Well, Hello!

Hey there everyone,

It has been a very busy last few months.  With the holidays back to back, then Christmas in Disney this year (that was awesome!), I haven't been able to post any blogs lately.  But I'm back and plan on taking this blog to the next level!

Since this blog was created to teach others about nutrition, health and weight loss & management, I want to talk a little about that today.

If you don't know me, then here is a little background.....(Be prepared, it's lengthy, but good and very informative!)

I have struggled with my weight since I was 12 years old.  I was always a very thin child, but when I was about 12 1/2, I suddenly started putting on weight.  I weighed around 105 lbs at that time, but gained 60 lbs over the course of the next year and a half.  That is extreme, and does not sit pretty on a 5' 1 figure.  I was definitely made fun of, and if I was popular at all, it was because I was "the fat girl".  Kids can truly be so cruel.  My weight gain caused me to withdraw from people and be very depressed, only leading me to gain another 10-15 lbs.  By this time, at 15 years old, I'm fluctuating between 175-180lbs!  I had tried so many "diets" and exercised, and I would lose a few pounds, but the knowledge about the fad diets I was on and what I really needed to do was severely lacking.
I tried every diet pill and all sorts of exercise programs.  Every infomercial I seen on television, I ordered whatever they offered!  When I think back, it was really a sad situation.
One day, I just really got sick of being fat and never feeling good about myself, so I decided to make a huge lifestyle change.  It suddenly clicked that that's what it took....a total lifestyle change to get and MAINTAIN results!  I started doing some major research on diet and exercise.  I learned a great deal of knowledge through my studies and began to apply what I had learned.
I started to see results...very good results!  Not only did I notice the weight coming off, but I just started to feel so much better!  Then that motivated me even more.  I prepared my food to the way I learned was healthy, exercised a lot, so much that I became addicted to it.  I couldn't wait for my next workout.  I was driven because I needed a change in my life.  Let me just add in here that losing weight was really difficult for me, because not only does it run in my family genetics to be over weight, bad, but I also was diagnosed with Type I Insulin Dependent-Juvenile Diabetes at the age of 8.  If you know anything about diabetes (or if you don't!), insulin is the fat making hormone and regulates that in our bodies, so you can see why it would be such a struggle for a diabetic!
So anyway, some of my family members at that time had started to use MetaboLife Herbal Diet Supplements, so my dad had bought me some and I began to use it as a supplement to aid in my weight loss, because it helped with my appetite so I didn't feel like I was starving all the time.  Let me add in here that while I think using supplements helps assist weight loss, they should never be considered or used as a substitute for a healthy lifestyle.  They are NOT miracle pills!  If you treat them that way, and never change you, then as soon as you stop taking them, you will gain all the weight back, plus more!
So over the course of about 8 months, with my supplements, lifestyle change of healthy eating and exercise, I lost somewhere between 45-50 lbs!  It's funny because I never even got on the scales, (I don't even know if I owned any), but I just started getting so many compliments and having to buy new clothes because everything was huge!  I went from a size 16-18 to a size 6-8!  Not only did I lose the fat, but I built a lot of healthy "girl muscle"!  I was so excited....and when I finally did weight myself, I was shocked.
It really is a good idea to pay attention to your clothes and take measurements, versus stepping on the scale constantly.  Pounds don't matter as much as inches and how you feel!

Well, fast forward a few months, I learned about Weight Watchers.  I joined and lost about 8 lbs and I was very satisfied where I was.  I pretty much maintained my weight over the course of the next few years, with the exception of fluctuating a few pounds here and there.  Then I met my husband at the ripe age of 17  :)
We had a friendship to begin with that lasted several months, then a courtship that lasted 8 months (way too long!) and then our engagement, and marriage 10 weeks later.  I was one happy girl!

My doctor put me on a medicine that caused me to gain about 40 lbs in 2 months time!  I was very devastated and stopped using that medicine, and had to work hard at getting the weight back off again!  I was able to lose 25 lbs over the course of about 2 months, and then I found out I was pregnant!  of course we were overjoyed with this news, but I wished I had lost more weight before I was expecting.
Being my first pregnancy, I was completely inexperienced at this, and my appetite was raging, so I didn't know I was not supposed to eat everything my body was hungry for.  I mean, I knew to eat healthy, but my hormones went crazy!  Then I ended up with Toxemia (or Preeclampsia) which caused me to swell excessively, and then have to be placed on bed rest and in the hospital my last 3 months of pregnancy, which of course made me gain a ton, and I ended up gaining a total of 93 lbs by delivery.
After our precious little girl was born and I started to recover, I had lost about 40 lbs just in 2 weeks, which was mostly fluid from the excessive edema.  Then I had to work really hard to lose another 25 lbs.  I had only lost 65 lbs when I became pregnant with our second child!  I was ecstatic!  Just still not at my goal weight.  I was a lot more sick this pregnancy, did not eat a lot as I stayed nauseated most of the time, and I ate a whole lot healthier than the first time around, but ended up having to go back on bed rest for the last month of my pregnancy.  My weight did okay most of the pregnancy, until I had to be on bed rest again, so to make it short, I ended up gaining another 65 lbs-just what I had lost from being pregnant with our first.

So here I am weighing the same at delivery, and it was miserable, but we had 2 healthy children, and that's what mattered.  We knew we wanted to add another child to our family, but not until I lost all my weight and got healthy again!  So I did just that.  I committed myself completely to get back to my healthy lifestyle change, and over 17 months, I lost 105 lbs.  Yep, that's right-105 lbs! 

Then after maintaining for several months, we decided to add another little one.  With my life back on track, I was certain I would not gained more than 25 lbs this time around.  Well, it turned out I did....I gained 65 lbs, but my doctor explained to me that being diabetic, my hormones did not sit well with pregnancy and no matter what I did, I would always gain a lot of weight during pregnancy, because it was hormonal weight gain!  GREAT!  Just what I wanted to hear!

Well I had a good pregnancy and she was healthy, so it was worth it.  I worked so hard once again to get it off, and lost ALL the pregnancy weight, but seemed to have problems losing anymore not matter how hard I tried, my body just came to a stopping point.  I had maintained fine, but not lost anymore.  Then a friend shared AdvoCare with me in May of 2012 and I started on the 24 Day Challenge.  In 24 days, I lost 10 lbs and 11 inches!  I was so excited!  :)  I share these products with everyone who needs help with nutrition and weight loss or management, and energy.  I have seen such a difference in how I feel, how much energy I have now, it's a must to let people know there are some valid products out there that work!  Even my husband loves them!


So, that's my story.  I'm maintaining my weight and have recently started using more AdvoCare supplements and have seen a bigger change in my everyday life and the way I feel.

I'm also currently studying the healthiest diet changes after seeing a documentary called "Hungry For Change".  It is very eye-opening to the foods that we buy in our grocery stores and how foods literally kill us, give us cancers, etc.

One recent change we have made in our home is replacing refined sugar with Stevia.
I have always been the parent who never allows "junk food" in our home, but didn't pay too much attention to the things I bought in the grocery store that had added sugars, and the sugar in our tea!  Changing to Stevia has caused my daughter to lose several pounds as well.  She wasn't over weight at all, she was just right on the border, like a few pounds from it, and although the doctor told us she is fine-her body weight versus height was right in balance, I still want her to be further away from that margin. 
Even my kids are so educated in our "healthy ways", they can tell you everything they know they shouldn't eat and drink, and everything they should, and they are always asking me, "Mom, is this or that healthy?"
Makes me happy, because I truly believe good habits that are instilled in them at an early age will define their diets and choices when they are older.  Hopefully they will never have to go through what I did with my weight gain and weight loss yo-yoing!

I have a passion more than ever to continue learning as much as I can about healthier choices and lifestyles.
I love to share the knowledge I have with other and help them in anyway I can.

If my story relates to you in any way, or you feel I can help you in your situation, please do not hesitate to contact me.  I will be happy to help, or give you advice and answer any questions you have!

Until next time.....God bless you all who read this :)