How I Got Here

I figure my first post on here should give some insight into how I started this journey I'm on. In April of 2010 when I first met my husband, Matt I was instantly intrigued. Where did this wonderful man come from?

At the time I was around 156lbs and I was trying to live a healthy life. I would try to make the right choices when it came to food, thanks to Weight Watchers. I made it to the gym at least 3-4 times a week and felt pretty fit. Once Matt and I started dating, all I wanted to do was spend time with him, which meant I began to neglect the gym visits. And of course going out on dates meant eating food that wasn't the greatest for me. (Now looking back I could have made better food choices but hindsight is 20/20 right?) Anyway I began to put on some weight, but it was nothing I hadn't done before. My weight has been a roller coaster ride since middle school.

In February of 2011 Matt asked me to be his wife and SURPRISE I said yes! We were both on cloud nine! We planned to get married July 15, 2011 on the beach with all of our family and close friends there. My instant thought: "I need to lose some weight!" I told myself I wanted to lose at least 15-20 lbs. Around that time I think I was around 180. Preparations and planning began which meant added stress. Trying to plan a wedding in a short amount of time was stressful but to add to that we needed to find a house. I found myself thinking, "Why am I stressing about a diet when I have so much stuff going on?" So I decided to drop the diet and to just enjoy the whole process and have a good time. Of course I packed on the pounds and so on our wedding day I probably weighed around 190 or so. I enjoyed every single thing our wedding and the time leading up to it!

We had spent the week before the wedding with my family at the beach so we decided to fore go a honeymoon and just came home to begin our new lives together. Over the next few months I continued to not diet. At some point (not sure when) I joined Weight Watchers again and went to the meetings. I lost around 13lbs I believe in the few months I did it. The holidays were coming up and I felt staying on a diet was pointless. Crazy me!! When the holidays came and went I found myself miserable, disgusted, and disappointed with where my weight was. Looking at the pictures that were taken I could not believe it was me in those pictures. Who was she and where did she come from?

 That's when I knew I had to make a choice: continue on the path I was on and increase my risk for heart disease and other health issues or make a change and get my life back. I knew with my family history of heart disease and diabetes I had to make a change. On January 3, 2012 I stepped on the scale and was appalled by what I saw: 202lbs! I had never in my life been 200lbs. I knew I needed to give myself a goal so I decided to lose 60lbs so I could put myself in even better condition than when Matt and I first met. And so I began my journey. My first step was to change my diet. I started to make better choices with the foods I ate. I started to drop pounds and that got me even more motivated. "I can do this!" I wanted to start exercising and I knew running was an awesome option, but I could hardly walk a mile without being exhausted. So I started doing some research. The best option was doing some type of couch to 5K program. I found an amazing application called C25K by Zen Labs for my iPhone. It basically tells you when to run, when to walk, and plays your music. I began using the app. in February and I will say it was one of the most difficult things I've done. Slowly but surely I kept getting better and better. When I began using the app. I didn't really think about actually running in a 5K, but as I kept going I knew I wanted to make running my new passion. Thanks to the running the pounds began falling off. I was able to start incorporating other exercise routines into my regimen. I finally felt somewhat ready to attempt my first 5K. I finished in under 40 minutes and placed 2nd in my age group. I was shocked and HOOKED!

So I signed up for more 5Ks and vowed to keep improving. Thanks to the support of my wonderful family and amazing friends I can proudly say I have finished 5 5Ks and have lost 57lbs.

I am addicted to running, fitness, and trying to lead a healthy lifestyle! I hope this blog helps to keep me motivated and maybe meet some people who can give me advice and insight along this wonderful journey!