I grew up in an active family--we were always involved in at least one sport at a time. Throughout my life, I have played tee ball, softball, basketball, jazz dance, ballet, gymnastics, soccer, field hockey, and volleyball. It was fun, it was social, and it was competitive--all that I loved.
I played soccer so well, I remember one time being told by my recreation soccer league coach that the travel teams were looking to scout me. However, they played on Sundays and it was against my standards to travel and play soccer on Sundays. In volleyball, I was no where as good as I was in soccer. I tried out my freshman year, didn't get on. Sophomore year I transferred and wasn't allowed to try out. But still, I practiced and became manager. Junior year, I tried out, was told I was good enough for JV, but juniors weren't allowed to be on JV. I was head manager and was allowed to
practice with the team and go to team camps. Senior year, my tenacity paid off and I got on varsity! But, with always playing sports, having a part-time job, and being an A student, there was no way I was going to do any work outside of practice.
My sister was a freshman at the time and had joined cross country and track (she had also done it in junior high). I thought she was crazy for wanting to run for fun. My dad has always been a marathon runner. There was no way I'd ever want to run 26.2 miles!
All my life, I've been a low-medium weight for my height. Senior year didn't help once volleyball ended and working at an all-you-can-eat buffet in which the workers got free food. I was 5'7" and 150 pounds. Not to shabby. But, was school ended, I didn't like how I felt. I felt greasy, I felt heavy (I
was NOT), I felt unfit (because I wasn't playing sports), I was nervous about the "freshman 15" I might add in the fall. So, against my better judgement, I started running. I also decided to work out and watch what I ate and how much.
Again, my tenacity paid off and the habit continued my freshman year of college. By the next summer, I was still 5'7" (obviously) and 132 pounds! I had stagnated at the weight and was more than okay with that because if I had dropped to 130, I would be considered underweight. And there I stayed the rest of my college career, ranging from 132-138 pounds.
My first year of marriage was my first year of teaching. Now, they say that you put on
another 15 pounds your first year of marriage. Well, that didn't happen--I was
way to stressed and anxious about being a good teacher to put on weight. Instead of eating my stress, I
stopped eating (and not intentionally). I hardly touched my lunches and Justin had to sit at the dinner table to make sure I finished my meal. I still ran quite a bit. Not as often as I used to, as I was busy, busy, busy. But, my weight stayed the same.
My second year of marriage, I got a new teaching job, but this one was 50 minutes away and I was teaching a new subject! I got home at around 5pm each day and was exhausted with still cooking, cleaning, planning, and grading to do. My workouts started to drop--although during Labor Day, I participated in my first race (I had never wanted to pay the fee, but this was with my SIL). I ran 4 miles in 38 minutes without training--pretty proud of my cardiovascular system!
Then, in October, I found out I was pregnant. My workouts dropped even more so as my belly and baby got bigger. Rhys was a healthy baby boy growing in me, and I only gained about 30 pounds. I was about 168 pounds at 9 months. After giving birth, I dropped down to 155. Nursing didn't really help me lose any weight at all because I just didn't produce enough milk and had to stop at 3 months. I waited the 6 weeks for my OB's okay to work out again. But, we had a new house in a new, hilly neighborhood. I had never trained on hills before. Nor had I ever trained with a baby in a running stroller. And, I hadn't run for
months! It was excruciating! But, I tried my best and made sure to go every day I could, no matter how much or how far I went. Then, it got cold. There was no way I was going to risk my baby getting sick, no matter how bundled up he was.
Now, it's March again. I am still 155 pounds! But, my
goal this March has been to work on my health. We have had a lovely warm spell in Utah this entire month and I have been out running with Rhys in his stroller. When I haven't, I have been doing Daily Burn with Justin, who also wants to get back into shape. I already feel much better. My main goal is to get back to my pace (I'm almost there, just not with hills)(4 miles in 38 minutes) and my pre-pregnacy weight--132. Actually, if I get to 135, I'll be happy. And, now 3 of my SIL's want me to do a half-marathon with them in July before the family reunion. So, technically, I'm "in-training".
Because of this determination to finish getting rid of my pregnancy weight and want to get back into shape and
actually start watching what I eat again, I am so glad that
Sarah from Coffee & Glitter and
Alicia from Being Healthy and Holy are going to work with me! From now until the end of July (my half-marathon!), we will be doing a Get Fit Thursdays Series! We all believe that living a healthy lifestyle is one of the most important things we can do for ourselves.
As Sarah says: "Being fit and healthy in today’s world is imperative. Each and everyday doctors and scientists are finding new issues with obesity and life span due to it. We are in a convenience world and fast food/ going out is king. I want to change that. I want to give people motivation to work out and change or alter their lifestyles. I want to help people by providing them real life stories, real quick and easy recipes and by being an example to my family, friends, and readers. I want to do this with you!"
So, I invite you to join with us! The schedule will be:
Today: Your Story
Th 3/26: "Me, Currently"--routine, schedule, workouts, meal plan, what you want to change
Th 4/2: "Motivation"
Th 4/9: "Meal Planning" (for healthy living)
Th 4/16: "Workout Routines"
Th 4/23: Your Choice--make sure it's relevant!
Th 4/30: Your Choice--make sure it's relevant!
Th 5/14: "Workout Fashion"
Th 6/18: "Q&A"--where are you since day 1, and ask us 3 whatever relevant question you want!
Th 6/23: "Results"--we'll answer your questions and you give us final results!
So, who's with us?
