Good Morning everyone! This morning I would like to share my fitness/running story. To begin with, here is a little background information about myself.
I am a wife and mother of 2 beautiful kiddos. I have been married to my best friend and biggest supporter for 7 years, Jason. Together we have Madeline, 4, and Elijah, 3. We also have our puppy babies: Bosco, Mugsy, and Marley. We all enjoy spending time outdoors fishing, camping, talking walks and bike rides. We are a family striving to be happy, healthy, and active.
Now to my huge realization. After having my 2 wonderful children, I was overweight and extremely unhappy. I was trying to lose weight, but the commitment wasn't there and I need some help and inspiration. I began a discussion with a very good friend and former colleague of mine about weight loss since she had lost quite a bit of weight herself. After these discussions, I was motivated and inspired to start my own journey. So on July 15, 2011 I took charge of my life. My first step was to give up soda. I got rid of it, totally cold turkey and I haven't missed it since. I also began to workout. Now this was a struggle to begin with. Being a mother of 2, it was so hard to find time to exercise and, I don't know about you, but I love my sleep. My friend and I had had the discussion of time and the best time for her was early in the morning before her daughter woke up. Now those of you that know me, know that I am NOT a morning person, and to get up early in the morning to do something that I initially did not want to do was a super huge challenge for me. Luckily, I had made this lifestyle change over summer vacation ( I am a teacher), so I had some time to get myself used to it. By the time school began in the fall, my morning routine of getting up early to work out was a habit, like brushing my teeth.
Since that time I have lost 60 pounds. I began using Tae Bo videos that I had used when I was in college to get back into working out. These helped me to feel comfortable with working out because I had already done them before. Then Billy Blank released his program Tae Bo PT 24/7 and I begged the hubs for it. I used that program for almost a year, but had reached a plateau in March of 2012 that was really frustrating. It was on March 17, 2012 that I decided to add running into the mix. We had purchased a treadmill previously, but it really wasn't getting much use. Since I live in Wisconsin, beginning to run outside in March was so not appealing. So treadmill it was. I will blog more about the running aspect of my routine later, but it was this push to run that really helped to recharge my weight loss. Since running and Tae Bo, I have enjoyed the changes in my body. However, having done Tae Bo for so long, I was no longer seeing the changes that I desired. A friend of mine, is a Beachbody Coach, and I had been curious about P90X for awhile, so she agreed to order it for me. I love, love, love P90X!!! I have been using this program since November 2012 and I am finally seeing the results that I want to see. I have more muscle tone and definition in my arms and legs. I love my shoulders!!
I am still a work in progress and I struggle almost daily with clean eating (my next big step on my journey), but I feel so much better than I ever have before. I have so many plans in the making now for my life. Goals and plans that I never thought I would have in my entire life. I am currently training for a 10K with plans for a half and full marathon before I seriously begin training for Boston. I am so thankful for the support of my family who have dealt with my ups and downs on this journey so far. We have become even closer to each other as we strive to be the best we can be every day.
So I am hear to be a listening ear, to motivate and inspire, and to share my journey with others. I want you to know that you can do anything you put your mind to and if you struggle like I do, come and tell us about it. I had so many people help to inspire me and motivate me when I was down or felt like I couldn't do it, so I want to return the favor. Join me please! Let's do this together! Love to all of you! And remember YOU CAN DO IT!!!
I am a wife and mother of 2 beautiful kiddos. I have been married to my best friend and biggest supporter for 7 years, Jason. Together we have Madeline, 4, and Elijah, 3. We also have our puppy babies: Bosco, Mugsy, and Marley. We all enjoy spending time outdoors fishing, camping, talking walks and bike rides. We are a family striving to be happy, healthy, and active.
Now to my huge realization. After having my 2 wonderful children, I was overweight and extremely unhappy. I was trying to lose weight, but the commitment wasn't there and I need some help and inspiration. I began a discussion with a very good friend and former colleague of mine about weight loss since she had lost quite a bit of weight herself. After these discussions, I was motivated and inspired to start my own journey. So on July 15, 2011 I took charge of my life. My first step was to give up soda. I got rid of it, totally cold turkey and I haven't missed it since. I also began to workout. Now this was a struggle to begin with. Being a mother of 2, it was so hard to find time to exercise and, I don't know about you, but I love my sleep. My friend and I had had the discussion of time and the best time for her was early in the morning before her daughter woke up. Now those of you that know me, know that I am NOT a morning person, and to get up early in the morning to do something that I initially did not want to do was a super huge challenge for me. Luckily, I had made this lifestyle change over summer vacation ( I am a teacher), so I had some time to get myself used to it. By the time school began in the fall, my morning routine of getting up early to work out was a habit, like brushing my teeth.
Since that time I have lost 60 pounds. I began using Tae Bo videos that I had used when I was in college to get back into working out. These helped me to feel comfortable with working out because I had already done them before. Then Billy Blank released his program Tae Bo PT 24/7 and I begged the hubs for it. I used that program for almost a year, but had reached a plateau in March of 2012 that was really frustrating. It was on March 17, 2012 that I decided to add running into the mix. We had purchased a treadmill previously, but it really wasn't getting much use. Since I live in Wisconsin, beginning to run outside in March was so not appealing. So treadmill it was. I will blog more about the running aspect of my routine later, but it was this push to run that really helped to recharge my weight loss. Since running and Tae Bo, I have enjoyed the changes in my body. However, having done Tae Bo for so long, I was no longer seeing the changes that I desired. A friend of mine, is a Beachbody Coach, and I had been curious about P90X for awhile, so she agreed to order it for me. I love, love, love P90X!!! I have been using this program since November 2012 and I am finally seeing the results that I want to see. I have more muscle tone and definition in my arms and legs. I love my shoulders!!
I am still a work in progress and I struggle almost daily with clean eating (my next big step on my journey), but I feel so much better than I ever have before. I have so many plans in the making now for my life. Goals and plans that I never thought I would have in my entire life. I am currently training for a 10K with plans for a half and full marathon before I seriously begin training for Boston. I am so thankful for the support of my family who have dealt with my ups and downs on this journey so far. We have become even closer to each other as we strive to be the best we can be every day.
So I am hear to be a listening ear, to motivate and inspire, and to share my journey with others. I want you to know that you can do anything you put your mind to and if you struggle like I do, come and tell us about it. I had so many people help to inspire me and motivate me when I was down or felt like I couldn't do it, so I want to return the favor. Join me please! Let's do this together! Love to all of you! And remember YOU CAN DO IT!!!
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