It's about time I tell you...

People notice... they notice that I look different, they may notice my genuine smile, but what they may not notice is how much better I FEEL! 

 So many people have asked, "What are you doing?' or "How did you do it?" It is hard to give a single answer, because it wasn't just one thing.  It's not a fad diet or quick fix. It was and is a combination of many changes that I have made over the past few years. I share my story with the hopes that I will be an inspiration to others, not to simply gather praise. 

I started my journey to wellness about three years ago. I was sick and tired of being sick and tired. I hit rock bottom when I was at my Dr. for a routine wellness exam. I stepped on the scale and looked at my weight, I felt like someone kicked me in the gut. I knew it was going to be bad, but I just didn't realize how bad. I weighed more than I had ever weighed. I weighed more than I did when I was nine months pregnant! Something changed inside me that day. I knew I needed to do something. I knew that I needed to make LASTING changes. 

I remember getting into my car that afternoon and just crying. How did I get to that point? I used to be so active! I was a swimmer, synchronized swimmer and cheerleader in high school. I continued swimming in college. How in the world did I let myself go? How did I let it get THIS BAD? What was I going to do? I can honestly say, I didn't have a specific plan, but I knew I needed to get healthy. At this point, it was more about getting healthy than just losing the weight. 

After a few months of research, I decided I wanted a Peloton bike. People doubted me. I've done this before... go all in at first and then an expensive piece of gym equipment just sits there gathering dust. Or, the gym membership keeps coming out of the account and I had long quit going to the gym. But this felt different. I loved the fact that the Peloton bike would be in my home. I liked that you access to live and recorded classes. I also liked that there were other types of classes available... strength, cardio, yoga, running/ walking as well as outdoor running/ walking. I remember the day I ordered my bike. I was laying in bed. I just kept looking at the price, wondering if it was really worth it.  Would I really use the bike enough to justify the cost of it? I told myself it was non-negotiable. I had to. I pressed, "purchase" and I knew my life was about to change.   

It took a few months, but in March of 2021, my bike finally came in.  I was SO excited!  I had the delivery guys put the bike right in my bedroom.  They kind of gave me a weird look, but I knew myself.  I knew that I had to see that thing every day.  After the delivery guys left, I got my bike shoes out.  I got them all put together.  I got the bike set up according to my height, arm length, leg length, etc. I finally got on for my maiden voyage!  After my first ride, my ass hurt SO bad! It was hard. Doubt started to set in. Questions and insecurities started swirling around in my head.  "What if this is too hard?" "What if I am too fat to do this?"  "What if I can't keep up?" But, I kept going. I sat on my pillow for a few weeks. I then ordered a seat cover from Amazon.  Slowly, but surely, I was doing better.  I went from 10 minutes rides to 15 and 20 minute rides. I was getting up at 4:30 in the morning to ride. Sometimes, I was joined by a work friend. Sometimes I rode alone, but I never felt alone. I started getting high-fives from other Peloton members. I fell in love with a few instructors, specifically Cody Rigsby. I started to feel like I was making progress. I could feel my leg muscles again. Every time I got on that bike, I felt like I was winning. I was making progress. I loved the "runner's high" that I felt when I was done. I loved the sweat. It all made me feel like I was doing something, really doing something! Riding my Peloton took me back to my swimming days. Completing a ride reminded me of how I felt after a long, hard practice.  I loved that feeling and I kept going. I started adding strength classes in. I was truly feeling better.   

People started to notice... I started hearing things like, "Your jeans are getting loose" and "Your face looks different." Those little comments, all of them, encouraged me to keep going.  

After falling in love with my Peloton bike, I knew I needed to do something else. My favorite instructor, Cody Rigsby, said he was going to do a dry January. I made a silent commitment to do the same thing. I went the entire month of January 2022 without an alcoholic drink. I felt pretty darn good! I then thought to myself, "if I can go an entire month without alcohol, I can do the same with Diet Coke!"  For those of you who know my love for Diet Coke, you know how significant this is! Once again, I made a silent commitment to go the entire month of February 2022 without a Diet Coke.  Guess what, I did that too!  Over those two months, when I committed to eliminating two bad things from diet, I noticed a significant change. I lost a lot of weight those two months. I decided to forever eliminate Diet Coke from my diet. In its place, I added A LOT of water.  I have added coffee and tea to get my caffeine. I do drink some alcoholic beverages from time to time, but it is no where NEAR the amount that I used to drink. 

Again, people noticed.  I heard more and more comments about how happy and healthy I was looking.  Though it may seem so small, those comments of support meant so much.  

Along the way, I decided to focus more on the food aspect of my diet.  I started drinking Herbalife protein shakes in the morning. I added an energy tea most mornings too (if I am not planning on drinking coffee).  The teas are basically Herbalife energy tea dupes. I get these amazing tea recipes from the Silver Lining Lessons website- Silver Lining Lessons All of the products for these teas are very easily found at WalMart, Dollar General, Target, Amazon, etc. Thank you Stefanie Howell for the suggestion on the website! I have also eliminated most fast food. Since I am no longer going to to McDonald's for a Diet Coke every day (sometimes more than once a day), it was very easy to cut out some of those food choices. Todd was packing me a healthy lunch daily. He made sure I had three waters every day.   

In early Summer of 2022, I finally had my knee replaced.  My left knee had gotten so painful that I needed cortisone injections every 3 months. I knew I couldn't live like that. The decision to have the knee replacement wasn't an easy one, but I am so glad I did it. I spent a majority of the summer doing physical therapy. I graduated from physical therapy just before the 22/23 school year started. Getting my knee replaced was just another step in the direction to wellness. I am able to walk around all day without my knee hurting. I am able to walk without limping! 

One other significant change I made was with medication. At first I was embarrassed to admit that I had the help of medication. I was introduced, by a Dr., to some newer injectable medications that help suppress appetite and slow digestion (which makes you feel full longer).  I started out by taking a medication called Saxenda.  This was a daily injection. It worked very well, but I was injecting daily. My Dr. then switched me to a newer medicine called Wegovy. This was a weekly injection and it was much more manageable for me!   

People noticed...  All of those little changes added up to some pretty significant weight loss.  It is hard to say what has had the biggest impact on my weight loss. I truly can't say, but I have lost over 100 pounds total! ONE HUNDRED! Sometimes it seems so unreal. 

Ultimately, I knew that I needed to make the changes for me and for my health. I will continue to make small changes that will have a lasting impact on my health and wellness. I will continue to put my health and wellness first. My boys see me making my health and wellness a priority and that feels good too. We have eliminated pop and chocolate milk from our house and really encourage water. They still eat like crazy, but they are growing boys!  

Thank you to everyone who has supported me along the way.  Your words of support and encouragement got me through some tough days- days when I wanted to give up; mornings when I just wanted to stay in bed; and evenings when I just wanted to eat "junk" for dinner.       

Here I am at the Peloton store at Easton. 
Peloton literally changed my life!