Exercise used to be a scary word

Exercise used to be a scary word for me. Several years ago, the only form of exercise I used to get was when I would get up to walk to the refrigerator to find some snacks to munch on and walk back to the couch. My weight loss journey was not an easy one. I faced a lot of obstacles in order to get to where I am now. I have lost 100.6 pounds thus far, and have 25 more pounds to go until I reach my goal weight!

I was always an active child, however, as soon as I reached the age of 13 I lost my Mom due to cancer and the weight battle began. For many years after that my weight would constantly go up and down. I was always on the new diet, but it never was a permanent fix for me. I didn’t realize at the time that putting myself through these diets would cause harm to my body. After a while, I completely gave up and the weight just packed right on.

My aha moment, in other words, the moment where my entire life changed was when I went to the doctor’s office and heard that I had multiple health conditions due to the weight gain. The doctor told me that if nothing was changed my life was going to be shortened. I was also diagnosed with hypothyroidism which slowed down my thyroid and caused some of the weight gain. After my devastating doctors visit I realized that things had to change, that my entire lifestyle had to change.

I cleaned out my cabinets, joined the gym, joined WW, and also went grocery shopping for fruits and veggies, something I hadn’t done in a while. I lost the first 60 pounds on my own and then I hired a personal trainer. It wasn’t easy, but I felt amazing at the end of each training session.

I have completely changed my lifestyle. My eating habits are something that I will keep for the rest of my life. The active lifestyle is something that my body craves every day. I never thought I would be capable of doing half the things I do now. I love jogging, hiking, Zumba, I even love playing tag with my nieces (something I couldn’t even imagine doing a few years ago). I have a wonderful support group(friends and family) that helps me strive more and more each and every day. I love feeling the sweat of my hard work because I know that in the end I’m doing something to better my health and also become a role model for my nieces.

I encourage those who come to me and ask me for health advice to start walking. I have taught myself that saying the word “can’t” is not an option. I can achieve anything and so can others. Helping those around me is one of the biggest rewards for me. I feel like this is just the beginning and I’m so excited to see what the future holds for me. I am also so excited to be part of the Sweat Pink community because it’s just such a wonderful community filled with lots of strong and inspiring women!!

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Tags: fitness aha, health, losing weight, making changes, motivation, weight loss, weight watchers