about the foods they ate and I began to follow their example. Then one night when I was watching my favorite show in the world, BIGGEST LOSER (in case you missed that ☺) I had another major turning point in my journey, as it suddenly dawned on me, ‘Wow these contestants are putting it all out there’!! And suddenly my journey took another swift turn; I began documenting my journey on the Facebook page that I share with my husband. I’d document goals met and missed, my actual weight and weigh-in’s, and my various workouts. At one point, my husband and I purchased a Livestrong Elliptical for our anniversary gift to each other because our Wii Fit broke and I suddenly found the most challenging, but fun workout equipment I’d ever used. I began dedicating my workouts to various folks battling cancer and other terminal illnesses with a request that our Facebook friends would pray for those battling such terrible diseases. One of my favorite Facebook statuses was posted on December 3, 2011 and simply stated, “199” because it represented my entry into the One hundredsville ☺. Anyway, I began to believe that if I documented everything – successes & failures it would help others. My original goal was to lose 76 pounds and get to 162 pounds and on October 20, 2012 (a big 484 days after my journey began I surpassed that goal hitting 161.6 pounds ☺).
Anyway, over the course of another 449 days, I lost an additional 29.4 pounds weighing in at 136 pounds. My entire journey from start to 136 pounds has been a whopping 933 days, but quick or slow – I would NOT change a single thing about my journey or my transformation. I feel that every second and each step has been worth it entirely, plus I’ve learned SO much about myself through this.
My message to others is, “Yes, you CAN do it!! Trust me - we all have good days and bad days.” A few suggestions I like to offer to others are as follows:
- Drink more water than you think you need (If you have a smart phone, download an called “Water Your Body” it determines how much you need to drink based on your weight).
- Forget about this being about losing weight and FOCUS on long-term health. I believe this makes it easier to accept fluctuating weight on the scale.
- Get moving - anyway you can, anytime you can.
- Get the right amount of lean protein. Bob Harper says take your weight and divide it by 2 & that’s the amount of grams you need. Example: You weigh 200 lbs.; you should eat 100 grams of Protein.
- If you eat too much of something unhealthy.. log it, deal with it, and MOVE ON. Decide to get back on track with the NEXT thing you eat.. NOT the next day, the next week, and etc.
- Fresh fruit & veggies (this will help ensure you get healthy nutrients & fiber your body needs).
- Get enough sleep.
- DON'T QUIT.
On Thanksgiving in 2013, I ran my first Turkey Trot 5K in 34:09 and on December 31, 2013, I ran another 5K in 36:14. (Notice: the time for my second 5K was slower, but the point is that I’m NOT giving up. It’s all a work in progress ☺). In December 2013, I also finished my studies for an Associates Degree in Accounting with a GPA of 3.31. That was another huge feat for me because I never really enjoyed school when I was young, but I tackled this project, too.
Currently my health and fitness goals are to focus on maintenance combined with toning. I alternate my workouts to include a combination of the Elliptical, running outdoors, weight training, circuit training, kettlebells, and aerobics. Some weeks it feels like there just aren’t enough days to get these various workout activities in, but I still alternate different workouts because my body needs cardio, weight training, and strength training. I generally like to workout at least 30 minutes 4 or 5 days a week.
I’ve done a few “official” 5k’s, the Ukrop's Monument Avenue 10k presented by MARTIN'S in Richmond, VA on March 29, 2014 and the Marine Corps 10k in Fredericksburg, VA on May 18, 2014. In May 2014, I also graduated from Liberty University with my Associates Degree in Accounting. On September 13, 2014, I did the 5k Color Run in Richmond, VA with the amazing “Getting Fit or Dye Trying” team J. It’s been a busy couple of years, but I have no intentions to stop now ☺. In fact, I am currently training for my first half marathon that will be later this year. Also, since I’m so fascinated and passionate about health & fitness I would like to work on getting my Personal Trainer Certification in the near future.
I always tell people that everyone has their own journey, their own unique story, and that what motivated me and motivates me today may be different from what gets you moving, but essentially that is what makes everyone’s journey so special. For me, “Fear bought me to this point” and “Habit keeps me here”. I jokingly say, “If only my hubby had passed out sooner”, but in reality everything happens in His timing and He knows is best. I’m thankful for the wakeup call God gave us before it was too late. ☺