My Weight Loss Story

My story of weight gain and loss didn't happen until my late late teens and early twenties.

As a child and teenager I lived a relatively healthy and active life full of wholesome food and fresh air.  My family and I referenced books on homeopathy to heal our hurts and consulted Naturopaths for ailments well before they were as main-stream as they are now.

Graduation (2005) is when everything changed for me.  I learned to love beer, fast food, late nights, and little exercise... just some of the components for an unhealthy life style.  My weight steadily crept up, and my activity level steadily crept down, until I was sitting at 203 lbs.  At 5'7" and just 20 years old I was the only overweight, unhealthy, and out of shape person in my family.

2008

2009

2010

For a while I didn't notice or didn't care about the changes to my body, and then I had that moment of seeing what I actually looked like - and I did notice and care, but didn't know how to make a change.  A healthy lifestyle is kind of like riding a bike though, and in 2011 little by little I started to remember my "roots", the way I grew up, and gravitated back towards that way of life.

2011

2012

2011 is also the year I met my (now) husband Cody and being in a relationship with him really cemented in my mind the way I wanted to live.  I wanted an active and full life with this great man.  He was all about fishing and always wore Columbia rain jackets, for some reason it reminded me of my childhood full of MEC gear.  It made me want to spend time outside, doing more than just standing around a fire drinking beer (although that is still a beloved activity - in moderation).  He supported my goals and believed in my mindset and that's when things really took off for me.  Our wedding in August of 2013 added some initiative and at 25 years old I was finally back in the almost-healthy weight zone weighing in at 160 lbs for our special day and the months before it!

Fast forward to present day, I'm still working on this ever-changing goal of the "ideal" body.  I gained a little bit of weight post-wedding and am now ready to get back in gear with healthy food choices and more physical activity.  While the food choices come easily to me, the exercise doesn't so much.  I'm excited to get back on track, see results, and most importantly feel results.

2013

Weight loss and self image love does not happen overnight, but the thought I consistently come back to is that it's worth every step of the journey.  It is so much more than a number on the scale; it's feeling your body move without pain or intense effort, it's not being embarrassed to be seen in a new outfit or in front of a crowd, it's being able to chat with friends while going for a walk, hike, or bike ride because you haven't completely lost your breath, it's not constantly adjusting your clothing and feeling uncomfortable, it's the pride of looking in the mirror and realizing that YOU and only YOU made the effort, pushed yourself, and busted down those fears and barriers.

To be quite honest, my weight loss story will never end...  it will just morph and change into some sort of next chapter.  Sometime soon I will hit my goal weight.  Then I'll be working on toning up, or on cardio endurance, or whatever I'm interested in at the time.  My body will fluctuate as my life fluctuates, but in my mind that just means I get to be a success multiple times.  There is always going to be something to work on, but that's the beauty of obtaining goals.