Get Fit: Winter

Last weekend, Jo Marie shared about her commitment to getting fit and losing weight. (Thanks Jo! If you missed it, click here.)  This week, I am happy to introduce Winter.  She blogs over at Daily Balanced Living, and I've known her since I was a kid.  We went to church together, and even though I spent more time with her sisters than her growing up, I have always admired her for many different reasons.  This post is yet another to add to the list.  Thanks for sharing, Winter!

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Thank you so much for inviting me to be a guest on your blog Randi!

Almost exactly two years ago now is when this journey of mine began. I was a stay at home mom with four kids at home. With each of my babies I had suffered severe post partum depression. This last one was no different, my doctors gave me medication for it, but I also self-medicated myself when I felt my meds weren’t doing their job. I used food, alcohol, just whatever I could to numb my pain.

                                                                                               

When my daughter turned three I actually weighed more than when I delivered her. I am 5’6” and I weighed about 226 pounds. I was miserable. I was watching my life from the couch. I hated to be in family pictures, or any pictures at all. When I went searching for a before picture I found it really hard to find one. I was always hiding behind someone in all the pictures I was in.

When I looked in the mirror I thought the most horrible things about myself. Shopping for clothes for my increasing body was so depressing, I was wearing a size 18 at the time. I hated the way that I looked.

On top of all of this, my last pregnancy had wrecked the inside of my body. I was having periods that lasted 2-3 weeks and was in pain a lot. My doctor recommended a partial hysterectomy. After surgery, having six weeks of recovery and time to think about and evaluate my life, I made a decision to change my life.

No more watching life from a distance, I wanted to participate!

I began exercising with a friend at some free classes that were being offered near my house. There are two groups in Topeka that offer these free classes now, MAKIN Moves and Heat Up Topeka. This was a great starting point for me. I had always hated to exercise, but doing it with a group like that made it fun, I looked forward to it.

I started this radical diet called, “Girl, quit eating so much!” You won’t find a book on it; I literally just quit eating so much. What a concept! To eat healthy serving sizes of food, I also started eating more fruits and vegetables and whole foods. I quit acting like a garbage disposal for my kid’s leftovers. I really had been treating my body like a trashcan for all sorts of garbage. To help me track what I was eating and to be more aware I started using My Fitness Pal. It’s a great app that allows me to see my progress and be aware of the nutritional values of the foods I eat.

Something else that I did during this process was I asked God for help. Even though I was getting in better shape I still found that I had these cravings that just didn’t seem to go away. I read the book, “Made to Crave” by Lysa TerKuerst and learned so much about the why behind my cravings. We are created to crave God, not food, learning this changed the way I saw food. Starting June 16^th I will be leading the Bible study based on the book “Made to Crave,” feel free to contact me for more information about this summer study at dailybalancedliving@gmail.com.

Over the course of a year I lost 66 pounds. Now, two years later I am down 76 pounds and I wear a size 6. I’m not sure that I will lose much more weight; lately I have been more focused on toning and getting stronger. Some weeks I lose inches and gain a pound, some weeks I lose another pound, most weeks I maintain. I’m more concerned with how I feel instead of what the scale says.

I continue to participate in the group exercise classes, I really enjoy the kickboxing and I have taken up running. You could probably say I am even a little addicted to it. Two years ago I couldn’t run the length of my driveway without feeling like I was going to die, now I can run more than six miles. I’m not fast, but I’m consistent.

My life is completely different now; I love to be outside, working in the yard, playing with the kids. I have found that I enjoy hiking, climbing, camping, bike riding; you could say pretty much anything active.  There is this long list of things that I want to try now too, things that for years I couldn’t imagine trying.

Now when I look in the mirror I see a strong, fit woman. I have come so far; I love this version of me that I see.

Come and visit me sometime over at my blog www.dailybalancedliving.com