Never Had I Ever…

One thing most people probably don’t expect to hear me say is “Never had I ever dieted before last year”. But it’s true, I hadn’t.

Sure maybe a few times I decided I should “eat healthier” or “watch what I eat”, but never had I counted calories, tried Atkins/South Beach/Weight Watchers/etc., started up a program or even dropped a pound. Most people would probably say I was just lazy (probably true). But in all honesty, I was scared. I didn’t think I could succeed. I had no confidence in myself to be able to do it. I owe it all to one friend who truly believed I could do it. She knew I could, even when I didn’t. She changed my life by being my fitspiration (fit inspiration).

So I’m here to say, whether you want to lose weight, start running, playing a new sport or just have a healthier lifestyle: YOU CAN DO IT. If I can do it, I KNOW you can too. Start small and stay committed, the rest will come.

#Myth

Once I lose the weight, it’ll be easy to keep it off. #Myth

As I watched Biggest Loser for the first time ever the other day (thanks Netflix) a contestant said “I’ve lost 200lbs in my life”. No he wasn’t 200lbs lighter than he once was, he was actually at his heaviest weight ever. What he meant is he had dieted before and lost 25lbs once, 50lbs another time, 30lbs another time but he always gained it back (and then some). Dieting is hard. Maintenance isn’t easy.

One thing I did when I started losing weight was call my dieting a “lifestyle change”. The entire time I was petrified of gaining the weight back (maintenance scared the heck out of me), so I knew this had to be a “lifestyle change” instead of a diet. I have two phases of my “lifestyle change” – lose mode and maintenance mode. 

I was in “lose mode” for 7 months. In those 7 months I lost 83lbs. After that I went into “maintenance mode” and lost 2lbs in the first two months because I was being very careful about not gaining weight. Since then I still have to be careful about what I eat. I eat a lot of salads, fruits and yogurt. I also exercise (run) regularly. I love what I eat normally, but sometimes I get off track. I'll go out to eat and indulge in one too many rolls or a couple too many beers. Maintenance still scares me (6 months in!). It's not all easy, once the weight comes off... but believe me, it's worth it! 

I Wanna… be a Roller Derby Girl

This weekend Andy & I made the short 2 hour drive to Andy’s best friend’s house in Richmond. I have two Aunt’s in Richmond and since the shopping is much, much better there than in the Valley, I’ve made that drive hundreds of times. This time we were not going for the shopping (although I did squeeze some in), we went to see John’s girlfriend Jess in her Roller Derby bout… yep, that’s right, she’s a Roller Derby Girl. And I’m insanely jealous because she’s awesome.

On the way to Richmond

Babe stopped at Starbucks for me!

I’ve never been to a Roller Derby “bout” (yes, that’s what their games are called). I did watch the movie about the roller derby girl (the title I cannot remember), I think on our flight to Mexico, but somehow I missed the real rules of the sport. Thankfully we caught the last 20 minutes of the bout before Jess’ team bc we were completely lost! I would explain how it works, but you can just do what I did and Google it (thank God for iphones).

This girl is amazing!

I had made posters like a nerd super-fan. And we got insanely into the bout. We were jumping up, cheering, screaming for the jammer and cringing when we thought she wouldn’t call off the jam before the other jammer scored. We were tracking the scoreboard and freaking out when the other team closed in on the 20 point lead – no worries tho, Jess’ team won. This sport is awesome.

Roller Derby Girls!

I’ve insisted to babe ever since leaving the bout that I want to be a Roller Derby Girl. I can’t think of a better way to exercise AND get my aggression out! AND they get really awesome nick names… what more could you want? Babe would say “no broken bones”…