How to stay young, lose weight, and be HEALTHY!

The first time I really started looking at myself a little differently was just before my 30th (what I referred to as my twenty-tenth) birthday. It's different for everyone--that birthday that creeps up on you and you wonder how you got this old. For some it's 40 or 50. For me it was 30. Thirty? I'm turning 30? Wait, what???

I was pregnant at the time with my beautiful, precious little princess. After having 2 boys and living in a house full of men, I was very happy about having my girl. I was also DONE. That was it for me. No more kids. So, since I knew I wasn't going to have anymore children, I began to focus on me, for the first time in long time...way before I was a mom (it's true, us moms tend to put ourselves on the back burner when raising our children).

Plus, (and this is the biggest reason for my journey) I had gotten SO FAT! I was never skinny, but I was a healthy 130 pounds in high school, which is pretty good for my height, 5'5". Looking back I'd have to confess that's damn "skinny" if you ask me. But, of course, we all think we're fat when we're teenagers, don't we.

My first year of college, back in 1995, I did not gain the "freshman fifteen", I gained 65 POUNDS! I was so tired all the time too. I was at USF on an academic scholarship, but my grades started slipping when I became too tired to go to class and even began sleeping through class. I even overslept for 2 of my finals, failed several classes as a result, lost my academic scholarship, and was unable to return to USF the following year. I had never before even gotten a C, let alone D's and F's. I was so depressed!

It turned out I had a serious thyroid deficiency, which actually took years of dosage increases to finally get regulated. So, as a result, I have been overweight ever since. Every once in a while I'd get motivated to lose (my highschool reunion, my wedding, or my favorite: a bad break-up--nothing says "screw you, *$%&*!" like losing 50 pounds and looking HOT!, lol), and so I'd begin a diet and exercise program, but it never lasted. The diets were too restrictive and I HATED working out....hated it. It's true you can lose weight on fad diets (I lost 56 pounds in 3 months on a very low carb diet), but no one can live like that forever, and as soon as I'd go off my diet, I'd gain it all back and then some. This has been my struggle for half my life now.

So what brought about the change? I was well into the 220s (pounds!) when I hit rock bottom. This was several months after having my last child. I weighed more than I did when I gave birth to her...WHAT?!?!?! That was almost a year ago and I have since lost close to 40 pounds. I have also been working on improving all areas of my life, in relation to my health and wellbeing.

With more focus on improving myself--my health, my appearance, my longetivity--I began to do some research. One thing led to another... researching face creams led to the discovery of the power of antioxidants, like the wonderful acai berry... that led to me eating vegetables (I never liked veggies)... I'm even in the process of growing my own vegetables! I snack on fruits and nuts and fiber rich foods... I eat fish... I no longer crave sugar... I learned ways to fit exercise (yes, another thing I hated, even more than veggies) into my daily activites... the list goes on and on. Oh, did I mention I used to smoke? Ya, for like 12 years. Don't do that anymore. I had tried several times before to quit, so I KNOW how hard trying to quit smoking is. Read THIS to learn how I finally quit for good!

It is amazing to me how such a simple concept of living healthy has transformed my body and mind. I look and feel younger than I have in years. I was a long time sufferer of chronic fatigue, serious all day fatigue. I now have more energy. I think clearly. I ENJOY my life.

Some people have asked what my goal weight is, but I don't really focus on that anymore. I set small "mini goals" that I can achieve one at a time. I find it's easier to set small goals and take small steps. My ultimate goal would be to get back to what I weighed in highschool before developing hypothyroidism, but I'd settle for somewhere in the mid-140s and work to maintain that and continually improve my health for the rest of my long life!

So, I'm here to say IF I CAN DO IT AND FEEL THIS GOOD, ANYONE CAN DO IT. I know what it's like to be fed up, fat, and tired. I want to do all I can to help others in the same boat who are ready to make healthy changes. Do it for you, do it for your kids, do it for your spouse, do it WITH your spouse, did I say DO IT FOR YOU?! You can start living your
Optimum Life NOW!