I have heard so many people talk about blogging, so I thought I'd give it a shot. I want to share my story.
I met my husband, Shannon, in February 1998. I lived in Texas and he lived in Georgia. May, 1998, I packed up and moved to Georgia. People thought I was crazy, but I knew I found my soul mate. During our first year together, I began to gain weight.(When we met I was 125lbs and wore a size 4 pant) I can remeber moving into our apartment in August 1998 and wanting to make sure that he knew I could cook. I cooked all the time. I cooked lasagna, chicken, COOKIES, among other things. I began to gain even more weight. We bought our first house in 1999 and I continued to cook and eat. Shannon finally proposed to me in Feruary 2001 and we married in May 2002. My wedding dress was a size 24 at this point. On our one year anniversary we looked at our wedding album. This was my turning point. I realized that I HAD to change in order to be healthy.
I began Weight Watchers shortly after our one year anniversary. I had tried to lose weight before my wedding. I think I tried every yoyo diet out there. By the time I started WW, I had already lost some weight but I have no idea how much. My first weign in, I was 198lbs and wore a size 18 (although I tried to fit into a 16). I continued WW for 3 years. The first year was easy, but the years following were very hard. Not to mention Shannon loved me the way I was and him being a very picky eater, not the greatest supporter.
The first year into my weight loss, Shannon and I decided to try to have a baby. This also became quite a struggle. We suffered at least two documented miscarriages and lots and lots of meds as well as fertility doctors. In 2009 we were offered to sign up in a trial study for couples going through fertility problems. It would involve IVF and would cost us just a small portion to participate compared to the regular price. We went through the meetings, the doctor appointments and finally the IVF procedure. We found out in July that I was pregnant!! We were ecstatic. I followed the doctor's orders and rested. During this time, all the meds caused me to gain weight yet again and the resting part instead of going to the gym didn't help. Unfortunately in September at our first regular OB/GYN (we were seeing the fertility doc up until this point) there was no heart beat. Shannon and I asked the technician to check again and sat there and cried together. My younger sister was getting married in just over a week in Texas and we were supposed to be flying out on Friday, and that day was Wednesday. I was already at 12 weeks so I had to have surgery. I quickly spiraled into a deep depression. I quit talking to my friends, Shannon and I were not communicating very well, and I was an emotional mess. I'm not sure what happened, but I just opened my eyes one day and realized that I had to change.
In November 2008, a friend of mine got me into running. I realized that running made me feel good. I was able to let myself go. I could put my earphones in my ears and just go. I started off slow. My friend was signed up to do the Georgia ING half marathon in March 2009 so I decided to do it too. We signed up for my first 5K in December 2008, my first 10K in February 2009, and the half marathon in March 2009. My friend and I started lifting weights together as well as training for the races. I quickly started to see myself shrink. I began writing down my food again, making healthy meal plans, and best of all, Shannon joined me. We were doing this together!! I continued to sign up for races (Shannon participated in most with me) and my friend and I ran in the local parks as well as worked out together. I was an accounting major in college and was working on finishing my degree. I began classes in 2009 which added to the stress of working out and running.
One semester into my accounting classes I realized that I hated accounting. I wasn't happy, I wasn't pleasant to be around, and I was starting to get depressed again. I took a look at the degrees that were offered at my University and found that they offered a Sport and Fitness Management Degree. I talked it over with Shannon and we both agreed that this was the correct path to take. I began my classes for this degree while working. I was laid off in April 2010 from a job I had been at for 5 years. Shannon and I discussed our options and decided that we could make some sacrifices and I could stay home instead of going straight back to work and finish my degree.
I am now finishing my last three classes of my degree and am scheduled to start my internship in October. I will finally graduate in December!!! It is required that I submit paperwork this term to the head of my degree program about my internship, so I have been looking at different places to do this. I had an opportunity that fell into my lap. I knew I wanted to get into fitness, and I knew that I wanted to make a difference in people's lives. I have a story to tell about my weight loss. I am now at 135lbs and a size 6. I am the healthiest I have been in years!! I interviewed with the company on Wednesday, August 24, 2011 and they asked me to come back on Thursday to participate in a class. On Thursday, they asked me to come back again on Friday, and Friday asked me to come in on Monday and teach a boot camp class. I have come home every day since Wednesday with a smile on my face and know that this is what I should be doing. I know that this is my calling and I know that I can do this. Not only am I graduating in December, but I am going to get my NASM (National Acaqdemy of Sport Medicine) certification for personal training.
The company I will be interning with is a company that has focused on performance training for athletes and want to promote the fitness side more. Hopefully I will be offered a full time position with this company and can do what I love to do. Wear gym clothes to work, work out with other people who love the same, and make a difference in everyone's life that I am in touch with.
More to come in the next few weeks on what I decide and where I am going!! Stay tuned...
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