Keeping It Real

So if there is one thing I have learned that I appreciate and am learning to appreciate in myself and trying to do more of is keeping it real. I can't believe that I'm writing this post, but I feel that I need to just to answer and shed some light on my actual journey.

I have had several people come up to me lately and say how inspired they are by me and my running and all. I am very humbled that people would even notice let alone even take the time to make a comment. I don't think what I do is anything special or amazing...but it has been work, and work that I've chosen not to give up on.

If you will, let me digress for a moment....

The photo above is me in the summer of 2006....Colton was almost 4....and though I was able to lose most of the weight I gained from having Austin and Brennan, I had a much harder time losing the weight after Colton.

This photo is me pretty much at my heaviest in the summer of 2007. When I saw this photo I honestly was horrified. I can't tell you exactly what I weighed back then but I know it was at least in the 170s or more....more than what I weighed when I was pregnant for Colton, but I wasn't pregnant!! I was very unhappy that I let myself get like this...I'm sure many of you have been there right?!?! But let me tell you....I didn't do something about it right away....oh no....I had to sulk and wallow for a few months...probably enjoying some ice cream and chocolate along the way to drown my sorrows thinking I would never see my size 8 jeans again.

Then came the winter of 2008....that's when my loving, and very brave husband saw these workout videos...yes on an infomercial...and went out on a limb and ordered them for me. I decided to swallow my pride and I tried them...I did the first video which was only 20 minutes. With three little ones at the time under my feet, sometimes it was a struggle, but I found those 20 minutes (and yes sometimes it was really late at night)...but I sucked it up and did it. I went on to do the other videos in the series and really enjoyed them and liked the way I felt afterwards...and yes I lost some weight....not a lot...not as much as I wanted...but some. I used the workout videos for about a year or so and found they weren't really doing it for me anymore...I had kind of platued, wasn't losing any more weight and honestly was kind of getting bored with the videos. I did P90X for a little while, but found it hard to carve out the 45 minutes to an hour it took to do those workouts. About this time I was following the journey of a scrapbooking friend I met on line and she was having a similar struggle with her weight and she decided to take up running. I watched for several months as she worked herself up to her first 5K...I was amazed and inspired. So finally in August 2010 I decided to lace up my shoes and start....walking. Hey, Rome wasn't built in a day after all. I used to walk all the time when I was a kid and even into my twenties so why not get back into it??. I started slow...a few months later that walking moved up to jogging, and eventually into running. In March of 2011 I finally was able to run 3 miles straight without stopping for a walk break!! That was an exciting day I remember well! I felt so empowered that day! In August 2011 I ran my first 5K race....and I'll be honest...after that race I thought I was going to die! I came in at 31:13. However, despite the feelings of impending death...I was hooked! After running several other 5K races a young lady at church challenged me and talked me into running my first half marathon....yep, totally bypassed that 10K....went from the 5K to 13.1 miles. Let me tell you....that journey wasn't easy. Training in the winter is hard...training for any race is hard. But I stuck with it. So on a chilly morning in May of 2013 I ran my first half marathon. I came in at a time of 2:21:42....better than my predicted 2:30...yet I again felt like I was going to die at the end....and again I was hooked!! Total since August 2011 I have run many 5K races, two 10K races, and 4 half marathons...oh and 2 mud runs. I have another half scheduled for May 2015, the Indian Mud Run again in June and a 4 miler in July. I have also started to do strength training and have been doing PiYo yoga for about a year now. Overall....I feel the best I have ever felt and I'm so much happier in my skin. However....you need to know that this didn't happen overnight....I've been doing some form of exercise since 2008....it has taken me 7 years to get to where I am today. There is no magic pill...there is no magic formula. Trust me, it is hard work. There are great workouts...there are those workouts where things just aren't going right. It's a process. As far as diet...I watch somewhat what I eat. After a bout in the hospital in 2009 with my gall bladder (and no I did not choose to have it removed) I changed my diet...I don't eat a lot of dairy and gave up fried foods. Since then I haven't had any trouble with my gall bladder. I am not strict on my diet....if I want a piece of chocolate cake I'm going to eat a piece of cake...my thought is you shouldn't deprive yourself of something you want....because you'll just want it that much more and then eventually overindulge...anyone know what I mean?? So I allow myself to have what I want, in moderation of course. I eat a few more fruits and veggies and nuts than I ever used to. And if I have that chocolate cake and decide to run an extra mile or two to cover it, I do...not that I'm really that strict about it. I think the magic key to weight loss is balance, patience and not being so rigid and hard on yourself. On those days that you find that you overdid it a little on last night's lasagna...just dust yourself off and start again. The object is to never ever give up and just keep moving forward, because looking back is not an option...or at least not a good one. 

So in my journey I have been able to lose almost 40 lbs. and keep it off for the last 7 years. Again it didn't fall off overnight...it was little by little. So please, don't be discouraged at losing only a pound or two...or maybe for not losing any. Be happy that you are trying to better yourself, no matter what the result. Any exercise is better than no exercise I always say. And a good food choice is always better than a bad one. But most of all...just be good to yourself...hug yourself and let yourself know it's ok no matter what...don't make it difficult and just enjoy the journey. That's what I did and I am so much happier for it.

Again thanks to those who have come up and said such nice things to me lately. And I hope you enjoyed this little snippet of my journey. It hasn't been always easy, but it sure does beat where I was....after all...wallowing isn't much fun even if there is chocolate :)

Have a great week everyone!!