My Story

I don't typically write about myself on here. I figure most people visit this blog to see pictures of my adorable children :). But I wanted to share some of my story with you.

I LOVE to eat! :) And I always have. I remember as a kid sneaking food and eating it in my room. Given this fact, I have always struggled with my weight. And so most of my life I have felt that I should be losing weight, it was always over my head. I have tried every kind of diet, hoping for a quick fix, but was never able to stick with something. And so then I'd take the attitude of "God gave us food to enjoy, so I'm just not going to worry about it." But then I'd go clothes shopping and not be happy with how I looked or how things fit (or didn't fit) on me. It's not a fun way to live life. And of course then you add three pregnancies in there. But actually it was those pregnancies and the children that came from them that got me really thinking about my life and health. I had gestational diabetes with my first two pregnancies. When I found out I had it with Micah I asked if I would continue to have diabetes after I had him or later in life. My doctor told me that there was a 50% chance I would develop type 2 diabetes in the next 10 years and it depends entirely on being overweight. I got gestational diabetes again with the twins. I actually only gained 25 pounds with that pregnancy (I developed diabetes already at 22 weeks so I had to eat super healthy the last half of my pregnancy). But then life happened and I was a mother of 3 kids under the age of 2, and I coped by baking, and then eating what I baked. I'd make it to the afternoon when all 3 would go down for a nap and reward myself with a dessert. It wasn't good and I ended up gaining a lot of weight and being heavier than I was the last day of my pregnancy with the twins. Then a distant relative of mine put on Facebook that she was doing a 12 week challenge and invited people to do it with her. I decided it was time to do something so I joined and got myself in much better shape. And then I got pregnant :) (As a side note, there were five of us who did the challenge that ended up pregnant within a couple of months of doing the challenge :)). Because I was in such great shape I ended up not getting gestational diabetes this time (something that is very rare if you've had it for your previous pregnancies). But because of that I gained a lot more weight with this one. That added to the fact that 7 weeks after having Anna we moved across the country, I once again took to food to cope with the stress of everything going on around me and put on quite a bit of weight. So I once again was faced with the fact that I have four children who need their mother and I'm at a high risk of developing type 2 diabetes. And my clothes didn't fit. And I just didn't like the way I looked. So it was time to do something once and for all!! So on July 11 I started a 3 week TERRAFit challenge. That helped get me started but made me realize I had a lot more weight I needed to lose. So August 22 (the day I flew home with my 4 kids, getting stuck in San Francisco for 4 hours!) I started a 12 week TERRAFit challenge. That ended the week before Thanksgiving and I was afraid I would just gain all that weight back with the holidays, so I decided to do a 4 week challenge starting November 22. So it has been a lot of work, but I have lost 32 pounds since July 11 and am in such better health! Here are pictures from July 11 and then yesterday (I debated sharing these because I look horrible in the before pictures, but it really shows how far I've come):

 

Throughout the challenges you have a daily challenge and for each one there has been a day where you are suppose to share what your motivation is. My husband and kids are my motivation, to show them a healthy lifestyle and how we are to care for our bodies. I think of that verse about how our bodies are a temple of the Lord and we are to honor God with our bodies. I often times have to tell my twins that they only get this one body so the need to take care of it (ie, don't jump off the couch and land on your knees or maybe be a little more careful jumping around like monkeys :)). Well, I need to listen to my own words, I have this one body God gave me, I need to take care of it. And what I love about the TERRAFit challenges is it's not a diet, it's a healthy lifestyle. And it's sustainable. I don't eat weird, I don't starve myself, I just eat healthy and in small portions more often (6 small meals/snacks) so seriously, I'm rarely hungry. And I exercise. I'd say it's that easy but I'm not going to lie, it's hard work, but it's totally worth it.

So why do I share this? Why do I show you embarrassing pictures of myself? Because maybe one of you has the same struggle I do and want to do something about it but don't know where to start. It seems so overwhelming when you know you have so much weight to lose. One things this challenge tells you is you have to take it one day at a time. There was a motivation video we had to watch for one of our daily challenges and it said dream big, but start small. The first step is deciding to do something about it. The second step is figuring out what to do about it. :) TERRAFit has another 12 week challenge starting on January 9. 12 weeks is a long time, it's 1/3 of the year! But if you want to seriously change your lifestyle, it's really the best one to do. I am willing to be your coach if you want to do this. I have been through this journey so for one thing I know how hard it is and want to motivate you and walk alongside you. And two, I've been through this, I know really great recipes and how to put together menus to be healthy and would love to share that with you. (As a side note I don't get paid to be a coach, so that's not my motivation :), I just know the struggle I have had and want to help others). If you want more information on the challenge you can read this blog I did before on it.

And if you'd like to sign up for a team I can do that. I will admit that one motivation for doing this blog now is I'm in the last week of my 4 week challenge and I do get points if people sign up this week :), so if you want to do it, let's get you signed up this week. Plus if you do it this week you get 10% off the registration fee (it only saves you $2.50 but hey, it's something :)). And if you have any other questions don't hesitate to ask.

The past 5 months have been a lot of hard work, but I don't regret a second of it. How could I, when I know it's not only what's best for me, it's what's best for these four precious gifts the Lord has given me: