If you are following my blogs because you want some inspiration, motivation, healthy advice, or just like the way I write (awe)…. head’s up! Summer is on its way and it’s time to chin up and work dirty to get the summer body you want!
When you sweat, remember that is your fat crying because it’s LEAVING and NOT COMING BACK!!
I need some serious dedication from you this week. I need you to dig deep, get outside of your comfort zone, and mentally get prepared for change.  But, how can you truly prepare when you can’t let go of the past?
Much of our weight problems stem from our past experiences and emotions. Much of our emotional eating is the same way – we learned years ago that food makes us feel better. It comforted us during down/sad times and we celebrate with food too. However, we now know that the same food that comforts us, also ruins us. It hurts our bodies which lead to broken spirits and depression. Eating that dessert or second helping of gravy & potatoes may feel great while it’s happening, but I promise it will lead to feelings of guilt and frustration not including a possible upset stomach. Emotional eating is tough. WE ALL suffer from it and it takes discipline not to reach for the Girl Scout Cookies when feeling tired, sad, or giddy (I have felt a lot of giddy the past week).
Your challenge over the next 3 days is to do some self-examination. Nope…not the breast/testicular kind, although that is important, but the tough, deep kind. Spend a few minutes alone and really think about what drove you to eat poorly and turn to food for comfort. What happened in your life that caused you to gain weight? What stresses currently cause you to turn to food?  You didn’t gain weight because you just got lazy. There’s more to it than that and sometimes it can be painful to face. There is a deeper reason.

Let me explain my reason…… I have been an athlete ALL MY LIFE.  I had a lot of success in high school in Volleyball, played intramural in college and now on a co-ed league team.  I was the starting softball pitcher and played Basketball also.  I was always fit, had nice abs, and a strong build.  I love sports (Go UC) and am very competitive.  Then, I decided it was time to have a baby.

I had a premature baby (32 weeks) and spent the first 5 weeks of his life sitting beside his glass crib looking at him and praying he would live. I would grab a black raspberry smoothie from Zestos on my way home from the hospital and fast food because I was too tired to cook anything.  During that time, I also mildly dislocated my hip and was on crutches. Talk about bad luck!  Then, when my son came home, he was on heart rate monitors and all I wanted to do was hold him in my arms. I would hold him and eat quick foods just to fill my belly. After his first year, I got back on track again (to some degree) and then wanted another baby. CLASSIC, right?  I got pregnant 2 more times, and miscarried both of those babies. The second miscarriage was a partial molar pregnancy and I miscarried at 12 weeks. TALK ABOUT EMOTIONAL!! For the next 6 months, I had blood tests on a regular basis making sure that the D&C was successful and that no tissue was left behind that could turn to cancer inside my body. It was a long 6 months, but once I was cleared to get pregnant again….I easily got pregnant for the 4th time. Once again, I was high risk and placenta previa…..started symptoms of pre-term labor at 30 weeks, (I was terrified to say the least) but with the help of my doctors I was able to carry baby to 38 weeks. And, I now have a healthy boy and girl.  My youngest is 5 and I started working hard to get back on track about 3-4 years ago.  I wanted my body back. I began running and then needed more strengthening, but didn’t want to join the gym. I tried that when Jacob was 2 and wasn’t pleased with the daycare at the local gym. That’s when my friend said she was doing P90X and Shakeology and loved it. SO…I signed on as a coach because I didn’t want to pay full price for either product (they didn’t have challenge packs back then). I started the programs, found some success and people started asking me what I was doing. Then, I met a guy at a Christmas party, who was recovering from knee surgery and he wanted to lose weight also. We began challenging each other (we are a bit competitive) and before I knew it, I had lost 15 pounds and he lost 50. (Darn those men, always losing weight fast!) I started taking running more seriously, and being a PTA, I knew that I needed strengthening too (my knees and hips started to hurt) but was burnt out on P90X, so needed a new program. Thank goodness for nice discounts because that led me to Insanity > P90X2 > Les Mills Pump> Les Mills Combat!! I still have 10 pounds I want to lose. I’m on a mission before summer gets here! (I want my abs back!)
Anyways…that was/is my journey. I am WAY more educated about food choices now, so that helps me to make better decisions for myself and my family. When I think about those times, my bad food choices and the heartache during that time…my eyes leak. The pain of those miscarriages doesn’t go away. I pray for those babies daily and am grateful for the ones I am raising. I am working very hard at teaching my children the importance of health, fitness, and working hard to achieve goals all while making it fun.  I am now studying sports nutrition and will soon be certified (need to finish a few papers!). I coach others towards better health & fitness also…..and am a sponge when it comes to nutritional/exercise information, so I have plenty to offer.  If I don’t know the answer….I will find it.
Your goal is to deeply self-examine your past and recognize what it’s done to your body and then leave it in the past. It’s time to move forward and make a new you. You can’t move forward until you deal with the past. Otherwise, it will always be there….waiting on you.  And those bad habits will return, you will face those fears/worries again & make poor food choices all in hopes of finding comfort.  Then, you will look in the mirror and be angry at yourself. (Been there….done that).

I am physically stronger and can run longer than I could pre-children, even though I have yet to hit my personal goal.  But, I will hit it.  And I will rock those cute summer clothes.  It doesn’t matter that I’m a Mother – I can still look classy/cute in the summer….but this year I’m going to be the soccer/baseball Mom with the muscles too.  (Wink).

To learn more about emotional eating and techniques on how to cope, please look at this information from the Mayo Clinic. http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/weight-loss/MH00025