Serial Quitter

Happy Monday!

I wanted to talk a little bit about something I am sure many people can relate to today.

I am a quitter. I have pretty much successfully quit any type of work out or weight loss program I have ever started. I also love fads. I will jump on just about any bandwagon diet out there. You name it, I've probably done it, minus the really crazy things like eating tapeworms or something like that. I still can't believe that was a "thing" among celebrities and models at one point!!

But I did try a cranberry juice cleanse once. I made it approximately 18 hours before I ate a whole bag of Harvest Cheddar Sun Chips without breathing.

I also followed the Adkins Diet for a summer in high school. It worked for me in the short term, but all I thought about was bread, pasta, and mashed potatoes. That diet also didn't make me feel very well. I felt weak and cranky the whole time.




My most recent fail was the "Insanity" program. When my husband brought it home one night after borrowing it from a coworker, I was pumped. I was going to have some really banging abs, and I was going to look as amazing as Tanya does while getting them! If you've done Insanity, you know who Tanya is. She's so badass and looks so pretty while she's doing everything. So I did Insanity in my basement for a couple weeks. But my shins started hurting, so I cut out all the plyo moves. What a slippery slope. It ended with me cutting out all of the moves and the DVD is gathering dust inside my TV stand.

Weight Watchers has been the one "diet" program that I've semi stuck with. I find it really easy and I have gotten results, albeit slower than I'd like. I don't consider it a diet, because I still eat whatever I want for the most part. But it taught me a lot about portion sizes and making better food decisions.

I also found a work out program that I've stuck to. My friend introduced me to a kettlebell conditioning class at a martial arts studio in Pittsburgh. It's hard, and it's tiring, but I love it. I've been going since September, and I actually sometimes find myself wondering if I'm going to quit. I've never stuck to something like this for this long. But the changes I see in my body because of it keeps me coming back. I actually have biceps!! I also love the camaraderie at the gym. Everyone is sweating and high fiving each other. I love a good high five!

My very own kettlebell

In the last year, I've realized that the reason I've quit some of these things is because they aren't the right way to lose weight or be healthier. I am a firm believer of listening to your body and eating whatever you want...IN MODERATION. I can't cut out carbs, because I will be unbearable to all those around me, but I can refrain from eating a spaghetti sandwich for dinner. Oh, you've never had one? It's exactly what it sounds like. Spaghetti, sauce and all, on bread. Buttered bread if you want to include your dairy for the day.  I don't think you'll see that recipe on Weight Watchers.

And I realized that I need to work out with someone. I can't just hang out in my basement watching Shaun T or Jillian Michaels or watch an episode of Parks and Recreation while on my elliptical and expect to get a great work out because I won't push myself. I know that about myself. I need someone to push me and celebrate with, and complain about how much we both hate burpees.

I'm happy that I've made these realizations, because I think, hopefully, they have gotten me one step closer to not being a quitter.

What have you found keeps you from quitting?

First Post

Wow. This is my first blog post. I have spent a lot of time in the last 8 months to a year with Mama Laughlin, Skinny Meg, and Two Ton Teacher as permanent bookmarks on my iPhone home screen.

Where do you start when you start blogging?

I have a lot of things I want to say, but I will save some things for down the road. Mystery is the spice of life, right?

I am 27 years old and married to a man that I probably don't give nearly enough credit to. I recently just found a love of exercise. It took me 27 years. I was never involved in sports...never. I signed up for youth softball and never showed. (I got a vote for the all star team though! Someone saw my potential!) I never cared about what I ate...never. No....I would NEVER order a Chick Fil A sandwich, AND nuggets in one sitting...not me...didn't happen! I was active enough in other things, and just being a teenager, that I didn't have to care about what I ate until I was 21. Then came beer, and vodka, and late night Taco Bell runs.

I've been struggling since then and I finally think I have enough of a handle on my life to share my struggle and journey with other people.

I am going to start with what I weigh right now. As I type this, I weigh 171.9. I am 5'4". If you look at the BMI Scale, that's considered overweight. I have never considered myself overweight, even at my heaviest, which to my knowledge (because I didn't own a scale until 2011) was 189. I clocked in at that number around the time I got engaged to my now husband (what a chubby chaser!).

My overall goal is to be at 130 lbs. It's a goal that has been completely unattainable to me in the last 3 years because homegirl likes her bread.

I am an over-sharer. I want to tell you all my whole life right now. I want to start with how I never thought I would weigh as much as I did at my heaviest, then move on to how never thought I would lose 20 lbs before my wedding and then gain most of it back soon after. Then I want to talk about how I actually like to lift weights and move my body now, and how I still struggle with delicious, yet gross food, and laziness. But that will all come, right?  I want someone to get to know me....the me that I have held from so many friends and family.

I read the blogs of these amazing women who have put it all out there for everyone to see. They have inspired me, sometimes to the point of tears, and I hope one day I can do something like that for a girl who thought she couldn't.

I'll get there one day. Right now, I'm going to be too busy figuring out my own crazy, carb loving, shin splinting life.