How did you get started? What's the secret? I bet it was hard! These are the three most common things folks say to me when asking about my weight loss journey. When I started, I didn't really know what to do, how to to do it, or where to turn. The only thing I could think of was to "move my body" and that's how it began. In 2019 after seeing the scale balloon to over 250 pounds, I was beside myself. How did I get here? How was it so bad? How come no one told me? How come I didn't recognize it for myself? I was angry, hurt, mad, but mostly disappointed, in myself. I knew I had to do something so I bought the cheapest pedometer I could find on Amazon, slapped it on my wrist, and started moving. I set a goal to move two intentional miles a day, then three, then five, and it worked. I lost 25 pounds in 2018, I couldn't believe it. All I did was move a little bit and the weight started falling off. As, you know, the story continues, and shortly after losing the weight, I fell back into old habits, and gained more than half the loss back. A few months later knee pain prompted a doctor's visit and I was given an ultimatum, lose twenty pounds, or have potential knee surgery, and that's when I got serious about my journey.
The following Saturday while feeling sorry for myself, I had an epiphany. I knew I wasn't going to join a gym. I am a homebody, I am not an early riser, I have two kids who need to get to here, there, and everywhere, and I just didn't want to be seen. I kept making excuses as to why not to care for myself. Then, light bulb. What if I took the time in the day, I already have and utilize it properly. Everyone says just get up an hour earlier, or go right from work to working out but I had to really look at the overall construct of my day and see where to plug fitness/self-care in. Pre-pandemic, I was already a teleworker. This gives me a little leeway in my day to step away and maybe get a workout in. I started using my lunch break and the hour after work to get my workouts in. At first, it was taking a walk in my neighborhood, and trying to improve on either the amount of time it took me to do the same walk, or how much futher I could get in the same amount of time. Why not use my own time for me? What a concept! This became a habit, and now it is a routine. Walks turned into power walks, power walks turned into interval runs, I started to document my journey on Instagram to hold myself accountable, and it became a great resource/tool for me.
Joining Ifit in Decemeber 2019 was the thing that really jump started my renewed love for fitness and exercise. I bought the treadmill, joined the Ifit member page on Facebook and just pushed play. I started tagging the trainers in my stories when I would work out with them, and starting forming relationships with them via direct messages. Those relationships extended further into the Ifit community which led me to meeting other like minded fitness friends from all over the world. Eventually, I was fortunate enough to meet Melanie, and her Real Strong Moms, and we added strength training/high intensity interval training (HIIT) to the the mix. Guys, it's been a ride! And, I've done it by just showing up consistently. There are NO secrets! I swear, it's really about pushing play, getting it done, and not making excuses! Stop waiting for motivation to show up, cause that mistress is done with you. Rely on yourself, and your community to pull you through, lean in and lean on them. That's the part I didn't know I signed up for, but I am glad I got to be a part of.
Starting next Friday, this blog is going to focus on fitness. Hence, the new name, "Mom Gets Fit (Physically and Mentally)." While I am not proclaiming anything over 2021, I do want to really focus on what I can control including my fitness goals. In a moment of transparency I am also hoping to keep myself distracted from some of the other real life things I have going on, that aren't quite ready to be spotlighted. And, I want to talk about the workouts I am doing, what's working, what's not. Training tips, like rest and hydrate, protein after a run, how to train for a race and even some nutrition stuff too. My hope is to get some guest bloggers who are experts in some of these areas to help guide us as well. So if you are interested in guest blogging, or know someone who is, reach out. If you have a topic you want to discuss or a tip/trick you like to share, send me message. I want to learn and absorb everything I can, and share it with you. Looking forward to this new adventure together.
P.S. Make sure you follow @johnpeelfitness and @realstrongmom on Instagram. The tips, tricks a,d motivation they share is like no other.