The start of my journey
I always wanted a FitBit since they came out. I however could not justify the cost to myself, after all I'm not a fitness freak, but it would be nice to know how many steps I take in a day. I finally got my chance, I took a health class through my insurance company and after 12 weeks I received a free FitBit. I loved it, wore it all the time, it was interesting to see how many steps I wasn't taking in the day. I was averaging around 4500 steps on the days I had to work and around 10-12K steps on a weekend. These numbers were far under what was recommended to maintain weight and reduce heart related issues.
Then last summer something unthinkable happened, I went to 3 stores and somewhere either in the store or in the parking lots I had lost my tracker. I was devastated. My husband, knowing how I was always wearing my tracker, decided to order me a new one. He purchased the (new at the time) FitBit Alta. It was slimmer and looked more like a bracelet then a big huge watch. He also ordered me a metal band for it too. I was in heaven again!
About 3 weeks ago, I noticed that after working from home for a month my pants were uncomfortably tight. I went into the bathroom and stepped on the scale, something I haven't done in over 3 months. Was I really seeing that number "273", I was in denial. There has got to be something wrong with my scale I thought. I went back and looked at my stats, I was down to just over 3500 step average per day. At this rate I knew I was heading for even bigger trouble. I knew I didn't have any more excuses. I needed to get back in shape.
I had another reason too, my oldest son and his fiancé had set their wedding date - mid-April 2018. I did not want to be a fat mom at his wedding. I wanted to be a sexy, beautiful mom. I was never a fat or overweight when I was a child, I was 102 lbs when I got married 27 years ago. When I was a teenager, I would run a few miles every day, I loved to bike. I lived in a town which was surrounded by mountains in central Montana. For fun and to break up the boredom I would ride up to the top of a pass and then coast most of the way back down (around 20 miles each way). I also played volleyball for fun/leagues. So what went wrong? I could blame it on having kids, but actually I believe the problem actually stems from stress and over working. I was in the military during and after my first pregnancy and although I gained 80 pounds by the time my son was born, by the time I left the hospital I had lost 50 of those pounds. I was able to quickly get back into shape in the 6 weeks allowed and was back down to my weight range, yes it was slightly heavier than I was before my pregnancy but I was still pretty small. I left the military, during my second pregnancy (I'm convinced now it was my hormones that made me want to get out - because I really liked my job in the military). Because I wasn't under pressure to stay in shape anymore, I stopped running. I took an evening job and slept in late mornings. I started eating even worse because I wasn't cooking dinner any longer as I was working at this time. Over the course of several years, I gained probably close to 75 pounds. Then I took a very high stressed job, I would be known to work whatever hours were needed to get the job done. At one point I actually worked an average of 22 hour days for nine months straight without a single day off - I would work for 22-24 hours go home take a 3-4 hour nap and go back to work (don't ask me who my kid's teachers were at this time I don't have a clue I left that up to my husband). After 3 years of this job, I was burnt out and hormonal from my 4th pregnancy and around 90 pounds over weight. I left that company after refusing to relocate to another area of the country. I went back to school and the stress level was down quite a bit but financially I was stressed. When offered I went back to the same industry, but for another company this time. Again I was working ungodly hours. I remember several times over the course of a few years, I worked 3 days straight only going home to shower, change my clothes and hug my family. I was actually pregnant with my 5th child during this time, I lost that child to a miscarriage - the Dr said there was nothing that I did wrong but he didn't know the hours I was putting in. Actually I was working the day I started to loose the baby, I continued to work through the weekend and went to the Dr the following Monday. It wasn't too long after this that I quit. I realized that I let my jobs become too important and my health and family took a back seat. I now work for a company getting 40 hours a week, which is nice for a change! I am actually quite bored at my job, I'm so used to going 9000 mph that a normal job feels very tedious and boring.
Sure I had 4 kids and life was hectic, but I should have never let myself get to this point! I now realize that I have been mad at myself for years for allowing my weight to get so high, but yet did very little to fix the problem. I did try a few things here and there, I joined Tae Kwon Do and made it to my first stipe on my brown belt, but my job got crazy again and I stopped going, of course it doesn't help that my knees were/are in constant pain. My mind knows what it feels like to be fit, but my body has forgotten.
I know I need to get serious about my weight and my health. I harp on my husband all the time for not taking care of himself, but I don't hold myself up to the same standards.
Well now is the time to start!
For the past 3 weeks I have been pushing myself to get more and more steps in during the day, I also am logging what I have eaten for every meal. I stopped drinking soda and really watch what I am eating. I opt more for a Whole Foods type of diet. (Last year I tried the Whole 30 diet and did well until day 31) What I eat now is close to the Whole 30, but not as restrictive 100% of the time. I allow myself to have a breaded chicken breast if I really want it just not every day.
For the most part I have been eating an average of 1300 calories a day, my steps are up to over 8500 per day on average. I now push myself to get away from my desk every hour and get in at least 250 steps, I actually average closer to 700 steps per hour while at work. I also try to stand up and walk in place at my desk when I am on a conference call. It is amazing how you can really feel the difference in the muscles that are used when you walk in place.
I have already lost just over 5 pounds in this 3 week period. This is only the start, I need to remember that!
Then last summer something unthinkable happened, I went to 3 stores and somewhere either in the store or in the parking lots I had lost my tracker. I was devastated. My husband, knowing how I was always wearing my tracker, decided to order me a new one. He purchased the (new at the time) FitBit Alta. It was slimmer and looked more like a bracelet then a big huge watch. He also ordered me a metal band for it too. I was in heaven again!
About 3 weeks ago, I noticed that after working from home for a month my pants were uncomfortably tight. I went into the bathroom and stepped on the scale, something I haven't done in over 3 months. Was I really seeing that number "273", I was in denial. There has got to be something wrong with my scale I thought. I went back and looked at my stats, I was down to just over 3500 step average per day. At this rate I knew I was heading for even bigger trouble. I knew I didn't have any more excuses. I needed to get back in shape.
I had another reason too, my oldest son and his fiancé had set their wedding date - mid-April 2018. I did not want to be a fat mom at his wedding. I wanted to be a sexy, beautiful mom. I was never a fat or overweight when I was a child, I was 102 lbs when I got married 27 years ago. When I was a teenager, I would run a few miles every day, I loved to bike. I lived in a town which was surrounded by mountains in central Montana. For fun and to break up the boredom I would ride up to the top of a pass and then coast most of the way back down (around 20 miles each way). I also played volleyball for fun/leagues. So what went wrong? I could blame it on having kids, but actually I believe the problem actually stems from stress and over working. I was in the military during and after my first pregnancy and although I gained 80 pounds by the time my son was born, by the time I left the hospital I had lost 50 of those pounds. I was able to quickly get back into shape in the 6 weeks allowed and was back down to my weight range, yes it was slightly heavier than I was before my pregnancy but I was still pretty small. I left the military, during my second pregnancy (I'm convinced now it was my hormones that made me want to get out - because I really liked my job in the military). Because I wasn't under pressure to stay in shape anymore, I stopped running. I took an evening job and slept in late mornings. I started eating even worse because I wasn't cooking dinner any longer as I was working at this time. Over the course of several years, I gained probably close to 75 pounds. Then I took a very high stressed job, I would be known to work whatever hours were needed to get the job done. At one point I actually worked an average of 22 hour days for nine months straight without a single day off - I would work for 22-24 hours go home take a 3-4 hour nap and go back to work (don't ask me who my kid's teachers were at this time I don't have a clue I left that up to my husband). After 3 years of this job, I was burnt out and hormonal from my 4th pregnancy and around 90 pounds over weight. I left that company after refusing to relocate to another area of the country. I went back to school and the stress level was down quite a bit but financially I was stressed. When offered I went back to the same industry, but for another company this time. Again I was working ungodly hours. I remember several times over the course of a few years, I worked 3 days straight only going home to shower, change my clothes and hug my family. I was actually pregnant with my 5th child during this time, I lost that child to a miscarriage - the Dr said there was nothing that I did wrong but he didn't know the hours I was putting in. Actually I was working the day I started to loose the baby, I continued to work through the weekend and went to the Dr the following Monday. It wasn't too long after this that I quit. I realized that I let my jobs become too important and my health and family took a back seat. I now work for a company getting 40 hours a week, which is nice for a change! I am actually quite bored at my job, I'm so used to going 9000 mph that a normal job feels very tedious and boring.
Sure I had 4 kids and life was hectic, but I should have never let myself get to this point! I now realize that I have been mad at myself for years for allowing my weight to get so high, but yet did very little to fix the problem. I did try a few things here and there, I joined Tae Kwon Do and made it to my first stipe on my brown belt, but my job got crazy again and I stopped going, of course it doesn't help that my knees were/are in constant pain. My mind knows what it feels like to be fit, but my body has forgotten.
I know I need to get serious about my weight and my health. I harp on my husband all the time for not taking care of himself, but I don't hold myself up to the same standards.
Well now is the time to start!
For the past 3 weeks I have been pushing myself to get more and more steps in during the day, I also am logging what I have eaten for every meal. I stopped drinking soda and really watch what I am eating. I opt more for a Whole Foods type of diet. (Last year I tried the Whole 30 diet and did well until day 31) What I eat now is close to the Whole 30, but not as restrictive 100% of the time. I allow myself to have a breaded chicken breast if I really want it just not every day.
For the most part I have been eating an average of 1300 calories a day, my steps are up to over 8500 per day on average. I now push myself to get away from my desk every hour and get in at least 250 steps, I actually average closer to 700 steps per hour while at work. I also try to stand up and walk in place at my desk when I am on a conference call. It is amazing how you can really feel the difference in the muscles that are used when you walk in place.
I have already lost just over 5 pounds in this 3 week period. This is only the start, I need to remember that!
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