The Beginning.....

Me in Palm Springs, CA Aug 2014

The right pic is from March 2015 - I'm wearing a corset

Not even sure where to begin with this. My intention is to share my transformation and fitness journey. Guess I'll just start at the beginning. For most of my life, I've been a relatively skinny girl (skinny fat). Way back when I was in High School, I even tried to gain weight so that my curves would attract love interests. It worked as I met my ex-husband/high school sweetheart during that time. After marriage and kids, I was actually smaller (weight wise - skinny fat) than I had ever been before. Now, let me share that even though I come from an athletic family (brother played sports in high school and/or college and so did my parents), I hated to workout. I was too cute to sweat back then.

Five years later, I was going through a tough time (divorcing) and had some eating issues. That was when I first discovered "Eating My Feelings". It was a crazy time and the pounds packed on. I was suffering from depression and not taking care of the body. I re-entered the workforce during this time. I was working in an office environment, so I sat and typed and talked on the phone 7.5 hours out of the day, 5 days a week. Of course, the office had an abundance of cookies, cakes and brownies that annually came in from clients and we had birthday breakfasts for the employees once a month that consisted of doughnuts and dim sum (we would have fresh fruit as well - but who wants that when you have a doughnut in your face).

Over time, the scale started showing numbers that I hadn't seen since I was 9 months pregnant. With the stress of  job pressures and deadlines and family issues, I ballooned to over 200 lbs. I had gained over 50 lbs in the 7 years working for my employer. I looked into the mirror and didn't recognize who I was anymore. I was no longer in 20's  I was in my 30's now and every diet gimmick I tried would work for a little while, and then I would fall back on my bad eating habits and lack of exercise. Then the weight would increase. Yo-yo dieting is so dangerous.

My poor body and spirit. I was at my lowest point ever.  This was in September 2014. I got up one day and went into my kids old room and took a body pic of myself in the mirror (I don't have a full length mirror in my room). I broke out crying. How did I get to this place, why would I do this to myself. I decided in that moment that I could not go on one more day living in this condition. This was the beginning of my life being changed forever. I shared my weight concerns with my Bestie Jae Nakish, and she told me about this book and cleanse that she had tried. It was the 10-Day Green Smoothie Cleanse by J.J. Smith.

I did the 10 day cleanse and lost 15 lbs. I was overjoyed!!! So I took a break for a few weeks and tried to get back on the cleanse, but I wasn't as diligent with it this time around. So I didn't see another significant weight loss, more like 5 lbs or so. This was around November/December 2014. The holidays were on us and I totally slacked off and indulged myself in every sweet and savory thing I could consume. New Years was approaching and I was still in a size 14/16. I began researching Plastic Surgery as an option to help me get the body I always wanted in early 2015. I was so unhappy with MYSELF. How did I get this out of shape!!

On my way to work, I saw a Planet Fitness advertisement for $0 down and $15 a month for membership (something like that). The last day of the offer was 5/15/2015. I walked into the gym on 5/13 (with my workout buddy Erica T.) and signed up to meet with a trainer for 5/14. This event changed my ENTIRE LIFE! I meet Janet Springfield, the TRAINER. She was very warm and understanding as I expressed my fitness goals and physical history to her. She was also very knowledgeable about fitness, the body and how to work with my past injuries and concerns. She asked me how serious I was about this, as she would help me if I put in the effort. I declared I wanted it and I would do my best. We just connected instantly. She gave me a strict eating regime and I signed up for the exercise classes and came 5 days a week. I followed the eating program and went from 174 lbs  to 155 lbs from 5/15/2015 to 7/31/2015.

It's amazing how fast the body responds when you're feeding it correctly (I'll share some of my eating program later) and practicing regular exercise. I still have a ways to go for me to achieve my fitness goals. However, I'm motivated and ready for my improved physique.

Taken a couple of days ago

This is the most recent selfie that I've taken. I'm about 150 lbs here. So year-to-date (YTD), I've gone from 208 lbs to 150 lbs. I'm happier that words can even express. This journey continues.....