A Weight Has Been Lifted

Today I thought to myself, "Wouldn't it be fun to write my own blog?"  Turns out this is a lot harder than it sounds, seeing as I just stared at my computer for twenty minutes trying to come up with a good title.  My sisters will be the first ones to tell you that I have some free time on my hands this semester, so why not share my thoughts with all of you?  The goal of my blog isn't to fish for compliments from anyone or to make a show of my accomplishments over the past two years; instead it will be aimed at taking what I've taught myself throughout this journey and (with any luck) helping someone who might want a few pointers.

I also don't claim to be fitness expert, by any means.  I have found that the key to weight loss is finding a good combo of exercise and diet, but there's one tip to remember: if you hate doing it, you won't do it...plain and simple.  Anyone can lie there and do a billion crunches and follow whatever diet is popular that week, but I guarantee you, you'll last at most two weeks before you're back to watching re-runs and eating chips on the couch and claiming the age old "I'll go for a run tomorrow".  Trust me, I am most definitely speaking from experience...

Up until two years ago, I made these kinds of statements daily...well, not running per say.  I don't know who would be reading this that doesn't already know this, but just in case...I'm in a wheelchair, have been since about the third grade.  I was born with a joint disorder that has a long fancy sounding name that no one has ever heard of, but suffice it to say it made walking throughout my school days pretty rough.  I'll be the first to admit that as soon as I agreed to go in the wheelchair instead of using my leg braces and walker I got lazy.  It was more comfortable and convenient to go in the wheelchair, but I definitely used it as a crutch to be less independent as I could have been.  I never ate that terribly, but who wouldn't splurge every now and then? The problem was that those splurges along with being totally sedentary made a recipe for disaster.  Around my Junior year of high school I really became aware of how big I was getting, but what could I do--people in wheelchairs are just big.  So I did what anyone would do, I started trying to eat a lot better; but when you can't do any exercise it makes it pretty impossible to burn anything off, so naturally I saw no results and became discouraged.  Then the weight gain just spiraled out of control.

This was the basic trend up until the Spring semester of my Sophomore year of college.  This was when I was truly at my peak weight and was completely conscious of how big I had become.  It just so happens that at about the same time I decided enough was enough I became friends with two amazing girls that lived on my floor.  They're twins (just like me!) so I felt pretty connected to them;  they also happen to be extremely health/fitness conscious.  One night I was venting about my weight gain, inability to exercise, and just everything I was feeling; they said they'd do anything they could to help me do what it took to get off weight off, and since that conversation I haven't looked back.  I went home a week later for Spring break, asked my Dad to buy me a stationary bike, and threw away all my junk food.

I spent that summer riding the stationary bike in my garage while my Dad kept time, yelled out encouragement, and pushed me until my breaking point.  Looking back those are some of my greatest memories with him; it was our thing, and he was so happy to help me lose the weight I wanted to and gain the confidence I yearned for.


Over the past two years my body has undergone some serious changes; it's hard to estimate because I couldn't get on a scale at the start of all of this, but if I were to ballpark it I'd say I've lost about 60-70 pounds.  I don't have a "most recent comparison" picture, but this is a picture I posted last year at my one year weight loss mark.

It's definitely been an adventure filled with excitement, sadness, and mixed feelings, but I think that's about all for one night.  I plan on putting in some exercises I've had success with, diet tips, and just some of my own crazy thoughts now that everyone is up to speed on "my story".  Stay tuned!