Fat to Fit and everything in between...

After much debate and consideration I have decided to start blogging. For more reasons than one, but mainly to help other young women and mothers who have struggled with their weight and self esteem. Let me begin by stating I am no expert. I hope to complete my Personal Trainer Certification by the end of the year and to start instructing classes, but for now everything I post is based on personal experience and personal research.


Let me begin with a little bit of my personal testimony...here goes nothing! For as long as I can remember I have always felt "fat." I can remember at the age of twelve telling my mom I was going to put myself on a diet. At twelve years old no girl should be worried with such. As my teenage years progressed so did my obsession with being thin. While I will not go into vast detail at this time I will say I struggled with some dark times and very serious eating disorders, mainly Bulimia. For years I yo-yoed in my weight and at my largest, graduated high school at 175 pounds, a bit large for my 5'6 frame.


My first big change in lifestyle came when I was accepted on to the Chowan College Cheer leading squad. I had to begin a summer work out routine which was far more rigid than anything I was used to. With the new found set of exercises and discipline I began to shed inches and pounds and I loved it!! In August of 2005 I packed my things and took off on my new adventure of college life; and while I was working out quite a bit and losing weight, I fell victim to my old destructive eating habits. Without my parents around to monitor my eating and no one to watch me I became dependent on binging and purging.  With prayer, some helpful education, and therapy I was able to over come this obstacle and not revert to my old ways to this day. (Praise be to God!)


All this being said I still struggled with my physical appearance but I moved on in life to bigger and more beautiful events that helped distract me. I married my best friend from college in June of 2009 and we found out at the end of that August we were expecting our first child. It was a high risk pregnancy that left me scared to do too much physical work and caused me to gain a good amount of weight. The most important thing was my child and the Lord gave us a beautiful, healthy little girl on April 12, 2010. After my pregnancy with my first born Jaelynn, I started back on the work out train but didn't always stick to healthy eating causing me to level out at an average but "little more to love" state of weight.  After she reached 8 months I realized I was ready to buckle down and change my body and do it the right way. Thankfully I married a very educated and fit man who helped point me in the right direction. I began working out for an hour to two hours five times a week and made drastic changes to my diet and lifestyle. By my daughters first birthday I was starting to enjoy my body and be proud of my hard work and weight loss. My mother always told me God has a sense of humor, and that he does...I found out just four weeks later that I was once again pregnant.


My second pregnancy was much smoother than my first and I ran three miles or kick boxed daily until my water broke. I waited my minimal two weeks and jumped right back in. At this point and time in my life I have a beautiful four month old daughter a beautiful two year old daughter and am at the lowest weight and size I have ever been. How?! That is the purpose of this blog, for me to share how I have gotten from where I was to where I am. I hope to hold myself accountable to stay strong and fit and encourage others and help with any possible way I can. I am going to post a picture of me before and after my two children so you can see my results. I will say this much if you want a change YOU must change. Find it in yourself to do what it takes, sacrifice the foods that may taste great but make you feel awful. Sacrifice an extra hour of sleep to get up and put in the work at the gym. Sacrifice your self to get to the self you want to be. "You have to give some to get some" Focus your efforts on being the best YOU can be not being better than the size two beside you on the treadmill, or the supermodel on TV. There will always be someone better than you and there will always be somebody worse off than you, but  if you never stop pushing yourself you will never know what you are capable of. You are your best competition. Stay strong and believe in yourself, and when you can't do that remember God the Father believes in you and that right there speaks volumes about how strong you are! Until next time be blessed and keep pushing yourself!


-Amanda-