Tuesday, February 26, 2013

A Very Good Place (and time) To Start


I had been throwing around the idea of starting a blog for a while now.  A couple weeks ago, while shopping with my sister, something happened that made me realize it was time.  It wasn't anything crazy or earth-shattering, it was just something that made me realize that perhaps sharing my story or my struggles could help in some small way. 
More on that later, first I want to fill you in on my story.

My journey to better health began almost three years ago.  Prior to that, I was overweight, obese, or morbidly obese for most of my life. 

In my younger years (ie. my early twenties), I don't remember thinking about my weight all that much.  It was just who I was.  I came from a "big" family and I had just accepted that I would always remain "a big girl".  Was it easy being big?  Of course not, I just didn't fight against it because it was all I had ever known.

I do recall that for most of my 20's, I maintained the same weight.  At every yearly checkup, I was consistently around 295 pounds.

I gave birth to my twins in 2005 and that was when my real health issues began.  I thought I was just worn out from caring for my babies and not taking care of myself, but my symptoms got worse.  In January of 2006, I was diagnosed with Grave's Disease which is an autoimmune disorder that leads to hyperthyroidism. 
For the next 4 years I struggled to get my thyroid under control and all the while my weight kept climbing.  I am embarrassed to say that it got to the point where I couldn't even go grocery shopping without the use of an electric cart.

In the summer of 2010, I weighed in at 343 pounds.  I was starting to get sick of myself.  I could barely keep up with my kids and my depression was getting worse.  When I heard that The Biggest Loser was holding auditions in Omaha, I thought that it was the perfect opportunity to make a change.  I talked my co-worker into coming with me for support. 

Halfway through the line at the auditions, there was a man handing out cards in front of a life size "before" picture of himself.  Everyone was saying that he was a former Biggest Loser contestant, but I had only been watching the show for 2 years and didn't know who he was.  I called my sister and she told me that it was probably Marty Wolff.  She said that he was on season 3 of The Biggest Loser and now he was a personal trainer.


The card he handed me invited me to an information session for a "beginner bootcamp" for people with 50-100 pounds to lose.  Of course, I didn't get a call back from the show, but I was intrigued.  Fat people doing bootcamp?  I had to find out more.

My cousin came with me to the information session and we both signed up for the one month program.  The workouts were held on a soccer field at the Y.  I don't remember being nervous or intimidated even though I had never truly worked out before.  I was with a group of about 30 other people who were also big like me and there was an almost instant camaraderie.

After each workout, we would sit and talk.  We would talk about nutrition, our struggles and just what it was like to be overweight.  One of the girls started a private Facebook page for our group and we would talk there as well.  We became friends and that is what made all the workouts something to look forward to instead of a chore.

One night, in one of our post-workout discussions, Marty said to us, "Who do you want to be?  What kind of life do you want to live?"
That struck a chord with me.  Never before had it occurred to me the way it did at that moment, that I really could control my own destiny.  That is when my real life began.

I joined up with Marty's regular ongoing bootcamp and I spent the next year doing races just to prove that I could.  My "bootcamp family" and I did Trek Up The Tower (a race up 40 flights of stairs), Warrior Dash (an extreme 5K obstacle course) and various other 5K races.  My sister had joined us in January of 2011 and my mom joined not long after that.  

In the fall of 2011, we found out that Marty would be opening his own health club.  No more renting out other gyms, we would have a place of our own.  

In January of 2012, Square One, The Health Club For People of Size was born.

Being able to help Marty build Square One has been a blessing and a privilege. He allows me to use my story and my experiences to help our members on their journey and I could never ask for anything more than to be able to do that.

On August 23, 2012 I had just finished my regular workout with my friend Kevin and Marty was going to weigh us in.  I stepped on the scale knowing that it was a possibility, and I was not disappointed.  
I weighed 242.8 pounds.  I had lost 100 pounds!


Of course, my journey is not done yet.  I still have a little more to lose.  In December I signed up to run the Lincoln Half Marathon which takes place in May.  My goal is to lose another 25 pounds as I train, although at this point, the number on the scale doesn't mean as much as it used to.  One my favorite t-shirts says it best...HEALTHY is the new SKINNY!

Well this brings us up to the present.  I would love to tell you what's been going on the last two months and what led to the start of Grownup Spinach, but I think I will have to save it for my next post.  How's that for a cliffhanger.
:)