I was always 115 pounds from the time I was 15 until I reached 30. I never struggled with my weight growing up; even after having each of my three children I was back down to my regular size within about six month. Then I turned 30, it seemed like overnight I ballooned to 160 pounds and was very unhappy with my appearance.
I began working out religiously at the gym 2 hours a day, 5 days a week and never lost more than 10 pounds. I did this for 6 months and gave up. I found out that my testosterone level was too high which was causing me to have difficulty losing weight. I was prescribed medication for that and joined a weight loss program. I successfully lost 30 pounds and was a happy 130 pounds which I maintained for a year.
In January, 2010 I had a severe gallbladder attack, I am convinced that my previous weight loss program caused my gallbladder issues. If you google its name plus gallbladder you find many pages about it. I was unable to eat anything but Jell-O and soup for almost two months while I awaited surgery. This caused me to lose another 10 pounds and I was down to 120 pounds. They were unable to remove my gallbladder with the scope so I was left with a 23 cm incision across my right side, directly under my ribs. After my surgery I was finally able to eat again but was forced to stay pretty inactive so I could recover properly. During this time I gained 25 pounds and was steady at 145 for quite a while. I quit smoking in August 2010 and started drinking Steeped Tea Double Double x 2 a day and as of October 11, 2012 I was at my peak at 184 pounds and had also started smoking again. That was the frustrating part to have gained all that weight and accomplished nothing.
I was desperate to stop feeling like crap and I knew the key to that was to start by losing some weight, of course nothing seemed to work for me no matter what I tried and believe me I tried it all. I signed up as a free member on teambeachbody.com and was hooked up with a coach. I told her my story and she recommended a program called Les Mills Pump and Shakeology, she also invited me to my first 10-day challenge. I had all the usual arguments about how I couldn’t afford it, I didn’t have the time and I had tried so many things in the past that didn’t work. What it really boiled down to was that I didn’t want to waste money on something else that wasn’t going to work and I was scared to fail, again. I thought about it long and hard and made the decision to go for it, what did I have to lose.
It wasn’t easy at first, especially being close to Christmas, there were cupcakes, cookies, chocolate, candy and all kinds of treats in the office all the time but I managed to say no to them all. I just kept telling myself I wanted to lose this weight more than I wanted that cupcake. I can remember not being able to grab my ankle when doing a quad stretch; I had to lean way over and clip my finger in the back of my shoe to get a stretch. I couldn’t do a burpie to save my soul and just forget about pushups all together. The support I received from my challenge group was amazing and they assured me that if I just stuck with it I would get better. I lost 6 pounds and 8 inches in that 10-day challenge and after that there was no looking back.
My coach also saw some potential in me in that challenge group because I was happily answering questions other people had, helping and supporting them with what I knew so she suggested that I become a coach. I was really worried about doing that, who was I to be encouraging other people to get in shape when I had so far to go myself. I know Beachbody programs are amazing because they have everything you needed to succeed, the Shakeology is fantastic and gives me tons of energy and the support in the challenge groups is the key to everything working. I went for it, why not!
I have been on my fitness journey since December 3, 2012. I have helped many people see the potential in themselves and make positive changes in their lives. I had lost 46 pounds as of August 31, 2013 and had made huge changes in my appearance, muscle tone, self-worth and so much more. My Irritable Bowel Syndrome symptoms have completely disappeared and all that pain I experienced daily in my back, neck, knee, hip and ankle is gone. My migraines are gone. I rarely need to take pain medication and no longer take the IBS meds. I also have not seen my chiropractor in months. So that money I didn’t want to waste at the beginning? I have more than tripled that back in the money I have saved on medication and chiropractic care.
On August 31, 2013, I finally conquered, once and for all quitting smoking. Unfortunately, this battle and the hand-to-mouth fixation caused me to gain back 14 pounds. This was a very sad set-back for me when it comes to reaching my weight loss and body transformation goals, but the benefits to my health quitting smoking has given me has made the set-back worth it. Since then I have gained and lost the same 5 pounds over and over because of the evening snacking and hand to mouth fixation.
Chapter 2
I had a little bit of a wake up call on December 1, 2015 that I think actually turned out to be kind of good for me. My doctor called me and wanted me to come in to discuss my test results. Now that is no big panic because she likes to discuss the results with you even when they are normal. The news she had for me really threw me for a loop, she told me that my glucose levels were high despite fasting for 12 hours prior to the test. She told me that I am borderline diabetic and that if I don’t start exercising and watching what I eat, staying away from sugar and carbs, that I could end up with diabetes. WHAT?!?! Anyone who knows me knows that I work out religiously every day and have to pretty much be on my death bed to miss a workout. Over the past few months I have also incorporated 5 miles of walking into the mix before I even start my workout. Okay my food can be a bit spotty, since I quit smoking 2 years ago I have had a real struggle with eating when I am bored. As you can imagine what she told me really took me off guard. I was quite concerned, if I am doing all this work to TRY and be healthy, what on earth would happen if I didn’t? I have no desire to be checking my blood sugar levels and doing injections multiple times a day. So I educated myself a little bit and asked my Mom about it, nope, no family history of it. Hmmm …. did some Internet research and spoke with some friends about it who have some experience and I decided I can kick this things butt before it gets me. This has really made me take ownership over what I am putting into my body and helped me to regain focus on my eating habits. Yes, it has only been a few days since I found out but I really feel like I have a handle on this. I also suspect that this problem may be because I have been off my Shakeology for about a month because I am on a limited budget and I had to cut back on some things. Well guess what, I am a priority and my health is of the utmost importance so I am going to suck it up and add that back into my diet. This seems to have given me more appreciation and zest for life as well, which I probably could really use as of late. I am on a mission to beat this thing before it beats me …. recheck in three months …. to be continued.
If I had one wish it would be to have the power to show people a comparison of where they would be in 30 days if they make the decision to believe in themselves and do this and where they will be if they do nothing. I know everyone has the potential to be the best they can be and that, just like me at the beginning, what holds them back, what truly holds them back is the fear of failure. Sometimes people just need a helping hand to show them the way and help guide them through the twists and turns along the way. I am proud and honoured to be that helping hand.