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| pumpkin patch-1 year ago |
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| pumpkin patch-this year |
The Journey
It all started in February of 2010, at my uncle's birthday party. I remember being in such a bad mood, doing nothing but complaining about everything from money woes to being fat. Unfortunately for her, my cousin-in-law, Trish was lucky enough to be sitting next to me taking it all in. I remember her saying, "Geez, Kel...you've got a lot going on..." with an empathetic look on her face. She was probably thinking, "Someone kill her and put her out of her misery!"
The problem: I was so unhappy with who I was, how I looked, and how I felt because of my weight. More than that, it bothered me that other women seemed to have it "all together." You see, Trish and I have a lot in common. She is a working mother, has 2 kids, and is on a budget. What irritated me (because it pointed out my failure!) is that she had figured out how to lose all of her baby weight (from each baby) pretty quickly after delivery-instead of making excuses for 10 years, like me. And no, she is not one of those people who doesn't have to do anything to lose weight-she had to work her butt off!
The next day at church, I was sitting at a table eating doughnuts with my parents. Yes, my church serves Krispy Kreme doughnuts every Sunday, and for a person who loves doughnuts & is on diet, it's as if Satan himself is serving them! But I digress... I don't remember if it was my Mom or Dad who broached the subject of weight, but it was basically: "We've got to do something. I was sitting there looking at all of us last night (at my uncle's party), and we all look like crap (I'm paraphrasing)." I knew they were right, but also knew that I had pretty much resolved myself to being a fat slob for the rest of my life. I had lost weight before I had Ben, but had done nothing but gain weight for the past decade. I had tried several times to lose weight and exercise, but I never stuck with it. After a while, I had pretty much given up. I told myself I couldn't do it, I had no willpower, this is just the way I was going to look & feel.
The Challenge Begins
My parents decided to start "The Miller Challenge." Basically, it was a weight loss challenge for my mom, dad, sister, and me. The rules: lose 50lbs in 6 months, get $500. There it was, the solution to all of my complaining-getting money for not being fat! We started a blog where we could check in and confidentially keep track of our weight once a week.
At first, I did horrible. I felt pressured to do it because everyone else seemed so into it, but deep down, I didn't want to. I was so sure I would fail before I even got started. I had nothing but excuses: "It costs too much to eat healthy," or "I have no time to exercise," were my favorites. Finally, I decided to take the advice of a friend and try a program called, "Body-For-Life."
Here's the basics:
- Eat lean protein sources, veges, fruits, and whole grain breads & pastas-ONLY
- Do 20 minutes of increasing intensity cardio 3 days
- Alternate between upper & lower body weight training the other 3 days
- On the seventh day, eat whatever you want, as much as you want and do no exercise
The program is designed to make you lose 25lbs in 12 weeks. I lost 26lbs in 12 weeks. I have continued with the program and as of today (the end of the Miller Challenge), I have said, "Good riddance" to 44lbs!
Has it been easy? HECK NO! The eating portion was difficult at first, but knowing I have one day a week to eat what I have been craving helps me stay focused the other 6 days. I've been able to keep up with it successfully because I can change the "free day" to any day of the week. This will help me stay on program during the holidays and not feel like I'm left out.
What has been most surprising to me is that exercising has been the hardest, yet most rewarding portion of the program. I have pushed myself harder than I have ever pushed myself before. I started out doing the cardio workouts on a Gazelle-type machine, went to jogging outside, and am now doing a 2.7 mile bike ride (with a lot of inclines!) around my neighborhood. In order to spend time with the kids every day, I have done morning workouts at 5:15, and I have done late night workouts at 11:00. My late night bike rides are my favorite. It's completely dark in our neighborhood, no street lights, no sidewalks for a lot of the ride. It's absolutely beautiful when the moon is out on a clear night. It's very quiet and peaceful, although sometimes, the wind blowing a leaf down the road sounds like someone is chasing me! I've had a dog chase me, two deer freak out and run alongside of me, a skunk crawl out of the sewer right next to me, and 3 or 4 cats run across my path, but what good is it if I don't have a little excitement?
What I've Learned
1) Let's face it, people don't respect fat people. Unlike other addictions, you can take one look at a fat person and see where their fault lies. We assume they are lazy and have no self-respect. As someone who's been there, I can honestly say, they're right! I had become so lazy that even the simple things became too much for me. I was less of a mom, a wife, and an employee because of my laziness.
2) It's not a bunch of hogwash, exercise really does give you more energy! I started out wondering how I was going to fit in the time to devote to exercise, but it's actually given me more time in the day. Because I have more energy, the time I used to spend sitting on the couch at night (snacking, of course) is now spent either cleaning, preparing for the next day, or blogging! I require less sleep to feel rested than I used to, also.
3) You need God's help & guidance, ask Him to help you. I give all the glory to God for my success. I found strength and willpower to stick with this program only because He was gracious enough to give it to me. I continually pray for His guidance as I work on losing the remaining 36-56lbs. I know I can't do it without Him!
4) You need your family's support. The Miller Challenge was a huge motivator for me, but I never would have made it this far without Mark's help. He has been my "spotter" during weight lifting, my conscience when I wanted to "cheat," and most of all, my encourager week in and week out. He swears he notices every pound I lose and makes comments all the time about how good I look. The weird thing is, it's hard to hear those things after 10 years of making fun of myself for being fat-I don't believe him. I've actually been scolded by Mark to quit making fun of myself now because I'm not that person anymore. I guess he's right, but I won't feel worthy until I am at my goal weight!
Ben has been really sweet, also. He knows when my cheat day is and we share something decadent on that day. He likes to watch me workout, and asks me how much weight I've lost often. He says, "Good job, Mommy!" In fact, one of the milestones this summer was that I could actually fit in the seat on The Racer at Kings Island. Sad isn't it? I was too fat to ride a roller coaster and my 8 year old son couldn't have been prouder when I fit in the seat. He's going to need a lot of therapy later on..
5) I have saved a TON of money by eating healthy. I never go out to lunch anymore, because I'm so limited in what I can eat (fast food restaurants aren't full of lean meats & veges), so I pack my lunch every day. I thought I was going to have to buy a bunch of separate food for me, but I've now began feeding everyone lean beef, whole wheat pasta, etc. and they love it. Now, the whole family is eating healthier!
Well, I've almost written a book on weight loss, but oh well. It's MY blog and I'm proud of myself, dang it! I'll keep you posted on my progress! I received my payout from the Miller Challenge tonight and there are a lot of plans for a makeover this weekend! What an awesome birthday gift to myself, being healthy!
