My journey of healthy lifestyle has had its ups and downs over the years and I’ve decided my body and mind need a structured program lead by experts to help me reach my goals. April 2019 I signed up for the Total Body Transformation program at Prairie Athletic Club. I did the program because I was committed to a happier and healthier lifestyle and wanted the 12-week program to teach me how to do that with the right workouts and nutrition.
My history with living a healthy lifestyle has been all over the board since I was in high school. I struggled with an eating disorder in my teens and 20s. After I graduated college in 2004, I was at my heaviest. Then David and I got engaged and I started Weight Watchers to lose weight for the wedding.
I lost over 50 lbs and was the thinnest I’ve ever been but I was not at all healthy. I was skinny fat. Everything I ate was pre-packaged, processed foods. Nothing I ate had any nutritional value.
Then came twins and a bonus baby over the next 5 years.
December 2014, Wyatt was 1 and I decided I wanted to lose weight but I needed some encouragement so I posted a picture of my scale showing my weight on Facebook and asked if anyone wanted to join me in a 3 month long weight loss competition. I ended up getting a group of 25 ladies together and was determined to win...and I did. I lost 30 lbs and loved the group. It made us accountable. Gave us a place to ask questions and share our wins without being judged. We kept the group going and about 6 months in, the ladies in the group started to discuss “clean” eating and how much processed crap Americans eat. Discovering Lisa of 100 Days of Real Food was a changing point for me and my family.
Fast forward to 2018. The “original” weight loss competition group is still together and many are still doing monthly competitions with me to maintain and/or lose weight that has snuck back on. It’s a constant battle we are all fighting. Sometimes it’s easy. Sometimes it feels like the last thing we want to do. The groups help me keep it in check.
In addition to an eating disorder in my teens and twenties, I struggled with depression. It had been years since I went through a dark phase but the fall and winter of 2018/19 was a 6 month dark place for me which lead me to gaining 20 lbs back from what I had lost 4 years ago. This was really hard for me since in the beginning of 2018 I was at my all time healthiest and fittest.
Finally, that dark cloud began to lift March 2019 and the fire in my heart ignited to reach my fitness and wellness goals. I got back to hitting the gym every day, stopped sneaking fists of Girl Scout cookies, started to track my macros and intermittent fasting (16:8). After doing as much Googling as I could, I realized that it was time for me to work with professionals because there is way too much that I don’t know and nothing out there is customized for what I need.
So that’s why I decided to commit to the 12 week Total Body Transformation program. It’s designed to work closely with me for workouts, nutrition and mindfulness.
My goal is to get lean and tone. I don’t have a scale number that I want to meet. I know I have belly fat that I want to see go but if I stick to what this program has set up for me, I’m sure that will be something that goes away.
I’m ready to get started and I hope to inspire a few along the way. Thanks for following me on this experience.
