Hello!

Happy Thursday! 

I woke up in a great mood. Don't you love when that happens? It doesn't matter that my child has been whining non-stop since she woke up (I'm just happy that I have a healthy, happy most of the time, child.) It doesn't matter that I woke up to a sink full of dirty dishes(I'm thankful to have food and dishes for my family.) It doesn't matter that I got woken up by my daughter sticking her finger in my nose. I woke up feeling happy. I'm so thankful for that. 

Also, I'm thankful for all my new followers. I am so happy to get to know each and every one of you. I have met most of you from the Weigh-In Wednesday link-up from Erin and Alex, whom I both adore. 

I thought it would be a good opportunity for all of you to get to know me a bit better. 

Let's start in high-school. I was very active in high school. I played basketball duh, I'm 6'1, I ran track, & I played volleyball. So I was constantly in a sport. In 9th grade I was "bigger", but I quickly lost weight. I never really ate breakfast or lunch and would pig out for dinner. I never learned that the key is a balanced, healthy diet. I didn't know that healthy food could taste good. I just never learned. So I wouldn't eat in order to be skinny. I wouldn't say I was anorexic... I just didn't eat because that was "the cool" thing to do. I honestly don't know how I was so active when I barely ate... If I did that today, I would pass out. Although, I still thought I was "fat" in high school because all my friends were size 2's and I was a size 10. Even when I was very skinny, I was still "big." 

Then in college, I got introduced to beer. Holy calories. Add lots of beer, with no exercise, and eating at 3 am at waffle house and you'll get 30 pounds. Trust me. But, I still wouldn't consider myself "fat." Looking back I still looked pretty good, I think. 

Then I got pregnant. My now-husband and I had been together 2 years when we found out. It may not seem like a long time but we had been living together for about a year and a half and we already shared a bank account. That may seem silly but we just knew. So in my first trimester, I was really, really sick. I couldn't go an hour without going to the bathroom to puke, so I lost about 7 pounds. Then I started packing it on. In the second and third trimester I gained 30 pounds plus the 7 pounds I had lost. I never once exercised during my pregnancy. I thought for sure after I had my 9 pounds 4 oz baby that the weight would just fall off me. I was wrong. I GAINED about 15 pounds WHILE breastfeeding full-time. Who does that? This lady who ate anything and everything and sat on her butt all day. It really hit me when I stepped on the scale and it read 245. 

 

WHAT IN THE WORLD? So then I started running. It was slow, my husband and/ or I pushing the stroller just up and down our street. But I felt good. I remember when I ran 2 miles straight. I felt like I was on top of the world. After a few 5K's I trained for a half marathon. Even with all that running I never got under 225. For 2 years I stayed between 225-230, regardless of the fact that I was running like a mad woman & told anyone and everyone that I was going to lose weight. The day I ran my half I didn't feel good or "fit." But I did it. 

Something just clicked in January 2013. I knew I didn't want to struggle with my weight the rest of my life. I was tired of telling all my family that we (Jonathan and I) were losing weight and then never seeing any difference. I realized that you can't out exercise a bad diet. Trust me. I worked out daily. Burning at least 1,000 calories a day and then getting home and eating crap. I never saw the scale budge. I was frustrated and would cry to Jonathan not knowing what I was doing wrong. I started reading all of ya'lls blogs about your weight-loss journey's and eating right and something just clicked. 

So I started buying more veggies than I did anything else. We used to LIVE off frozen dinner (that didn't even taste good & were packed with sodium and calories.) I was dumb. So since January I have lost 18 pounds and my husband has lost 33. We aren't stopping anytime soon. Even when I fell down the stairs and broke my back I didn't let it effect my eating (most of the time.) Sure, some days I felt sorry for myself and tried to find happiness in cookies. But guess what? It never made me feel better. I feel better when I eat and serve a healthy and nutritious meal to my husband and daughter and they actually enjoy it. As a southern woman, I love seeing my family enjoying what they're eating and getting joy from their food. That might be wrong but at least now a days its roasted veggies and fish and not a casserole with a stick of butter. 

It feels great to look into the mirror and like what I see. That's a big deal for me. Trying on clothes and not having to cover up all my rolls. It's awesome. I still have a long way to go but I'm proud of my progress.