Starting in the middle with the beginning…

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Because this blog is starting in the middle of my story, I need to go back to the beginning…

I have struggled with my weight my entire life. Literally. I don’t just mean high school and adulthood. Pictures of a 7-year-old me show the beginnings of what would turn out to be a path to morbid obesity. With each passing year, I grew bigger and bigger. Shortly after my third child was born in 2008, I tipped the scales at 332 lbs. I knew I needed to do something and soon if I wanted to be around for my kids.

At first I tried on my own. Through crash diets and by starving myself, I lost about 30 lbs. But I couldn’t continue that way. Starving myself just led to binges and the weight would yo-yo on and off of me.

In March of 2009, a program at work introduced me to Coach JC. Over the course of 16 weeks, I lost 16 lbs. I lost 11% of my body fat. I lowered my triglycerides from a dangerous 372 to under 200. But most importantly, I learned that I loved to work out. I continued training twice a week and lost more weight through 2010, a total of around 50 lbs. As long as I did what JC asked me to do, I did well. But on my own, small amounts of weight would creep back on.

Let’s face it, I am a food addict plain and simple. Whether it’s genetic, a result of my upbringing or stress in my life, it doesn’t matter. So when I followed Coach JC to bootcamp in early 2011, things didn’t really change. Working out every day made me stronger, sure. But I was still me. If I followed a meal plan from Coach JC I’d lose a few pounds, but if I lost 10 I’d gain 5 back. Why? Because I am addicted to food, and I couldn’t stay away.

I’m not sure that people can understand how difficult a food addiction is. I’m not even sure I grasp it entirely. Most addictions can be solved by eliminating something from your life. If you’re addicted to cigarettes, you stop smoking. If you’re addicted to alcohol, you stop drinking. But you can’t stop eating. So how do you change from “living to eat” to “eating to live?” How do you learn to use food as fuel instead of food as comfort?

This blog will hopefully help to answer that question, and will tell of the journey I take from where I am today in the middle of my story to a “fit” me sometime in the future. Come along for the ride, and if just one of you is inspired to do the same, then it will all have been worth it.