About

This is my story.

ONCE UPON A TIME, I was extremely overweight. I had been this way my entire adult life. And I was living completely OBLIVIOUS and in DENIAL about it and the damage I was doing to myself.

The anti-health pic

After having three kids put extra stress on my already overloaded 5'3" frame, eating a highly processed diet, and little to no physical activity, my body suddenly hit a brick wall.

I became pre/diabetic, developed a full blown case of poly cystic ovarian syndrome, depleted my body's vitamin stores, and dealt with the MULTIPLE CONSEQUENCES for more than a year as my many doctors dealt with the symptoms with not one attempt to get to the root of my issues or even a mention of it. Not one of the 6 doctors I saw and who treated me ever mentioned my weight or the benefits of good nutrition.
I felt like I had no hope and there was no relief in sight.

Looking back, I realize I was a weird, dull, lifeless color. I know it sounds strange but the best I can describe is it is that I was grey. And my hair looked awful! And it was shedding at a horrific rate. And I don't even know how my poor little frame was holding up all that weight - oh WAIT it wasn't, I had a horrible debilitating case of SCIATICA too.

One day I finally decided I was going to get out of the dark cave I was living in and CHANGE MY STORY.

I signed up with sparkpeople.com, and not soon after someone introduced me to the book Eat to Live by Dr. Joel Fuhrman. Not only did this book change up my pantry, I can now say it changed my life.

I overhauled my eating. Suddenly I was discovering, experimenting and ENJOYING fruits and vegetables like never before in my life. My poor deprived body was responding amazingly. I was thinking clearly, felt more energetic and I started to feel....good?!

Eating greens, beans, grains and fruit was completely revitalizing my poor undernourished body. I know that seems strange to some, but I was not only OBESE but also MALNOURISHED, who would have thought that was possible? Not me!

And the excess pounds? They just started to go away as my body detoxed. And I wasn't feeling deprived! My skin brightened up, my hair stopped shedding, I no longer had weird abdomen discomfort, my sciatica pain was going away. That alone made me realize how AWFUL I had been feeling EVERYDAY. It had been my "normal". I was finally feeling what GOOD really felt like.

It has taken me a while to accept my success as being permanent. As do many overweight people who have lost or are losing weight, I still saw myself the same. Except now instead of being in denial about my obesity, I have been in denial about my weight loss, as if I fully expected to screw it up.

People were commenting about my weight loss and the transformations in my appearance but I would brush them off. I still now will grab clothes that are two sizes too big for me. I have to convince myself that I am able to join that fitness class and keep up or that I "deserve" to buy new work out clothes.

said wedding day, close to highest weight

There are not many pictures of me at my full weight. In fact, I was great at not even seeing myself in the mirror each morning. (An olympic size mental exercise). But recently someone pulled a wedding photo from a few year's back (the obligatory family photo! grrr - can't avoid those as easily) and my weight loss suddenly hit me!

Spring 2012

Wow,
I'VE COME A LONG WAY BABY!!
and I am still on my journey.
I am at the dawn of leaving the obese bmi, and am determined to get to a healthy bmi for the first time as an adult.

Blogs have been my encouragement along the way. Healthy eating blogs, clean living blogs, veggie eating blogs, weight loss and fitness blogs have all helped me learn about a whole way of living I never knew about, but that I can count myself a part of today.

So I'm adding my story to the lot, for those of you thinking about making a change today and others who are still on their journey like me! To all of you I say,

START TODAY.

It is possible.