Hi, everyone!So, I've been absent from here and from my YouTube channel for a while now. It wasn't really on
purpose, but I've just had so much going on. Anyway, I'm here again and if you've noticed, this post has a bit of an interesting title. Here's why...
I used to be much thinner than I am now. I was never size 2 thin, but I was a healthy, curvy, athletic teenager and college student. I played tennis in both high school and college, and I was also in the marching band in high school (if you've ever done, this YES it is a sport!). So I got a lot of exercise. In college, it was the same with the exception of a semester or two where I gained weight but lost it. Then came my last year. I gained a little bit of weight and before I knew it, I had put on quite a few pounds. So much that I was afraid I would not fit into my wedding dress. This was 2002. I graduated in April and got married in May. I refused to try on my wedding dress until the night before the wedding. I don't know what I thought I'd do if it didn't fit, but the Lord was with me (yes, I believe that sometimes He helps in ways such as this) and it fit. Quite beautifully in fact as I was still curvy and the dress showed that.
But then everything went downhill. I'm not really sure why. I have my suspicions. I used food as a comfort for everything...call it an addiction if you want...that's what it really was. And on top of that, I basically stopped exercising. My first job out of college was a desk job as a paralegal and then I became a teacher. Walking in the classroom and up and down the halls was my only exercise, but it wasn't nearly enough to keep my weight down. I craved foods like pizza and cheese fries, which is something I rarely ate before then. Now that was my drug of choice.
This past year I left teaching to finish my second graduate degree, so I've been working from home. I wore pajamas or yoga pants all day so I wasn't even aware that I began gaining more weight...about 50 lbs more if I really get down to it. I wasn't getting ANY exercise except for the times I'd go out to walk my Yorkie and when we'd go out shopping around town. All of a sudden, I realized how tight my jeans had become. Scared to death, I stepped on the scale for the first time in several months. The number (which I may reveal at some point, but I'm not ready yet) absolutely shocked me into reality. For years I'd gone on and off diets, tried Weight Watchers, Nutrisystem, and more, but I was never able to stick to anything. But I know I had to do something. I couldn't walk upstairs or for very long before I was out of breath. I would literally sweat when outside walking in shopping centers, even if it was 30 degrees. Booths in restaurants became tight. Most of my weight gain has always been in my midsection. I had to do something
This is where The Biggest Journey begins for me. January 1st of this year I knew I had to make a change. Yes, staring on the New Year is cliche, I know, but it was actually after the holidays when I stepped on that scale so it actually just fell in the right days. I decided this was it; this is what I HAVE to do. So, my husband, who is the most supportive man EVER, bought me a Fitbit activity tracker. I started walking that day. I bought workout clothes, since fashion makes everything more fun, I've been eating MUCH better, and I bought the Fitbit Aria scale to keep me accountable. In fact, since I've begun I've lost 16 lbs. So where is this going?
I've decided to use this blog, in part, to let you follow me on The Biggest Journey to get back my life and lose weight and get healthy--NOT skinny--HEALTHY. Why "The Biggest Journey"? Well, I really don't know. It just seemed like the right title. So will you join me? I'll be posting at least weekly, sometimes more. I'll have a heading at the top with the tag, The Biggest Journey. I hope you enjoy these posts and hope we can inspire each other!
