And In The Beginning......I was fat.

I don't know if it really matters how I got here but I did and it's time to change things. No one imagines having back fat in their wedding photos, but honestly, that's what I had. After remembering what a great day it was, all I can see is my back fat! Awesome. I have always had bad eating habits. Over eating mostly, and it hasn't helped having a family of great cooks who tend to enjoy a good hearty home cooked meal prepared with lots of love and butter. I could go on and on about how much gravy I have consumed over the years but lets just say it has been a running joke in my family at Thanksgiving and such, that you better get all the gravy you want the first time around because I just might finish it off. : / I love all gravies, sauces, bread, cheese, pasta and sweets. No seriously, I have a weakness for yummy treats. I could easily take down a dozen or more cookies in one sitting and have on more than one occasion. And who needs exercise?! Surely not me! Even back in junior high when told to run the mile I would have scoffed and walked at my most leisurely pace. At my heaviest I was 250 pounds and really unhappy. I can't say that I had some grand ah ha moment or anything, I was just sick of not doing anything but be current on practically every TV show, and I have decided to take back my life. I am changing the way I think about food, exercise and myself. There is so much I want to do; so much more of a person I want to become.  I have an incredible husband and two beautiful daughters, amazing family and friends and it's time for me to get healthy so I can enjoy my life.

Over the summer of 2012 I began riding a stationary bike at my parents house a couple days a week and taking a ride on the centennial trail once every week or two. I started thinking about the kinds of food I was eating and concerned with all the chemicals, preservatives and fillers in food we began making an effort to eat better at least in terms of processed food and eating out. I was sooooo out of shape so it was slow moving but by November I went to work out most days. Then 5 weeks ago, after some convincing, my husband joined a weight loss competition at work. It's a 8 week competition and the winner gets a large cash prize!!!! Just the motivation he needed to get on board. We decided to track what we were eating with the Weight Watchers Points Plus system and really step up our workouts. This has been working out great for us. Recently I have gone rollerskating and ice skating with my 9 year old daughter, for the first time since elementary school; and I ran an entire mile for the first time in my whole life. (Oh, if only my junior high gym teacher, Mr.Berg, could see me now!) At the beginning of the competition I weighed in at 237 and two days ago I weighed in at 217!!! I am so proud and excited to have come this far and I'm just getting started. I feel stronger already and people have commented on how I am smiling more. :)

This blog will serve as a place for me to track my progress, celebrate my accomplishments, work through my struggles, and grow to be the best version of me I can possibly be. I don't claim to have all the answers but I figure I will discover what works best for me and my body through some trial and error. I don't believe in quick diets. I think the only way to get the life long results I want is through hard work, eating right and changing my bad habits forever.

For me it's not about being skinny; it's about being strong, healthy and happy.

I want to be confident and comfortable in my own body.

I want to buy clothes that don't come from the plus size section or a special store.  (Completed April/May 2013)

I want my jean size to be a single digit.

I want to be the best mom I can be and set good healthy examples for my kids.

I want to be the best wife I can be and improve our intimacy.

I want to be able to be active and participate in activities instead of watching from the side.

I want to run in a 5k. Lots of them. (Completed June & July 2013)

I want to run a 10k. (Completed October 2013)

I want to do Bloomsday. (Completed May 2012 & 2013)

I want to do a half marathon.

I want to snowboard again.

I want to bike the Hiawatha Trail. (Completed September 2013)

I want to bike from Spokane to Coeur d'Alene on the Centennial Trail.

I want to.......do so many things!

I want to take charge of my life and experience all that the world has to offer.


This is the next chapter of my complete life overhaul.