The Year In Review - Would I Do It Again?

It was about a year ago that I joined Best Fitness - Erie and met my personal trainer, Doug. I have to say, the man does not put up with my crap and for that I am thankful. The first 6 mos of my Fitness Journey were miserable. I was meeting with Doug a couple times a week for an hour where he would have me do things like run uphill on the treadmill with weights in my hands or countless push ups (and not the "girl" kind). He would have me lift weights, lunge all over the gym and do crazy core exercises on the TRX. I would come in one or two times on my own to walk hills on the treadmill. I was eating the same foods, but smaller portions and through all of this NOTHING was happening. The scale stayed the same and my clothes stayed the same. It was frustrating!

I downloaded apps on my phone to count every calorie that went into my mouth and to track my caloric burn, staying under 2000 calories a day. NOTHING. I tried a diet/cleanse program, lost a couple pounds, then NOTHING. I was so upset and couldn't understand why all this hard work wasn't paying off. I went to my doctor for tests, I went to an endocrinologist, both said nothing is really wrong with you, it has to be you aren't working hard enough or you must be lying about what you're eating. This just infuriated me. Why would I lie to them? I'm trying to get help, lying to them wouldn't be very helpful in this situation. They just shrugged their shoulders, "I don't know what to tell you." ARGH!

Doug, Michael and I put our heads together and decided to try some new approaches. We split my training sessions into 4 - 1/2 hour sessions a week that would be more intense. I promised to amp up my cardio, so instead of walking up hills, I began running before and after my sessions with Doug with at least an hour long run once a week. I also started taking 45 minutes of Cardio Kickboxing at Lund Martial Arts Academy a couple times a week. In addition, I reviewed a multitude of different diets, trying to find one that made sense for me to try. When I say try, I mean follow to the letter. I settled on South Beach - Gluten Solution. This all happened a little over 6 mos ago and what a difference it all has made. The pounds slowly started to come off, the body fat % started to decrease and my clothes became looser. All of these things I expected to happen. What I didn't expect - my chronic heartburn that I had been taking medicine to control for years was gone. I no longer have to take any medicine what so ever for it! I had constant breakouts on my face, scalp and back, worse than when I was a teenager, just nasty. These no longer occur unless I eat crappy food. I feel great, have more energy and am able to cope with more on a daily basis. It's an incredible feeling.

Today my diet pretty free from refined and processed white crap (sugars, breads, pastas) and gluten free. I focus on lean protein, lots of veggies, some fruit and low/no fat dairy. I try and avoid caffeine and a lot of grains, they both tend to really upset my stomach. I'm not the drinker I once was, but do enjoy the occasional adult beverage from time to time. Some of you are thinking, "How boring/horrible." Well, it may not be for everyone but what I can say is I went from 175 lbs to 134 lbs. From 35% body fat to 22% body fat. A size 12 to a size 6 pant and 10 inches off my waist. And I'm not done yet, this is just the beginning. So, would I do it again? A resounding, "Hell yes!"

After

Before

 

The Beginning of It All - Can You Relate?

The alarm goes off, you drag your butt out of bed to the bathroom, look in the mirror and are disgusted by what you see. You rush to get ready because that's less time you have to look at yourself in the mirror. You're out with friends and they want to take pictures, you volunteer to be the one behind the camera so you don't have to be in the shot. You hide every chance you get.
This mentality carried into every aspect of my life and in many situations turned into fear of taking chances on anything. I played it safe at work for fear of upsetting someone. I never wanted to do anything with my child for fear they wouldn't want to or get bored while trying it. I played it safe while dating, never really opening up for fear they wouldn't like me. All because I didn't like the way I looked and they way I felt. Life really sucked at this point to be quite honest. Thank heavens I realized I had to do something about it, that it would never magically change all by itself. I was setting a bad example for my son and I'm sure I wasn't very pleasant to be around either.
About a year ago I joined Best Fitness - Erie and little did I know I was beginning my Fitness Journey. I'll be honest with you, I'm 5'6" and at the time we're talking above, I was at 175 lbs and 35% body fat. I gained all of it during my pregnancy. Keep in mind, my kid is now 8 years old, I can't call it "baby fat" any more, LOL, it's just fat. I started off going to Best a couple times a week and walking on the treadmill, thinking that something would happen. Who was I fooling? Not a damn thing changed. I realized I could continue doing very little or I could invest in ME for the sake of me and my son, so he could grow up with a healthy Mom. I made the investment and decided to work with a personal trainer. I met with Michael Colegrande from Best and said if I do this, you're going to have to get me someone that won't put up with any BS that I give him and that will push me. Michael introduced me to Doug Grieshaber and let me just say, I got what I asked for lock stock and barrel.