So I told my sweet husband I was writing a blog and while he was excited for me, he was a little hurt that I didn't include him in my original story. I told him it was my first post, that I was telling my story and he replied simply "well, I hate to break it to you babe, but I'm part of your story". So true. :) So, let me tell you my husband's story.
Joe and I met in September of 2000. He was super fit. In fact, I remember the first thing I noticed about him was his arms. What can I say, I'm an arm girl. :) As we started dating he fell into the same pattern that I did. Stable relationship=care less about your own physical appearance. We both gained weight. Then after we got married, and I got pregnant, he gained sympathy weight. He lost around 50 lbs when we did our program together in 2006, but gained it all back and then some while I was pregnant with our son. We suffered a loss in our family in 2010, we lost Joe's mom. Again, food and drink were a comfort to him...and didn't help the waistline. He decided to start getting healthy in April of last year, cutting out alcohol and most soda and replacing it with water. That was basically his only change. He lost 25 lbs over the course of two months. I won't lie, I kinda wanted to pummel him. Why is it that guys seem to loose weight so much quicker? Grr. I digress. In July he had a small mishap with the wheel of his ATV at the beach that ended with him having what appeared to be a fairly minor road rash. After a week it wasn't healing right. He felt weird, and it was super painful. He went to the doctor where they worked him up for a blood infection and blood clots. When his labs came back, we discovered the shocking news: he had Type 2 Diabetes. Now, like me, my husband has never been morbidly obese. His biggest was 270 and he is 6 feet tall. Here he was, an otherwise "healthyish" 35 year old man with this diagnosis usually reserved for older, or more obese people. There is some family history, but it is still not a diagnosis you would expect to hear this early in life. At this point, I was over halfway through my journey. We were determined to get him well--and get him off his medications. We quickly shooed away talk of insulin injections because we were certain that was not going to be an issue. Three weeks later we saw a specialist. His labs were already looking better, and he hadn't even started on program yet. He joined me on TSFL (Which I should mention stands for Take Shape For Life) in September. His blood sugars completely normalized in the first week. By October he had cut his medication in half. In November we rechecked his labwork which showed a complete reversal in all areas--his levels were of a normal, healthy adult. In December he was taken off of all medication completely. His doctors were shocked. He has lost almost 60 lbs--I'm so proud of him. Although everyone's results can vary, it is an amazing example of what is possible with this program.
What an amazing thing to be able to do for someone...get them off dangerous medications...help them achieve Optimal Health...help them get their life back. Are you ready?
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Here we go...again.
I'll be honest. I'm not a blogger. I am not even a great journalist. I have several unfinished journals that I started at various moments in my life...usually catastrophic events that I just HAD to write down so that I could re-live every painful moment later...you know, break ups, bad hair styles, drama and tension filled girl moments in high school that serve now as a funny anecdote to the "how stupid were we when" adage. But I am determined to make this one stick. I have been on a personal journey the past 8 months that I didn't write down...that I didn't share. I can't contain myself any longer. So...here's my story.
I have struggled with weight my entire life (I know, I know, who HASN'T?? And if you haven't, I hate you. Just kidding). I don't think at any one time I was ever morbidly obese. I was what you might call pleasantly plump. I always thought about how I'd like to wear a bathing suit and not feel like I had to wear an entire outfit over the top of it, thus making it useless. I think maybe once when I was 19 and skinny for like 5 minutes I did run on a beach somewhere in a bikini...or maybe I dreamed that. Anyways, as time went on I found myself married and (as people do when they are finally in stable relationships), gaining weight. Then I got pregnant with our daughter. I fell into the old trap of "Hey, I'm eating for two!". So I did. Only I'm pretty sure I was eating for like 4 or 5 some days. Anyways, after Noelle was born my dreams of breastfeeding were dashed by my body's seeming inability to produce enough milk. I was devastated. I tried everything to make it work. I turned to food for comfort hoping maybe if I ate more I would be able to feed my child. Sadly, I was only able to feed myself...to a lovely 205 lbs. My husband and I decided to do a weightloss program together in the spring of 2006. By the end of that year I was a svelt (for me) 145 lbs size 8 and feeling good again. I found out two months later we were expecting again. My second pregnancy was much easier, and although I still gained almost 50 lbs, I was able to shed most of the weight rather quickly. I eased back down to 150 where I stayed for a few years...and then it started creeping back. I was wearing 12's again. My 10's were tight...I had many days where I felt fat and unhappy. I realized I didn't want my daughter to grow up watching me yo-yo diet and feel bad about myself because I had a piece of chocolate. I want her to be proud of her body and happy with what God gave her--but mindful of taking care of what has been gifted to her. My hairstylist had been losing weight and when she told me she'd been doing TSFL I thought "well, that's great, but I can't afford that". So I prayed about it. I talked to my husband...and we decided that with our tax returns, last year, I would make ME a priority. And so began the final chapter in my battle with my weight. Where this choose your own adventure tale ends--rather begins--with the heroine finally beating the dreaded bulge. Finally blasting past my expectations...and getting out of my own way...out of my size 12's...and into a size 2. And somewhere along the way I learned to like myself again.
So I'd like to share this adventure--my tips, my recipes, my business...which I have to say, helping people get healthy...pretty great job :) After all, it's all for the love of something, isn't it?
I have struggled with weight my entire life (I know, I know, who HASN'T?? And if you haven't, I hate you. Just kidding). I don't think at any one time I was ever morbidly obese. I was what you might call pleasantly plump. I always thought about how I'd like to wear a bathing suit and not feel like I had to wear an entire outfit over the top of it, thus making it useless. I think maybe once when I was 19 and skinny for like 5 minutes I did run on a beach somewhere in a bikini...or maybe I dreamed that. Anyways, as time went on I found myself married and (as people do when they are finally in stable relationships), gaining weight. Then I got pregnant with our daughter. I fell into the old trap of "Hey, I'm eating for two!". So I did. Only I'm pretty sure I was eating for like 4 or 5 some days. Anyways, after Noelle was born my dreams of breastfeeding were dashed by my body's seeming inability to produce enough milk. I was devastated. I tried everything to make it work. I turned to food for comfort hoping maybe if I ate more I would be able to feed my child. Sadly, I was only able to feed myself...to a lovely 205 lbs. My husband and I decided to do a weightloss program together in the spring of 2006. By the end of that year I was a svelt (for me) 145 lbs size 8 and feeling good again. I found out two months later we were expecting again. My second pregnancy was much easier, and although I still gained almost 50 lbs, I was able to shed most of the weight rather quickly. I eased back down to 150 where I stayed for a few years...and then it started creeping back. I was wearing 12's again. My 10's were tight...I had many days where I felt fat and unhappy. I realized I didn't want my daughter to grow up watching me yo-yo diet and feel bad about myself because I had a piece of chocolate. I want her to be proud of her body and happy with what God gave her--but mindful of taking care of what has been gifted to her. My hairstylist had been losing weight and when she told me she'd been doing TSFL I thought "well, that's great, but I can't afford that". So I prayed about it. I talked to my husband...and we decided that with our tax returns, last year, I would make ME a priority. And so began the final chapter in my battle with my weight. Where this choose your own adventure tale ends--rather begins--with the heroine finally beating the dreaded bulge. Finally blasting past my expectations...and getting out of my own way...out of my size 12's...and into a size 2. And somewhere along the way I learned to like myself again.
So I'd like to share this adventure--my tips, my recipes, my business...which I have to say, helping people get healthy...pretty great job :) After all, it's all for the love of something, isn't it?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)