So here's my official introduction
about me (although you probably already know me if you're reading
this) and mainly about my fitness journey.
First off, I'm 25 and I got married in
October. That's pretty much it. We've got 3 cats, and my husband is
in the Army and works swing shift, so I keep really weird hours
because of that. I work out on the days he works, so I workout 4 days
a week, and have 3 off, and try to get him to join me in doing
something active on at least one of those 3 days off. If there's anything else you'd like to know about me, just ask!
As I said in my previous post, when I
was in high school, I was very thin. My prom dress was a size 2, and
I didn't worry about anything fitting or my weight or anything. My
hormones didn't start changing my body until my second and third year
of University, when I was 19-20 years old. All of a sudden, I just
had these hips and butt and humongous boobs, just out of nowhere.
After that happened, I gained weight
pretty rapidly, leading to some super awesome stretch marks all over
my belly that I just don't like. I knew I was getting bigger, but I
guess that I didn't realize how bad it was until a couple of things
happened. The first was a picture a friend took of me after I was
finished with my College course (I did a diploma after University)
when I was 22. I had the fattest arm in that picture! It was awful!
It definitely shocked me. The next thing that scared me was trying to
find clothes for the summer. My size 14 was too tight, and I actually
had to go into one of those special plus-size stores to try and find
clothes. And the clothes were AWFUL. For some reason, designers think
that larger women want to wear tents covered in flowers, and that's
just not true. I ended up getting some size 16 shorts that were a
little too big, which was good. But after that, I promised myself
that those kinds of stores would NOT be my future. The clothing did
not make me feel good, and I hated it so much.
My starting weight was 183, and I am
only 5'5”. The good thing about my body is that when it carries
extra weight, it spreads it out evenly, and so people were surprised
that I was overweight by so much.
That summer was 2009, and I started
losing weight by trying to cut back my calories and biking. I started
a job in a daycare that September, and by November, I had lost 20
pounds. I was very proud of my progress, and eventually ended up
losing another 20 pounds, for a total of 40 pounds.
That's pretty much my story in a
nutshell. However, weight loss in not a nutshell, and there are
reasons every person gains weight. I think it's very important that
every person who has struggled with their weight tries to understand
the reasons behind why they did/do. I have two reasons.
As you may know, I used to dance. I did
Winterguard for 5 years, starting when I was 11. I danced 12 hours a
week most weeks of the year, and sometimes more. And, I was young and
had a crazy metabolism, so I didn't have to worry about what I ate
because it didn't really matter at the time. I just burned it all
off, and I was good. However, after I stopped dancing when I was 16,
I kept eating like crap, and that continued into University, when I
became even more sedentary, and so on until I was overweight.
My second reason is a little more
personal. In the past I've struggled with depression and very low
self-esteem. When I was young, I had very few friends, and to be
honest, I was a troubled child. As I grew up, I was just awkward, and
was slightly bullied at times. I didn't really like myself, and I
just had issues, and the people around me weren't very helpful in my
growth as a person. I fully believe that the main reason I am
currently so successful at being healthy and getting stronger and
more fit is because of the love and support of my husband and the
healthy emotional environment we have created in our relationship. He
is a strong rock for me, and I thank God for him all the time.
Because of his presence in my life, I have blossomed, and I am
grateful to him for everything he does to help me.
So that's my story! And if you care to
share about your weight struggles, I'd love to hear it. When did you
realize you had a problem, and what do you think are the causes of
it? And what has helped you be strong enough to find the courage to
be healthy? You can share here on my blog in the comments and you can
do it completely anonymously. Or if we're friends on Facebook, you
can message me.
Lots of people have asked me questions
about what I've done to lose weight and get healthy, and if you'd
like to know, then stay tuned! It'll be an upcoming post.
<3
Amanda
Thank you so much for sharing this! <3 Since you asked, I'll share my story :)
ReplyDeleteI, too, was incredibly skinny in high school. When I went to college, I gained the freshman 15, but in my case, that was a a healthy 15 pounds. I gained a little more the next couple of years, but I was still very thin.
My junior year of college, I was diagnosed with chronic idiopathic urticaria (I had hives all the time and no one could figure out why). In desperation for some relief, my doctor prescribed a steroid and I continued taking that medicine for a year and a half. During that time, I gained 30 pounds.
I graduated, got married, and started my job and realized that I was no longer thin. I had that "arm" moment looking at my wedding pictures. For the first six months of my marriage, I tried to count calories and start running. I lost a couple of pounds but nothing substantial.
On Christmas Eve 2011, I got an email from my cousin who is a personal trainer and licensed dietician. She had been interviewed about her diet (paleo) for a magazine. Over the next few weeks, I read a lot about it and the third week of January I decided to dive head first into eating a completely whole foods diet. Lo and behold, I lost real weight! I was running and lifting weights, but I wanted to get faster results so last month I started Crossfit and I am already a hardcore addict!
I guess what I have learned is that there is no easy way out. You have to buckle down, eat clean, and train hard. And along the way, I've actually come to love this way of life and I will talk about it to anyone and everyone who will listen to me.
Oh, and I've also got Amanda a few steps ahead of me to inspire me and keep me motivated. Who would've known I would have gotten that kind of inspiration from someone I've never met?!
That's awesome Stephanie! Thanks for sharing! :)
DeleteI was wondering how and why you got into Paleo, so it's good to know. I've also adjusted my diet according to my own health problems. It can really help! I also tried running, but running and my body do not get along.
I actually heard on the so-called 'news' the other day some guy ranting about government food subsidies and how meat is killing us all, and I was like, dude, no. It's the grains that are destroying us. You might want to read the book 'Good Calories, Bad Calories'. The author talks about how and why the shift from a meat-based diet to a grain-based diet in North America happened, and how it's harmed our health. It's good!