Wake Up Call

Do you have a wake up call picture that kick started your healthy journey?

I remember that as a mom of a one and two year old that I had done pretty well with my eating and I could run around with them while they played, so I must be healthy and in shape.

Then THAT picture gave me quite a start!! Who was that girl next to my husband? I remembered buying that dress and thinking it was so cute. Looking at the picture made me cry. How had I let myself go?

I knew I had to do something, especially if I wanted to have another baby, cause my track record to losing baby weight was pretty bad. So I spent some time stalking friends' Facebook pages when they talked about their workout programs. Some friends were walking or running outside, but in the middle of summer in Arizona walking outside was the last thing I wanted to do! So I joined a gym, tried two personal trainer sessions, and went only a couple of times because I didn't have childcare for my kids.

Then another friend mentioned a program called Walk Away the Pounds with Leslie Sansone. I went to the library and checked out her book with a DVD included. I was hooked. I could do this at home while the kids napped, played, or sometimes walked with me. I was a confirmed workout at home Mom and I was moving (physically and across the country).
We moved to another state, but my walking workouts came with me. Now I had to contend with snow instead of heat, but I was still able to keep moving. I got more walking DVDs and walked myself off the couch!! But I knew I needed more. I tried Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred, but it was HARD, and I had no one to keep me accountable to the journey. In walks my friend, Danielle. She was doing something called ChaLEAN Extreme. That scared me, so I stuck with my Walk Away the Pounds when she asked me to join her accountability group. I knew I needed the accountability, but I also knew extreme was out of my comfort zone. I'd dabbled in P90X workouts and got discouraged and quit in the past.

I was more consistent in my workouts while in the accountability groups. I was able to complete Slim in 6, P90X3, and T25. But it was not until I started leading my own groups that I started learning that there was more to getting healthy than just exercising. I needed to cut back on the sugary, processed foods I was eating.

I admit it, I'm cheap and couldn't justify throwing away food we had spent our money on. I started slowly by not replacing processed foods when we ran out. My coffee was made with two scoops of sugar and a dump of Coffeemate flavored creamer. I began cutting back on the sugar and creamer, and over the course of nine months, got down to a splash of half and half. I also started buying more whole fruits and veggies and made them a part of my daily meals as well as learning how to make some of the processed meals from scratch to avoid added salts and preservatives. Funny, my family preferred many of the the less processed foods I made from scratch; and I was afraid they would refuse the new foods.

I'm not yet at my dream weight or size, as that seems to change. But I have reached several smaller goals along my journey: completed four workout programs from start to finish, gotten down to my wedding dress size, run at 13:30 mile without walking breaks, removed sugar from my daily coffee, bumped up my hand weights from 3lbs to 10lbs, and many more I've forgotten to write down.

Your story will be different than mine, your wake up call will be as well. You may also have bigger, faster goals; but of you are ready to take on your journey, I would love to walk with you and keep you moving forward. Are you ready to go?

Visit my website for more information here.