shmiller

I am a 38 year old mother of two gorgeous girls, married to the world's most amazing husband, and I am a full-time high school teacher. I was very athletic in high school and maintained a healthy weight with a lot of exercise. But the older I got, the fatter I got. It was my fault. It was my choice. End of story.

A few years ago, I was prediabetic, couldn't keep up with my girls, and felt like a slug. Today I workout 5 days a week, count calories, eat a ton of fiber, fruits, and veggies, and am really proud of the progress I've made. More than losing weight, I've dropped from size 20 pants to size 8, I won my age group in my first 5K race, I ran in the Pittsburgh Marathon last May, I engage in HIIT 4 times a week, and I have been steadily increasing my weight training limits. I reached my goal weight in December of 2011, but regained more weight over the following year than I would have liked. Though I don't like it, I learned from that experience a lot about myself and about what it means to maintain a dramatic loss. Now I know what to do, and what not to do. For me at least.

I have three major tangible goals:

(1) I will not define myself by a goal number on the scale because I know that I'm defining my body with strength training. But I will aim for my high school weight of 145 buff pounds.
(2) I will engage in physical exercise at least 5 days per week.
(3) I will be a good role model for healthy living and healthy self-image for my daughters.

"Don't let the fear of the time it will take to accomplish something stand in the way of your doing it. The time will pass anyway; we might just as well put that passing time to the best possible use." ~Earl Nightingale