They say the journey of 1,000 miles starts with a single step. Well ladies and gentlemen of the internet; witness step 1.
Last week I made a decision. I was going to be healthier. I have a 9 month old son at home and want to be able to easily keep up with him as he starts to crawl and toddle around our house. Until I graduated high school I was a fairly active person and lived in the 100% for height and the 50% for weight. Then all those after school activities my parents were paying for stopped, all those delicious meals my parents prepared stopped, and I was forced to find my way on University cafeteria food and the University gym. Don’t get me wrong, I still did extra curricular exercise – I rode horses weekly throughout the school year and joined the ski club for trips in the spring semester. I did fairly well but as school progressed and my classes became more focused to specific buildings I became more sedentary and my weight began to go up. Being a tall girl, gaining over 30 lbs wasn’t as noticeable as one might think. I simply went from tall and slim to tall and curvy and I found the change to be so gradual that I barely noticed until I saw myself at graduation.
I spent the next 5 years working to try and lose that weight, which began a serious cycle of yoyo dieting. A cycle that lasted until I became pregnant with my son last fall. I attempted to eat well during my pregnancy and not “eat for two” if I could help it. I had few cravings, but as any mother will tell you – the pounds add on anyway…plus, I stopped exercising. I dealt with what I felt was serious morning sickness until mid way through my second trimester and couldn’t bring myself to workout most days, choosing instead to simply lay in bed and hope I could keep what little dinner I’d managed to eat in my body. In the end, I gained over 30lbs, the scale at my last OBGYN appointment before Connor was born read over 200lbs…that was about the time I freaked out.
Now, as Connor’s 1st birthday approaches I’m finding I’m still holding on to those stubborn pounds and it’s time to do something about it. I got together with a friend, who introduced me to Shakeology and the 21 Day Fix. I signed up to be a Beachbody Coach and thought I was set to go. I’d love to tell you that following that program was all it took and now I’m well on my way back to a healthy lifestyle. But, alas that wasn’t the case. I dabbled in the workouts and eating program, but balancing that with the demands of a full time job outside the home, a husband that works nights (limiting his baby watching assistance in the evenings) and a baby who I wanted to spend every minute watching and playing with meant that often I just winged it and in “failing to prepare, I prepared to fail”. 3 weeks ago I finally figured out how to fit workouts into my daily life, rearranged my work schedule accordingly and added a daily Shakeology shake into my diet. I felt that I was finally in a place to really make a change for myself so I contacted the friend who introduced me to Shakeology and told her I was thinking about doing a cleanse and what had she done/what did she recommend.
I set my sights on the Beachbody Ultimate Reset as a path to getting a handle on my diet and detoxing my body the right way. After losing 6lbs doing the 21 day fix for 3 weeks the idea of using this to further jump start my weight loss journey was also a factor. I watched a lot of youtube videos and read a lot of blogs from fellow Beachbody coaches. In the end, I decided the reset was for me.
Earlier this week, the Ultimate Reset box arrived on my doorstep. Excited I pulled out the Program and Nutrition Guide, watched the dvds and downloaded the shopping list from the Beachbody Ultimate Reset website. I’ve started this blog to document my journey. It’s the journey of my life as I take my body from where it is now, to where I want to be. It’s the journey of the mostly sedentary working mom, taking back control and making my self a priority too. It’s the journey of me tackling physical activities I’ve always wanted to try and have never been able to accomplish yet. It’s my journey of 1,000 miles and I’m glad you’re here to support me. Hopefully you’ll reach out and I can support you too!
shinebrighter2016 