Hi! First
things first, thank you so much Megan for asking me to guest post on her blog
and allowing me the opportunity to share my journey with so many others who may
or may not be experiencing the same things I have along the way! I’ve struggled
with weight most of my life and have always sought comfort in all the delicious
things!
I love food, like I REALLY love food! In the past it would have
been nothing for me to make the 20 min. drive to the closest grocery store, buy
a cookie cake, and eat the whole thing! In 2010 my now husband proposed to me
and I was determined to not be a 245lb size 22 bride! I didn’t want photo
evidence of that and I certainly didn’t want the biggest day of my life (up
until that point) to also be one of my most humbling and embarrassing.
So, from
Sept. of 2010 until Oct. of 2011, I “dieted” and I ran…and I ran some more…I
ran so much and ate so little I lost 100lbs! Yay, awesome right? No, I was
miserable! 1200 calories a day (sometimes less) and endless hours of cardio was
a completely unrealistic lifestyle for me and apparently life had something
else in mind because , uhh HELLO, honeymoon baby! Yup, can we say JACKPOT! You
mean to tell me, I just spent the last year hardly eating any food and killing
myself in the gym and running circles around the park and now I can eat ALL THE
THINGS and stop running! Heck Yes! Sign me up! I spent the next 10 months
eating all the foods that I had deprived myself of for the last year! Pizza,
burgers, fries, ice cream, icing (don’t judge) , cookies, and so much more!
I
used my pregnancy as an excuse to eat myself all the way to 267lbs! I can
remember crying when I failed my first glucose test and going to get a
milkshake to help ease the pain. My pregnancy was miserable and I hated every second
of it, but on August 16th, 2012 Harper came into this world like the
diva she is and now I could start my weight loss journey again. Or so I
thought, I struggled for the next 6 months with post-partum depression. I was
up. I was down…I was all over the place. My weight didn’t budge if anything it
climbed higher and I was too afraid to step on a scale and face the reality of
it! To make things even better I was diagnosed with PCOS (poly-cystic ovarian
syndrome) and it made losing weight incredibly difficult. My Dr. wanted me to
go on Metformin (an insulin controlling medicine) and go on a “diabetic” type
diet!
My world was crashing! My marriage was failing, and I was just told
having another child would be incredibly difficult (Kick me when I’m down). Some
days I wanted to go to sleep and never wake up. I spent most of my mornings
fighting with my husband and following it up with an all-day binge. Only to
destroy any and all of the evidence before he got home from work! I sought
comfort in all the wrong places and if something didn’t change I was going to
lose everything I had always wanted. December 2013, I hadn’t lost any weight,
my husband and I were spending ridiculous amounts of money in counseling and we
were one fight away from a divorce and I was still MISERABLE. I needed a new
purpose.
I stopped working when Harper was born to become a stay at home mom.
Every day was the same thing. Wake up, take care of the baby, make dinner, and
go to bed. Sprinkle in laundry, dishes, and all the other things we do as stay
at home parents and before I knew it I had become a robot. I had all the
opportunity in the world to be successful at weight loss again because I had
time and lots of it. I knew that if this was going to work and be a lifestyle
not a diet I needed to find something that was maintainable and worked.
January
of 2014 was my breaking point. It started as a New Year’s Resolution and just
transformed into what it is now. Through hours and hours of research I found
IIFYM. It seemed perfect for me. So, if I want pizza I can eat pizza? This
seems legit and something I can get on board with. Love at first sight! It was
a lifestyle that was made for me. I spent most of January tweaking my numbers
and getting my “diet” in order. I probably only lost 5 or so lbs. in the first
month but, 5 lbs. is 5 lbs. ya feel me? I started to feel confident in my
eating and knew it was time to add in some form of exercise.
Listen, I’ve done
it all. Zumba..certified.. TRX…. tangled up in ropes… Long distance running…
hate it. I started lifting and again, love at first squat! I LOVE to lift! I pick things up and I put them down!
I carried a notebook around that gym for the first three months until I was
comfortable enough to just wing it. I watched other people in the gym and learned
from them. They are my biggest resource and I still pull inspiration from
others and how they perform. Heck yes I’m a gym creeper and it truly has helped
me learn and gain the courage to try new things!
The weight started to come off
and things started to fall into place again. I was becoming happy again, I was
finding out who I was finally and most importantly my family was becoming whole
again. I spent day after day week after week in the gym. I have good days and I
have bad days but I am always 100% committed to this process. I've learned to
not let one bad decision snowball into ten others and I've learned success
doesn't happen overnight. One slice of pizza won't make me "fat" and
one apple won't make me "skinny".
This past summer I enjoyed more
vacations and beach photo ops than I have in my entire life and I can't believe
what I have been holding myself back from for so long! Who would have known
that all the bad in my life was in direct relation to my weight? I sure didn't!
September of this year I decided I wanted to go back to work and I would be
lying if I told you I wasn't horrified by the thought of managing life , work
and my new love for the gym.. When would I go? When would I see Zack and
Harper?
I could have made a million excuses and given up but I didn't and I
won't! I now wake up at 4 a.m. to hit the gym early and to ensure I don't miss
a minute of quality time with my family in the evenings. I want this more than
anything and I think that's why this journey has become less of "have
to" and more of a "want to" and that has transformed my
attitude! Fall in love with the process and the process will treat you right. I
have my faults and I'm certainly not a pro by any means. I don't prep all my
meals for the week, I don't live on brown rice and chicken and if I want a
cookie I eat a cookie. I am simply a woman who was ready to start living her
life the way it was meant to be and found a solution that worked for her. A
normal woman doing normal things to live the extraordinary life she deserves.
I'm happy to say I have lost 117lbs in the past year. I have gone from a size
22 to a size 6 and most importantly I have my life back and I can fully enjoy
it with the people who love me most! My story will never have an ending, I'll
always be stuck somewhere in the middle constantly fighting for the best Molly
there is!
Molly - dang girl! That's pretty much all I can say about that, oh and I'm totally crushing on your legs! THANK YOU so much for sharing your story, I'm completely inspired by you.
If you would like to connect with Molly you can follow her on Instagram >>> @happyhungryfit
Literally have tears as I read this. Congratulations and thank you for inspiration!
ReplyDeleteWow, what an inspiration! Thank you!
ReplyDeleteGreat testimony! Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteSo inspirational!! The beginning of your journey sounds just like me right now! From the weight, marriage, self esteem, ALL of it!! I can only hope to come out on top like you have! So motivational!! Great job!!!!
ReplyDeleteI love following her. Such an inspiration!
ReplyDeleteThis is so inspiring! What a badass!
ReplyDeleteYes!! What a great post! I relate to so many of those things that you experienced. I am starting to realize that this will be a life long thing for me which sucks and is so scary but I have to change my lifestyle. I am really working on getting my diet in order. There are so many options...WW, low carb, IIFYM, etc it seems so overwhelming but I need to figure out what works for me. You look amazing!!!
ReplyDeleteAmazing story! Thanks for sharing & best wishes through the rest of your journey!
ReplyDeleteWow what an amazing story - I am so happy for her and want to be her best friend :) What an inspiration!
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing. You look amazing! You are an inspiration.
ReplyDeleteamazing! thank you for sharing. xo, cassie
ReplyDeletewww.afitgirlsguide.com
HOLY SQUAT LEGS!! Amazing work Molly, such an inspiration!!
ReplyDeletedo you have a blog? so inspiring!
ReplyDeleteOMG those legs. What an awesome story.
ReplyDeleteAw love it!! What an amazing story. I too struggle with losing weight with PCOS and it sucks but she seems so positive. :)
ReplyDeleteHoly moly. That is an AMAZING transformation!!!
ReplyDeleteWow!! Love this. Thank you for sharing your story, Molly! I think you hit home with so many of us!>Keep up the great work and keep inspiring! New follower for sure!
ReplyDeletewhat a great story!!!! LOVE this and her real-ness!!!!! way to go!!!
ReplyDeleteI have been wanting to start with IIFYM but I know I would need a lot of help. What are the best resources out there such as tracking apps, food ideas, etc...Thanks!
ReplyDeleteGOD!!!!!!!! If I could just have her ARM WORKOUT!!! I'm dying to know. Literally. Dying.
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing...I have PCOS and have trouble controlling my carb addiction - how in the world did you lose all that weight eating carbs if you have PCOS? I just can't lose a thing!
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Love following Molly on Instagram. She is a daily inspiration; and loved hearing her whole story here. Thanks for having her guest post! You are both inspirations!!
ReplyDelete