Well, if you know me then you already know this site was going to contain a Health & Fitness section because in short, it’s the lifestyle I lead and the example I want to help set for my family and those all around me. For those of you who don’t know my health and fitness journey I want to share how I got to this point of living this lifestyle. I hope you find insp
ration in these words of my life and maybe it will even change yours. I plan to share all kinds of things under this Health & Fitness Blog Section. From healthy meal ideas that the whole family will love, to workout tips, healthy living tips, weight loss tips, how healthy living involves not just our physically bodies, but more importantly our mental self. I juggled back and forth with my weight and yo-yo dieted for YEARS before I learned what I was doing wrong. Majority was my MINDSET. Because friends, motivation will get your started, BUT changing your MINDSET will get you to your goals, KEEP you going, and all in return produce a LIFESTYLE that is healthy AND maintainable!
So let’s take it back to 7+ years ago! I didn't always have a "healthy obsession" to fitness and health. In 2012 my lifestyle was the complete opposite. To be quite honest I fell into the hole that many people do, where once I started putting on weight I just continued to say "I'll start Monday," "Just one more cheat meal then I'll eat good," then 40+LBS later Monday never came and the cheat meals never ended and I just felt worse and worse. I didn’t know how to end the cycle because an unhealthy lifestyle became my so called comfort, even though I felt miserable and FAR from comfort/being comfortable in every sense. Then as the emotional eating and unhealthy lifestyle continued my anxiety disorder sky rocketed. With all the crap I was telling myself internally with my weight gain and all, my anxiety spiked and I soon was not even able to leave the house. If I did it took a lot of will power and I would soon rush back home to my comfort, to what I thought I needed. I knew I didn't want to live like that or let alone be able to continue to live like that.
Let me take you back several years before 2012, before I put on those 40+lbs. Because before I went to that extreme, I was also at the other extreme where I starved myself and worked out intensely while hardly eating 500 calories in a day and MAYBE if I was lucky, 20 grams of carbs. Yes, I had an eating disorder and I suspected at the young age when it started because the choice to start losing weight in that was made in a very unhealthy manner as I felt bullied majority of my young adulthood for not being the “skinny girl” so I felt in complete control and it felt powerful to starve myself and workout intensely, dropping all kinds of weight and finally being the “skinny girl.” Boy, was I going to have my work cut out for my future self and working through all of this.
Thank the good almighty lord, I am the woman I am NOW that I needed them and because of the woman I was then I’ve learned so much and in return can share and hopefully help others. So for that I am forever thankful for. I have been on every end of this weight loss and health journey. Let’s fast forward to my early twenties when I finally started eating again, but that developed into another vicious cycle of bad habits as then I started to emotionally eat. Especially when the weight started coming back and let me tell you it flys back on when you come from an eating disorder, like starving yourself. Like overnight it seemed the weight piled back on. So I was back to where I started with even more weight on my body in 2012. I hit 170lbs at a height of 5’3 so that’s a lot for my body to hold.
Then other health issues started arising from the weight gain. My anxiety increased tremendously, I started having severe panic attacks, all of these things had been in me already growing up the way I did, but they escalated quickly when my mental and physical state plummeted from not taking care of ME.
Fast forward a bit to the start of 2013, this was when my fit/healthy journey would begin. I met a wonderful lady who is now a dear friend, Kim Lee whom I started seeing for personal training out of her home. It worked out perfect because my anxiety kept me from being able to walk into a gym. After about six or so months I started to feel like a completely different person, but slowly. This was my sounding board and little did I know I was about to embark on a whole new lifestyle.
Two years into the whole working out and eating better thing, I changed. Working out was my therapy and fueling my body with proper food was my medicine. I no longer experienced debilitating anxiety. I could walk into a gym with my head held high and OWN IT! I didn’t need to be the “skinny girl” I wanted to be strong, healthy, and unstoppable in anything I set my mind to. I had made a new lifestyle for myself and didn't even realize it while I was doing so and man I will always be grateful for those who helped me along the way.
Fast forward a bit more to June 2014 and I was getting married! Like many woman, I wanted to be in the best shape for my wedding and I did JUST THAT!
Moving on to June 2015 I was diagnosed with Hodgkin's Lymphoma, Cancer of the Lymph Nodes, and I was 18 Weeks Pregnant with our first child, our son. Insane I know. So I had to start Chemotherapy ASAP because my cancer was growing and fast. After meeting with our team of doctors and visiting Dana Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, we were reassured our son would be fine. That I was far enough along that the chemotherapy wouldn't affect him. And it didn't, but man what a wild, intense, and scary ride.
I was induced a month early and besides a short NICU stay for him due to fluid in his lungs (I ended up needing a C-Section because my body and my son were not tolerating the induction meds) he was as healthy as could be. As for me I had to continue on with Chemotherapy for another two months after having my C-Section.
So why am I going into all of this detail? Well for one it helped shape me into the person I am and I feel my journey could help inspire others to never give up. From day one of being pregnant I never gave up on working out or eating healthy and I still have enjoyed my cheats in moderation! Then when we found out about the cancer and starting chemotherapy right away, I still didn't give up on my workouts, eating healthy, and healthy living in general. It was essential to keep going even if it was little things, they all add up!
With all those obstacles TRUST ME I had more excuses than many that I could of used to throw in the towel and not do shit, but I new and will always know how I would feel if I did just that. I needed to continue living a healthy lifestyle if anything to keep my metal state in check and not let my emotions run me like they did all those years prior which lead me to nothing but misery and being extremely uncomfortable with myself.
So this just goes to show that ONE decision, ONE step in the right direction, can change your ENTIRE LIFE! My journey hasn't been easy, but nothing worth having comes EASY! That's the beauty of it though.
Love to you all,
Sheila
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