It's gonna be worth it all.

This Is It!

Photo Credit: Creative Commons

The end of 2012 is here, which, for many people, means new year's resolutions. Weight loss is usually a top resolution, isn't it? 

This is the year! I'm going to go to the gym and eat right! This weight is coming off! 

Sound familiar? 

This was my resolution for 2012. And I was determined. And motivated. I meant business. After giving birth to my third baby in May of 2011, I was ready. It was time. I was finished having babies and nothing was going to stop me from reaching my goals. I was so tired of looking in the mirror and absolutely hating the girl staring back at me.

My husband was tired of the way I would basically refuse his compliments. It'd go something like this:

Nathan: "You look hot!"

Me: "No I don't! I'm fat. I'm disgusting. I look ugly. How could you possibly find any of this (motioning frantically to pudgy parts of my anatomy) attractive?! You can't!"

To which, my husband would finally say, "If you don't like it, then do something about it." 

Ouch.

Truth can hurt. 

So, It was December of 2011 and I was more than ready. I got a membership at the gym and started going. I was committed. I had friends that had memberships there so that helped. I quickly made new friends there too. I went anywhere from 2-4 times a week on average. I went to the spinning class, HIIT class, Body Pump, and Bootcamp. I felt amazing after finishing each workout. 

After several months, I noticed that I was trimming up slightly, but no weight was coming off. I started being more aware if what I was eating. Still nothing. Now, let me say this..I had realistic expectations. I didn't expect that I was going to start dropping weight right off the bat. It took a long time to accumulate. It was going to take some time. In fact, I had read that weight that comes off slowly, stays off. I keep pushing on. 

I started running. I'm not a runner. I always hated it in elementary and junior high. But I started to actually enjoy it. I got fitted for thee right running shoes and that made a huge difference in my performance. 

In June of this year, I kicked my soda habit...which was HUGE for me. I'm a big Dr. Pepper fan and could easily put away 5 or more in a day. I didn't go a day without one. After almost 3 months of no soda, and all the exercise, still no weight had come off. I was starting to feel extremely tired. And depressed. I would start to crash around 3:30-4pm and my energy would completely drain. Which is not good when you have 3 kids to take care of. I was depressed because nothing was happening. With all the work I was putting in, I thought that SOMETHING should be happening. I remember crying to my husband while getting ready for the gym (when I found the energy to go). I was losing the drive. Why bother going? Why bother cutting soda? Why put myself through that if I had nothing to show for it? 

I finally went to the doctor in August to see if I could find out some answers. I had blood work done to check my thyroid. That came back clear. So next, we did blood tests to check my hormones. My results said that I had extremely low progesterone. The doctor put me on a prescription of progesterone and assured me that was why I wasn't losing weight and why I was depressed and tired all the time. She wanted to see me after several months to reevaluate. I started taking them as I was directed to and I really did start feeling better. But still...no weight loss. Of course, at this time, I wasn't working out as much. 

During this time I joined a BeachBody Challenge group. I started ChaLean Extreme. I love Chalene Johnson and was familiar with her Turbo Jam workouts. I did some of those years prior. I felt like I slimmed up a little but I didn't lose anything. I missed quite a few of my workouts in that month as well. I knew I wasn't at 100%. 

Ok, we are now up to a little over a month ago. 

I got connected with a friend, and she encouraged me to join a challenge group that she was about to start. She became my coach through BeachBody and I actually signed up as a coach myself. I got my challenge pack of Brazil Butt Lift and my first month of Shakeology. I started eating clean. While I haven't been 100% every single day, I'm quite proud of myself for what I've been able to do.

I went back to my doctor to follow up. She ordered labs for bloodwork to be checked. But, instead of doing it, I made an appointment with an endocrinologist that was recommended to me by several friends. He was very thorough and checked my thyroid which came back  normal. He said I'm a little anemic. He also said I'm not getting near enough sleep. I've been averaging around 4-5 hours a night. Not good. At all. And also ordered another round of blood work to specifically check my hormones. I'm waiting on those results now. 

At my 30 day mark, I'd lost some inches over my body. I was able to put on some pants that had been too tight before. Even though they don't fit perfect (and I would rather they be too big..thereby forcing me to go shopping for smaller pants), I started to cry. Slowly, my body is changing. And I'll take it!          

I've just started to add in some Turbo Fire into my routine and I'm loving it. I really want to amp it all up. 

So...that's my story up to now!

It's now January 1st, 2013 and I'm excited about the goals that I AM going to reach! 

It's hard work, it's slow.  

It's frustrating...but it's gonna be worth it. 

It's gonna be worth it all.