PREFACE: My road until now

Welcome to my personal diary as I find my way to a happy healthy me. This isn't just a weight loss and exercise blog. I am truly trying to find a better way to live and, for me, that starts with those two things.

Up to this point, I have really struggled with my weight. I crave all the wrong foods most of the time and haven't quite learned how to fix that. I have successfully, on occasion, found my way to a happy healthy me but with changes in my life, I am back to square one.

For me, success started in college when I finally decided to go on a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I knew there was a weight requirement (but wasn't sure what it was) and I had been told by my doctors that I was OBESE (not a word a struggling woman wants to hear). I decided to make some changes in my life to ensure that I would be able to go on a mission!

FYI: I did hear that there was a weight requirement, but later on I found out that it was far greater than where I was at. In fact, it was more of a concern for the well being of the individual and if they could even walk from place to place without injuring themselves. Either way, I'm glad I didn't know that because this was my first motivation toward a happier, healthier lifestyle.

FIRST REAL CHANGES
I love my mom, and I am glad I have so much support from her. As soon as I told her my goal to lose weight, we both joined Weight Watchers and were doing fabulous. Success really does come easier when you have a buddy. Between the two of us, we kept each other on track and lost a good amount of weight before I left for my mission.

WEIGHT WATCHERS ON A MISSION
No one said life changes were easy while trying to lose weight... But again, it is always easier when you have a buddy. My first companion, bless her heart, was gun ho on the idea of doing weight watchers with me that it almost became a game every day. We would secretly tell each other how much points we were eating for dinner (members would feed us every night) and we would adjust our breakfast and lunches accordingly. Both of us continued to lose weight and, with the help of the daily spiritual activities, I can honestly say I found that happy healthy me I was always searching for. In fact, I actually looked in the mirror one day and thought, you know, this is too much weight loss. So I gained about five pounds and spend the rest of my mission confident, happy, and focused on the more important things in life.

LIFE GETS IN THE WAY
SCHOOL: Once I returned home, I kept myself busy with work, musicals, family, etc and was still very healthy and happy. I enjoyed the rest of the summer and then went back to school to finish my degree. Ahh school. Gotta love how such an important thing in your life can hinder it so much. I went from a very active lifestyle to sitting at a computer or in front of a book, very little sleep, lots of stress, and no time for real cooking. Oh yeah, and no Weight Watchers classes nearby. Sadly, I lost that happy healthy me I had once found. I put on 20 lbs (senior 15?) and moved to start my career in Utah.

MARRIAGE: Once I moved to Utah, I got back on track with Weight Watchers. I was doing my best to eat healthy and watch my portion sizes (easy to do when you only cook for yourself and have lots of time to do it). I really enjoyed my job and the people I surrounded myself and I was not financially strained. So, even though I wasn't at my ideal weight, I was pretty happy. If I had to rate it, I would say an 8 out of 10. I found the love of my life and we got married and settled in...to a few extra pounds. Eating with another person is a lot harder than it seems. Sometimes all I wanted was a piece of chicken for dinner. Nothing else. But who cooks a piece of chicken for their family and says Bon Appetit? We were happy, but the pounds kept creeping up on us.

BABIES: No matter how hard I tried, it seems like there is always something getting in the way of my weight loss endeavors. Kids add to it as well. I did everything I could to be healthy during pregnancy, but there is always some expected side affects. I gained a healthy weight with both my children, but it wasn't easy losing it afterwards. Another side affect that I never anticipated was the loss of happiness due to lack of sleep. I love my babies... but I love my sleep just as much and I missed it very much and am still trying to get it back.

LIFE CHANGING EXPERIENCE
After my first child, I decided to do something I have never been able to do before. Make exercise a part of my life for good. I tried several different styles and classes and finally found my second true love: ZUMBA. In an effort to ensure this would be my life changing experience, I actually got certified and started to teach Zumba classes. I figured if I was the teacher, I was less likely to convince myself not to go and I would do each dance bigger and harder than I would as a student. It was a win-win for me.

LESSONS LEARNED
Through all of my experiences I realized that being happy is more than just being skinny. And more importantly, it could be different at different times in my life which is why I started this blog. Hopefully I can look on past posts and identify what I can do during struggling times in my life. I also hope, if anyone is reading this, that you can get something out of it too.

Enjoy, because that is my intent.