My Weight Loss Journey Thus Far

I know I have shared my story with you all before, but this morning I was writing to my new accountability partner from my challenge group, and I thought that my message to her was a pretty good summation of my Beachbody journey thus far...

Here goes...

I am a 27 (almost 28) year old full-time nurse at Mayo Clinic in Rochester. I have been married for 4 years and am mommy to a very busy 2 year old boy. This past fall I started graduate school with pursuits of becoming a Family Nurse Practitioner, and I will graduate from that program in 3 years.

Prior to becoming pregnant in the fall of 2010 I had "let myself go" and gained about 20 (okay, let's be honest, more like 30) pounds. I was very mad at myself for gaining this weight and couldn't believe that I had let it get that bad, but I didn't try to do anything about it because I was planning to get pregnant. Basically I got lazy lazier and used my pregnancy as a crutch and a reason not to workout. On a side note, before getting pregnant I didn't workout that often, but I did find myself at the gym from time to time...nothing to write home about! 

38 weeks pregnant with little man...200+ pounds

During my pregnancy I gained about 30 pounds and on the day I went home from the hospital I weighed over 200 pounds - a healthy weight for me is somewhere around 140... I remember leaving the hospital thinking, "okay, you gained some weight, now's the time to get rid of it." Throughout the next year of breastfeeding, I was able to lose all of my baby weight and more, and when I weaned last summer I was down to 148 which is the lowest I've been in years. I felt great! I had previously set a goal to get back to 145, and I was so close I could taste it. Hooray for breastfeeding! But do you think I did anything to maintain this weight...the answer is clearly NO!

Over the next 18 months I gained back much of the weight that I had lost while breastfeeding my son, and as of this March I was weighing in at 172 pounds (only 4 pounds less than my pre-pregnancy weight). I was devastated. I knew I had gained some of the weight back but I had NO idea how much of it I had actually gained. I was angry and fell into a pretty dark depression that I didn't know how to get out of. I honestly HATED myself, which is something I am not proud to admit, but hey, it's the truth. I hated myself for gaining the weight back. I hated myself for not losing the additional pounds and getting to my goal weight of 145 when I was SO close. How could I do this to myself. What the hell was wrong with me? That's when I started talking to Naomi Peterson about her Beachbody journey. I knew that I had to do something and soon before my depression spiraled out of control (which I felt it was already starting to do).

After watching the promotional video about Turbo Fire (<---you can watch that video here) I was hooked. It looked fun and it looked liked something I could really do. More importantly it was something that I would be able to fit into MY schedule. No more trying to get to the gym in between work, school, and mommy/wife duties. I could workout during little man's naps, or after he went to bed at night, or whenever. I loved the flexibility it offered. But what convinced me the most was the real life success stories that people are having from the Turbo Fire program. You see, I've always been an instant gratification type girl. I want to see results as soon as possible, and if I don't, I quit...

I ordered my challenge pack - Turbo Fire + Shakeology (we'll talk more about the shakes on a later post), and my 1st day was March 12th. In the first week I lost 5 pounds; 9 pounds by the end of week 2. Today I am right around 154-155 which makes my total loss of 18 pounds. I have also lost over 30 inches and I feel great. This program really does work if you are willing to put in the work, this is the main reason that I became a Beachbody coach! (Another side note: must take new pictures of me and what I actually look like now. Just searched through my computer and you can only see my face and upper body...) I have set a goal weight of 140, but would ideally love to get to 135. Right now I am looking forward to breaking out of the 150s and getting closer to 145. Baby steps people!

Me with little man at his 2nd birthday party on 5/18

Please know that the reason for writing this post was NOT to gain customers or grow my Beachbody business. I simply wanted to give you all a glimpse into my life in order to gain a better understanding of why I became a Beachbody coach. I would also love to motivate other women (and men) out there who are in a similar place and need some motivation. I have been continuously inspired by Mama Laughlin - she is a busy working mom with 2 busy little boys and she has lost some serious LBs with diet and exercise. She even became a runner which is something that has always been on my bucket list. I remember reading her blog and thinking, "okay, if she can do it, so can I." I knew that I had to quit with the excuses bullshit and just do it. And can I just say that girlfriend is a serious M.I.L.F. I wish I was half as hot as her! Check out her blog for some serious motivation and some great laughs. She is super candid and completely hilarious. You'll love her!

That being said, I would love to work with any of you who are looking to try something different! I want to thank you all for reading my story and learning a little more about my journey. My new motto is NO MORE EXCUSES. What's yours?

Beachbody Update

So (as usual) I completely SUCK at this regular blogging thing...Eventually I will become better at it. I can't even tell you why I am so bad at it. I could make all sorts of excuses...full-time job, full-time grad student, mom to a VERY busy two year old, wife, etc...but the fact remains, I should be able to find more time to work on this thing...at least once per week...I'm really going to try to suck less and blog more.

Okay, enough of that shiz...

Here's a quick update on how the whole being fit and healthy thing is going. I am pleased to report that things are going very well. In fact, things are going way better than expected. I started my Turbo Fire challenge pack at 172 pounds on March 12 and as of May 24 I am down to 154 pounds, for a total of 18 pounds GONE FOREVER! I am also down over 30 inches and have gone from a size 10-12 to a size 6.

My challenge does not end for a couple more weeks, and I am excited to see what more I can accomplish in those final days. I have set a goal to be 150 pounds or less by the time my challenge ends on June 10th. Do you think I can do it? I DO and I'm going to try my hardest to get as close as I can to that goal.

But that's not my final goal. Ideally, I would like to be somewhere between 135-140 pounds wearing a size 4-6. And even more than those goals, I want to be happy with myself and the way I look. I want to wear my clothes with confidence knowing that I look good and thinking that others think that I look good. I want to wear shorts and not be concerned about the size of my thighs. And I really want to wear a bikini and not feel like a beached whale in it. But MOST IMPORTANTLY I want to learn to love myself...FINALLY!

The time is now and I am through making excuses. I can do this. I will do this. I AM DOING THIS! And since I've been having such great success with my Beachbody program I decided to become a Team Beachbody coach. Don't worry, there will be lots more info to come in my next post which will be SOON!

Okay, that's it for now. I've been up working all night and it's time for me to go home and go to bed. My patience is nearly gone and I need to get out of this place before I say something inappropriate...