I have always been concerned about being physically fit. Now, that doesn’t mean I’ve always been fit but the idea of being fit was never very far from my thoughts. As a child I stayed active by playing sports, in college I took the requisite gym classes and my senior year took swimming so that I could stay conditioned. In graduate school I discovered step aerobics and group fitness and things changed dramatically. I loved the endorphin high that I received when working out and I loved the changes in my body, after a couple of years I became an aerobics instructor.
My involvement in staying fit ebbed and flowed but I mostly stayed within ten or fifteen pounds of my ideal weight. When I married, things changed. I exercised but not consistently and soon my weight started creeping up. By the end of my first year of marriage I was pregnant and started the pregnancy overweight. I became active and only gained 25 pounds during my pregnancy that quickly came off after my son’s birth. However, once I stopped nursing, my weight increased and I found myself weighing 200 pounds. It took me two years to reach a place where I was truly ready to tackle the problem and in November 2009 I took charge and changed my life completely. Exercise and eating healthy has become the norm for me. I no longer skip meals, I eat my vegetables and I also indulge in my favorite foods – in moderation.
Adopting this new lifestyle has enabled me to lose over 40 pounds and I am now ten pounds away from my goal weight. I’ve lost the weight at home, as the mom of a busy three year old it is difficult getting to the gym but with the help of my Wii, DVDs and exercise TV I’ve been able to exercise consistently during the winter months. My family joins me and now that the weather has warmed up my son and I go on walk/runs in preparation for my first 5K run in over five years. Getting out of the habit of living a healthy lifestyle is easy and changing your life is challenging but I know that with patience and persistence it can be done. It took me two years to get my mind and body in the right place but now that I’ve arrived I don’t plan on ever falling back into my bad habits again.
The Charity that inspires Renee is The Lupus Foundation of America.
Many thanks to Renee for taking part in the Motherhood of the Traveling Shirt. You can read more about Renee and her journey on her blog at Cutie Booty Cakes.com.
