Day 544 - Transformation Tuesday - Meet Shannon

Today I have a WONDERFUL story to share with you.  I want you to meet Shannon.

I've submitted a transformation pic on Transformation Tuesday before. I'm a 36 year old mother of 4. A few years ago I decided I was tired of being overweight. I was worried about being the "fat mom" at sporting events. It sounds cruel..but it is true. I didn't want my children to suffer because of my poor habits. I started walking on the treadmill at 4:30 a.m. before my kids got ready for school. If I waited..I would find any excuse not to do it. I changed my diet and began counting calories.. I am still an avid calorie counter. I eventually joined our local YMCA and made tons of friends. I love Zumba and Body Pump. I lift free weights. I work out 6 days a week from 2.5 to 3.5 hours a day. I will be the first to admit..sometimes I overdo it. But, almost everyday I truly amaze myself. This body can do just about ANYTHING I will it to. I went from 276 pounds to 150 pounds and 16.9 percent body fat. I am less worried about the scale now and just the body fat. I started running, which I never thought I could...two months ago. Just two months ago!! I always said, Oh I'm not a runner or I can't run. My daughter and I signed up for a 5k intending to walk and we ended up getting caught up with the excitement and I ran it in 35:35... a runner was born. I am training for a half marathon now . I actually have thought IT IS ONLY 13 MILES. So, I know I will do this!! My advice is to surround yourself with people with a similar lifestyle and goals. Step out of that comfort zone..that's where the change happens! I am always there to encourage others. I may not be obese anymore, but it is very hard to change the years of low self esteem.

I LOVE what she says about change happening when we step outside of our comfort zone.  What a transformation.  Thank you so much Shannon for sharing with us.

If you have a story you would like to share, please e-mail it to me at klgoodman1976@gmail.com.  It doesn't matter if you have lost 1 pound or 200 pounds, you never know how your story could inspire others!!!

Okay, so this morning I met with the Fitness Consultant at my new gym.  He spent a lot of time with me going over my goals and really talking about how I can make these changes in my life.  He had me talk about how many years and attempts I had made to lose weight and get healthier.  I told him it had honestly been a battle for about 20 years.  He said that those 20 years were 175,200 hours of my life.  That shocked me, I let that much time go by and just let the problem get worse and worse.  He asked me if I got a hole in my roof, would I fix it right away or wait 175,200 hours?  If I had a problem with my car would I fix it right away or way 175,200 hours?  Of course the answer is to try to fix it right away.  He said that we are more likely to spend our time and money fixing everything but the most important thing to ourselves, our bodies.  This really clicked with me.  A roof or car can be replaced, but this is the only body I get to have on Earth and it is now time for me to take care of it.

He also talked about how we invest our money.  He asked about how many times we used to eat out a week. My answer was around 4.  He said that for just me alone, I was spending about $120 per month on eating out.  This doesn't even include if kids and hubby go with me.  So I can't complain that a gym membership costs too much if I am willing to spend three times that on food out!

He also took my body fat.  UGH!!!  My percent was very embarrassing, and I wonder what it would have been 104 pounds ago.  My body fat is 48.1%.  That makes me sad to think that almost half of my body is just FAT.  What really drew me to this gym was that they do 9 week assessments.  The trainer meets with you every nine weeks to do measurements, fitness testing, weighing, body fat percentage, and help mold your program more.  That was a key factor in choosing Anytime Fitness.  I have one more free training session on Thursday morning at 9:00.  He really worked out my arms today and I LOVE THE SORE FEELING I HAVE NOW!!!.  They also offer personal training packages, so I am seriously considering a once a week training session to learn how to build up my endurance and strength.

Whew, I rambled forever about the gym.  Can you tell I am excited??

I also saw my foot specialist today.  He is concerned especially about my left foot.  He has ordered an MRI for Monday morning.  He said there is a long list of possibilities that it could be and some could require another surgery.  I am not worrying about it until I get the results and I will go from there!!

Tomorrow I will be sharing my goodies from my April foodie pen pal! Sending you all love and healthy wishes!

Keep Losing,
Kari