About two years ago i realized i was wasting a perfectly good life eating junk and watching t.v. feeling depressed and insecure. A few christmas card pictures put in perspective how much weight i had gained since i graduated from highschool. Growing up i had always been chubby. My loved ones gave me nicknames like hoover aka the vacuum that sucks up everything. But i was more than twenty pnds over weight. In highschool i averaged about 160 at 5'6 and definately felt the extra weight, but it all went down hill after graduating. I guess what the call the freshmen 15 definately struck, and after that it was about another 10 and another 10. before i knew it i was 22 and 190 pnds. My family has always had a few extra pnds and a slow metabolism, and of course i want to be healthy and physically fit but like many i used food as a drug to ease the stresses of coping with life. It was my drug, and I didn't realize how it was affecting my self worth and abiltiy to enjoy my life. I'd always beleived in god and sought to have purpose filled life but i was throwing it all away with food and i didn't know what to do about it.
To make a long story short... Things suddenly fell into place... And i am sorry for those who may be offended but i honestly believe i would not have achieved what i did without the prayers and guidance of the Lord. Christmas of 2010 i was at an all time low. My best friend and i had grown apart, i felt really down about myself, and didn't really enjoy much of anything. I was always tired, sad, and snippy at people. I had prompted my mother to take a christmas photo with me for christmas cards to pass out to the family, and that is what opened my eyes. It was only a head shot but i didn't recognize my own face. Also to mention i am a preschool teacher, and that year i was recieving presents from parents and friends that were extra large or doubl Xl while my co workers were getting smalls and mediums. this really helped me realized that not only have i gotten alot bigger but others are noticing. Of course i felt horrible and i started comparing my newer photos to old pictures of myself and the difference was insane to me. We put on wieght slowly over the years and we don't realize how much of a difference it makes once it all adds up.
That is when i stepped on the scale... I saw 190 and broke down. I couldn't take it anymore. I was determined from that point on that i would not let this defeat me. I didn't feel healthy, pretty, or energetic. I wanted to value myself and do something just for me. This just fell into place. I was working a partime job and didn't really have many friends or other responsibilities to keep me preoccupied so i was able to devote myself to my health at this point. I used to eat fast food two times a day atleast. Passing by carls junior or jack n the box on the way to work everymorning was a temptation for me to stop and get something to eat. It was like i needed it to help me face the day. I would drink soda or starbucks all day long for energy because i had no natural energy. The first step i took was getting a gym membership close to my house and cutting out all fast food and soda. I did a lot of research on the internet about the benefits of healthy foods and how to get energy from what i eat rather than drinking soda. I forced myself to go to the gym wether i felt like it or not. and i started slow. It was hard at first, i hated working out, but after a while it became something i looked forward to. I didn't really tell anyone my goals becasue i was afraid to fail. but after a few months people started to noticed and ask questions. When i hit a plateau i did research on how to change my meals or workout plans and the pnds just kept coming off. After six months i had lost 50 pnds. and i was at 140. Which i never thought possible. my goal was to get back to what i was in highschool and i had surpassed that. After the first six months things started changed. I had to work more hours. I felt better about myself, and had more rsponsibilities and did other things than workout all day. I still made time for it, but it wasn't as intense. The last 15 pnds took a while longer but i eventually went down to 135 which is where i am at now. It's two years since the first day i started working out and still i am at 135. a year ago i met my boyfriend who has similiar ideals about fitness as i do. At first we would workout together, but we both have gotten comfortable and excersize took the backburner. I still excersize and when i get really dedicated i will lose a couple pnds, but tis really hard and i cant seem to keep it off. My goal is 125, and after losing 60 pnds you would think 10 pnds is nothing but ive never been in the 120's not matter how hard i try.
I think my body got used to running every day and the food i was eating and i reached another plateau but aside from becoming vegan i can't manage to lose the extra pnds, and when i try to eat 1500 cals a day i feel like im starving. I need advice. I would LOVE to get past this last hitch in the road. some might say i should be satisfied with what i've done, but i still don't feel 100 percent especially since i fear i might be putting some wight back on. If i can reach 125 and maintain that weight, I think that would be perfect for my height and bone structure. So if anyone has advice for me. Please share. I hope that i can inspire some others who have similiar stories. If you don't know how to get started, just start slow but do something every single day. When you make a mistake which you will don't dwell on it. Trust me fitness and living a healthy lifestyle is worth it. I cant believe how far i ahve come and i can actually look in the mirror and be happy with what i see. Also pray, God wants you to love yourself as much as he loves you...
