To understand the beginning of my story, you have to understand a little about me. Growing up I never really struggled with weight. I was never super thin by any means, but always average and athletic. I played soccer, volleyball, ran track, yada yada yada. Even throughout college, my "freshman 15" never stood out, I still fit in and could wear a bikini whenever I wanted without the slightest hesitation. It wasn't until after college, when I moved to a new city where I didn't know anyone that I really began putting on any weight. Even then, I managed it well I think (I still had that young metabolism!). Then my boyfriend graduated and moved to the same city and after a few years we got comfortable - well I guess I got comfortable. I gained some weight, but before my wedding was able to lose some of it - but I'll be honest, I wasn't too motivated to lose it.
June 2009
I think Leigh Ann put it best, so I am just going to quote her here, "Bottom line- I love
food, booze, and passing a really good time. I also really love to feel thin,
fit, and super hot- be real you do too. Unfortunately, a fast lifestyle and a
hot sexy body can't co-exist - ah moderation, my favorite word (HA HA!). There's
always a turning point, a wake up call, a slap in the face, denial ain't just a
river in Egypt honey- moment when you decide which one you want more and you're
gonna have to put in WORK to achieve your goals." For me, that moment was about 6 months after giving birth to my twins in May of 2011. After coming to terms with the fact that I WAS NOT one of those moms who would lose all their baby weight from breast feeding, I was stuck with the fact that just the opposite was happening. The weight was creeping on slowly. Up to this point, I had not be physical AT ALL in over a year! This was our 3rd attempt at IVF and I was not going to do ANYTHING that could possibly jeopardize this pregnancy. Well, at 27 weeks, I was put on bedrest where I remained until I delivered 10 weeks later. Praise the Lord, both babies were healthy, I on the other hand was not so lucky :( I had what is called Placenta Accreta - a condition in which the placenta attaches itself too deeply to the uterus and is unable to disconnect from it, thus resulting in removal of the uterus (and subsequently half my blood supply in the process). So imagine if you will a new mom, who can't even sit up without passing out, failing miserably at breastfeeding (b/c of said blood loss), tired beyond comprehension, morning the loss of any future children, and trying my best to do everything right as a new mom. It was a rough couple weeks. I actually lost all but 8 pounds of my baby weight when the twins were born, but it wouldn't stay that way for long. When they were 6 months old, I went in for a routine physical (which apparently you have to start getting once you turn 30 - oh yeah - I also turned the big 3-0 in the midst of all this!) and my doctor was concerned about my weight gain (which at that point was 150 lbs. and I'm 5'3), my constant fatigue, and mild depression - all of which I thought were perfectly normal things to have as a new mom of twins. Turns out my vit D levels were pretty low and my thyroid numbers were through the roof. I had developed post pregnancy hypothyroidism - yay. I will say that it was a major relief to know that there was a reason for everything that was going on with me (tiredness, low milk production (which sadly I had just given up at 8 months), weight gain, sleeplessness, etc.). The next step was to find the right amount of medication to level off my hormone levels and then take medication for.the.rest.of.my.life. sigh... At least I had answers and a plan. A couple months and blood tests later, we had found the magic dosage and my hormones had finally leveled off and I was beginning to see the pounds drop off - FINALLY! I was determined not to EVER see 150 again and thus began my journey to get fit. 
April/May 2011
So, I never really had any real issues with food, nor had I ever really dieted before, but I did know enough to know that diets don't work. Like ever. Calories in, calories out, and work off more calories than you intake - that's when weight loss occurs. Or so I thought. So, I was reading through my daily blogs one afternoon in June 2011 and came across this little post on one of my fellow mom of multiples' blog: Stacee's Pieces Blog - Metabolism Miracle
And OMG - I felt like she was writing it for me! I had to know more info, so I went on Amazon, pretty much immediately, and ordered the book and the cookbook. A few days later they came in the mail and I read that sucker cover to cover and was floored by all the information and how closely it seemed to resemble my issues. In the words of Suz, have you ever found something that just “works” and you want to shout it from the rooftops?…
I believe I have found “that thing” that works for me.
Take a look at these photos of me from the end of May (just before starting MM) and one from after 7 weeks on MM (please don't make fun of me, I know I'm fat, that's why I'm doing this):
(Ugh, must tell the hubs not to include my face!)
You can read more about The Metabolism Miracle here. I should also mention that around the same time I started MM, I came across this amazing Mama's blog (if you're the only person left on earth that doesn't know mama, you have to check her out, she is amaze-balls and super inspiring), and was introduced to this crazy bitch and the c25k program, and thus began my love affair with running. So the results you see in the pics were from a couple weeks of running and 30ds as well as MM. You can read more about my journey here, here, and here I felt so empowered and inspired at my own accomplishments. I started out like many people and couldn't even run half a mile, but after every run I felt myself getting stronger and my endurance improving. My 8 weeks on MM turned into 10 b/c of some set backs along the way, but I finished it, as well as the 34 30 day shred and the c25k program. I was all "This girl is on fire!" when I was finished. I had lost a good amount of weight but wanted to keep going, so I figured why fix what's not broken, right? I started half marathon training and ripped in 30 - I guess I'm a sadist or something cuz that B is cray cray. I got myself some good running shoes and I was off!
September 2012
I signed up for and ran, with.out.stopping. the Dallas Half Marathon on Dec. 9, 2012 in 2 hours 24 min (not my PR, but the course also wasn't exactly as flat as the trails I had been training on). The hubs, bambinos and my BIL were all there at the finish line cheering me on and I felt on top of the world, you could not have wiped the smile from my face if you tried. It was an absolutely AMAZING day that I will never ever forget, but that I do intend on repeating.
So that brings us to today. I kinda fell off the wagon after the half marathon. We were so busy fixing up the house and packing for our move, plus I was "recovering" that I kinda sorta stopped working out all together. I honestly just did not have any time - and this comes from someone who is a proponent of the mantra "If it's important to you, you'll make the time". Once we moved in mid January and got all settled into our new house, I had to have a "come to Jesus" meeting with myself regarding what I was seeing in the mirror (can I just say, that 128 lbs when you're fit looks a lot different than 128 pounds when you're muscles start turning into fat again). So here we are... it's March and I am ready to kick some ass again. As of today, I am 5 days into a 10 day reboot of Step 1 of MM and have been running about 4 days a week for the last 2 weeks, AND have thrown some Insanity workouts into the mix as well (4 days in). I can already see changes happening and I LOVE IT!
Sooo, that's me. I only hope that my story will resonate with you and help you to continue or start your own journey. Thanks for reading!
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