From The Beginning..
Well, here you are, on my blog page. And I’m assuming you’re ready to read some witty post that proves my skills as a blogger. However, I am going to be open and honest from the very start. I’m not much of a writer, not a super creative person, and like I’ve said in my About Me, I’m pretty basic.
If you are still reading, I take it you fancy getting to know me a little, despite my previous disclaimer. So here goes.
Since I hope to use this site to inspire others the way so many have inspired me, I’m going to keep the theme of my “getting to know me” work health and fitness related. I think the best place to start is a brief overview of my story. I’ll share more details in the coming blog posts.
Growing up, my siblings and my diet consisted of yummy foods our mom made for us, but it also was highly saturated with things like mac & cheese, ice cream, candy (lots of candy), ruffles chips & ranch dip, pumpkin pies, and so so many processed foods. When you’re younger, there is so much freedom to explore with food and I envy those days when my body didn’t care so much about what I fed it. And like it does for most people, this lifestyle caught up to me in my early twenties.
After my husband and I started dating, we found ourselves thoroughly enjoying finding & trying new restaurants and foods, and indulging in decadent desserts. We created quite a habit of eating perhaps too many calories and too many sweets. Don’t get me wrong, we made a lot of great memories with each other and with friends, so I don’t regret this stage of our lives, but the timing wasn’t ideal for what was to happen just before our wedding.
One month before we walked down the aisle, my brother was in a near-fatal motorcycle accident (I’d like to share more on this later, with his blessing). We dropped everything and his survival became the only thing I cared about. You can imagine the amount of stress that quickly stacked up. When most people are stressed, the stress eat, or perhaps simply don’t make as healthy of food choices. That was me.
Another thing that most people do, is gain weight after they get married. It’s an exciting time and for me, it was a time where we gained more independence in cooking our own meals and made a lot of burgers and fries. I know, so grown up of us. Anywho. We were married in June 2014, and by December that year, I was the heaviest I had ever weighed in my entire life. 184lbs on a 5 foot figure. It wasn’t pretty. And I didn’t feel remotely healthy.
Since getting married, I have changed many things in my life and learned so much about health and fitness. I have tried many different workouts, and different ways of eating. I’ve lost a total of 47lbs, and that’s not factoring in how much muscle I’ve gained. Still not at my goal weight or body composition yet, but like I said, it’s a journey.
For the sake of keeping this post short, I’m going to wrap it up here, and share more in my next post.
Til next time
-Jess