10.06.2009

the biggest loser.

Ok ladies, I am taking a break today from my usual daily outfit posts. Sad, I know! But come back tomorrow for my favorite outfit that I have EVER worn... shh its a secret. For those fellow fashionistas, I apologize for the break, and if you find yourself bored with this post feel free to disregard and head back over here tomorrow!

I have been inspired recently by some wonderful bloggers that are taking time to focus on getting healthy and getting in shape. If you don't know by know, my blogger bff Christen and I have been emailing back and forth about getting in shape. I absolutely adore all the positive attitudes that have been going around, and in that respect I would love to share my little story with you in hopes that it spreads a little more inspiration, so we can keep the positive vibes going. :)


Back in my college days, I was someone that took pretty good care of herself. I wasn't a workout fanatic, and in all honesty, I never really thought about it much. However, I was always a part of a team, something that I was very proud of. I was lucky enough to be one of only a few freshman that made the Cheer and Dance team my first year and continued on it for the next 3 years. Though we were a small college, we were a division one school for basketball. Which meant some really lovely perks, like being on ESPN, and going to the NCAA tournament (beyond cool!) and competing in countless arenas around the country. I still look back on some of the experiences that I was able to have, and I am truly in awe.


Well, one of the benefits of being on a team is that when you practice you are sort of forced to work out, whether you would like to or not. So that being said, I never really put much thought into making sure I was staying in shape, I would just go to practice and that was that! nuff said. And of course as a college girl I was going to parties, and developing some really poor eating habits. fast food. oh man. Between the crazy training for the team and the atrocious eating, there was some how a balance that kept me a pretty normal weight all through college. Here are a few pictures of the girls back in the day...


Doesn't it look like we had a blast? We absolutely did. Well after four years of this, I was pretty drained. Practice 5 days a week with games on off days? Saturday morning bleacher runs? Torn ligaments and sprained ankles? It was time for a break. The problem is I took the break a little too far. Once college was over and I didn't have the team to get me motivated and working out, I just simply stopped. I stopped exercising and kept eating. To add insanity to madness, I moved in with my then-boyfriend-now-hubby and took up his eating habits. Has that happened to anyone else? moving in with your man can wreak havoc on your body. If he ate half a pizza, I ate half a pizza. If he drank half a bottle of wine, I drank the other half. Bad news Ladies, let me tell you.

Fast forward a year, and I had managed to add an extra 60 plus pounds to my 5'1" frame, and on a little body that is a great deal of weight. Let me stress now, that while the weight was an

issue for me, since it clearly wasn't where my body was supposed to be, I just felt awful. I was
sick all the time, had no energy, was completely depressed, never wanted to see friends or family because I was embarrassed of what I had done to myself. worst of all: I could no longer shop. There were no sizes in regular stores that fit me any more. these are some photos from right around the time I was my lowest, I can hardly even recognize myself here.


I wasn't sure quite how it had happened, nor was I aware of how quickly life got away from me, but I remember the moment I knew I needed to fix it. I woke up January 16th, 2008, just 7 months away from the wedding I had always dreamed of, and everything changed. I stood in my closet and stared at all of my clothes, and realized that nothing I had no longer fit me. I was so sick of trying to find something to wear to hide how I looked, to cover up the problem. When I had my epiphany I collapsed on the floor of my closet and cried until there were no tears left.

After about an hour I stood up, grabbed my old, long-since-been-used tennis shoes, got in my car and drove directly to the gym.
I spoke with one of the trainers and told her that I needed to start today, that I could no longer live the way I had been, and that I wanted to be able to shop at a regular bridal boutique for my wedding gown. I was beyond upset, and I knew the worst was coming with the weigh in. Trying to talk myself out of getting upset didn't do much good. When the trainer pushed me onto the scale, the numbers didn't lie. 65 lbs in a year. What would have happened if I had let this go for yet another year? Adult onset diabetes, heart problems, thyroid problems, and eventually a short life span, thats what.

That day literally changed my life. I don't think that it is a date that will ever be removed from my memory. In fact on the one year anniversary my friends and I had a healthy dinner together and some champagne to celebrate how far I'd come. Though at that point I didn't even know how to begin to fix it.


What followed was one of the toughest ordeals that I've ever gone through. Dropping weight like that can be a very intense experience. I had to commence a full life make over, one that was going to be permanent and lasting. I wasn't going to be in this to gain it all back eventually, I needed a major life change. With the help of the trainer we set up a nutrition plan, and and exercise regiment, and I really can't say enough for her. She was my guardian angel in a red 24 hour fitness shirt named April.


At first I was supposed to do 30 minutes of cardio a day. Sounds easy right? WRONG. I remember barely being able to walk a mile without being out of breath. It took a few weeks for me to be able to run again without feeling like I was going to throw up. Which I did by the way, in the middle of my first training session (didn't I tell you it was rough?). The accomplishment I felt when I ran that first mile was astounding, and the momentum began building from there. The original plan was 20 lbs, but that quickly became 30lbs, and before I knew it I was working towards being 50 lbs down for my wedding day.


Over a year later and I am officially 65 lbs down and still going. I train like a fiend every day, trying to hit between 40 and 50 miles a week. I do my major cardio in the mornings, hitting about 5 to 6 miles, and then try to do another 1 or 2 later that night. I make sure to do weights five times a week, alternating between arms one day, and legs another day, followed by abs and stretching every night. Supplementing workouts with fun things like yoga, dance classes, swimming, or even crossfit. And of course Sunday is break day, no exceptions! I take the day off and get one bad meal, something DE-LISH. I still maintain a strict diet throughout the week, eating small meals throughout the day consisting of mostly salad, fish, nuts, fruit, and veggies. Carbs are a no-no for my curvy, Italian body. Please if you would like any details send me a message and I will be happy to send you my plan, and some recipes if you would like!


I am now doing things that I never imagined I could accomplish. Including making it to the final round of auditions for the Oakland Raiderettes. Recognize the lovely ladies below? These are my college teammates that are now rockin out on the golden state Warrior girls, the 49er Gold Rush girls, and the Raiderettes. They inspired me to try out, and while I didn't make the final cut, I am incredibly proud, and I think my team trial shots turned out amazing!


This entire experience has truly changed my life. I will never again take for granted the ability to live each day and I will always be thankful for everything I am able to do. Staying fit and healthy is absolutely a way of life, and its the only way to go. I love how great I feel and how much energy I have to attack all of life's challenges. To finish up I'm leaving a few more photos of the adventures that I have been on since dropping all the weight.

my dad and I after completing the San Francisco Marathon-July 26th, 2009, my first marathon!

hiking Carlsbad National Caverns- March 2009
zip lining in Costa Rica- December 2008

climbing a Hawaiian volcano- September 2008

I was incredibly nervous to post my story, so I hope that you enjoyed it if you took the time to read it. Having only really done fashion posts til now, this was outside my safety box and its not a story I am usually tell everyone. Anyways, hopefully everyone was ok with it, and I promise to return to fashionista type things tomorrow. :)

xoxo

38 comments:

  1. Thank you so much Megan for sharing your story!!! So inspiring and look what you've accomplished!!! U are gorgeous! :)

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  2. Amazing! Your story is something you should be so proud to share. It's truly incredible. I'm in awe. I know how hard it can be to lose even 7 or 8 pounds that I've gained when life took me by surprise. Losing 65 pounds takes phenomenal willpower. Incredible.

    In other news, you are the only Megan blogger I follow, so that was definitely an invite to you on my blog. I will be in touch by email for sure!

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  3. Oh! Also, I wanted to tell you that your beautiful smile shines through in every photo. I know it must have been difficult to accept how much you had changed, but you do look beautiful in every picture, regardless of your weight.

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  4. Thank you, thank you, thank you!! This was an incredibly wonderful post and I am so glad that you shared it with us. You are a great inspiration and post like this is what helps me to strive to stay healthy. You are so beautiful!!

    Thank you again!

    xoxo
    Amy
    thebargainhunterextraordinaire.blogspot.com

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  5. I'm in love with you for posting this. I for one, have been dealing with weight all my life, I finally had gained over 30 pounds during the summer after shedding so much for spring break last year.

    I broke down at the end of the summer when no jeans would button, my skin felt like it was getting tighter, and my almost pefect body in a bikini was gone. since then ive joined a gym and feel more healthier than ever.

    your story is so inspiring, and i give my blessing for your post :)

    thank you

    xo ash

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  6. even though we don't know eachother i must say i'm proud of you!

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  7. That is SO amazing!!!! I can't tell you how proud of you I am and how inspiring you are. I often feel that I don't take good care of my body. With work and school and coming home to a messy apartment, working out is the LAST thing on my mind. But you've inspired me to try harder. Because we really shouldn't ignore our bodies. We use it everyday! Thanks again. And seriously, you're gorgeous!!


    clothedmuch.blogspot.com

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  8. I am beyond proud of you! You are so inspiring. I came to your blog today to finally leave a comment to tell you how much you have already inspired me & then I found this! Congratulations on all of your accomplishments. I started a blog a few days ago because of you & now I think I may start running again TONIGHT. Geez it's been months.

    thank you thank you!

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  9. that is just incredible and so brave...i have so much admiration for you right now! i am all about health (as you probably guessed) so hurray for a fellow fanatic =) although i confess your regimen seems much stricter than mine, i really don't do the whole food restriction thing unless it has to do with french fries or transfat (those are always off limits) and i try to keep corn syrup and sodium to an absolute minimum and soda & coffee are off limits too. but then again, i'm a pescatarian so it would be really weird to be on a diet when i am such a picky eater as it is...i will think of your awesome training habits when i hit the gym tonight!!! i'm going to a 'feel the burn' group class lol x)

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  10. Dear Megan, I started following your blog after Christen introduction of you on hers and it wasn't difficult to get hooked, I admit it :) But this post just took everything to a whole new level. I saw those first two pictures and I thought "photoshop"... Surely, that girl in the pink bikini can't be her...
    I loved your story and I cannot thank you enough for sharing it with all of us... It is truly, truly, so inspiring. You are gorgeous and I respect you so much for what you did/are doing. Amazing. wow... I am going down to the gym tomorrow :) Thank you for giving me that first big shove in the right direction :)

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  11. Thank you so much for your inspiring story. You should be proud of your accomplishments.I know how hard it is to lose weight. Keep up the good work.

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  12. Thank you so much for sharing! You must be so proud of yourself, you've accomplished so much! I'm in a similar position to you in that I want to lose weight and as of today, my wedding is exactly 10 months away!! I want to look fabulous on that day just like you did. Thank you so much for sharing, you make me want to work hard and be successful!

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  13. Oh my god you're so cool!! I had some of the same experience as you - I just didn't gain as much weight as you did. But it did go up with more than 12 kilos after I finished high school and met my boyfriend. I hear you when you say that you develop unhealthy eating habits when you get a bf. Mine can eat everything and he doesn't gain weight at all. He's a fucking stick. I was also a stick when we met (no boobs, no ass) and now I'm a EU size 38/40 (I think that's a US 8/10) and that's not bad or "fat" at all but it's still so much more than I used to be (I used to be a US size 4). I started working out at the gym 2-3 times a week about 2 months ago and I've already lost 19 centimeters in total around my body. And went down ½ clothing size. I didn't even change my diet that much (except for less alcohol now... not so many parties anymore). You inspired me with your story to keep on going! THANKS! And well done!

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  14. I think this is fantastic! Your story is great and you should be very proud. If you read my blog, you'll know that I have a similar story (stupid boys and their crappy eating habits!) and I am know a Weight Watchers leader helping others reach their goals.
    It's a truly rewarding experience and nothing trumps a healthy lifestyle. So, major props!

    P.S. Somewhere at the end of April, I posted my before picture - if you haven't seen it yet :)

    P.P.S. Your comment was really sweet. I have a couple of bloggers that inspired me to start my blog and it's hard to believe that I am that blogger to someone else. So cool! Thanks!

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  15. Yes, I read the whole post and I'm so glad you shared. I think there always comes a point when the teenage body you took for granted starts to become something you have to work for. And you look great! I'm super impressed by your mileage... holy cow!

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  16. I am sixteen, and have been struggling with my weight for as long as i can remember. When i saw the two pictures at the top, i didnt know it was you, i thought it was one of those before and after pictures you see on infomercials. You have inspired me so much, I only hope that i can be as successful as you!

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  17. Wow, that is an amazing transformation. It takes a lot of work to commit to a new life style like you did and it is something to be proud of. I am at that point right now where if i don't do something about my health i will regret it, I am starting to do the dressing thing where you look for clothes that can hide, instead of clothes that emphasize what we are proud of. Thank you for sharing you have really inspired me!

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  18. Thanks for your sweet comment! I appreciate that! You're so beautiful! And your tan is LOVE!

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  19. What a great post! You are such an inspiration not only because you reached your goal, but because of your positive attitude about life. Can't wait for more of your fashionista posts, but I am so glad you shared this story! I'm truly inspired and impressed!

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  20. i liked you before, but after this post, i think i love you. haha....seriously though, thank you for posting this story. its so much easier knowing others are out there with the same issues that i have. you look fab girl!

    xoxo

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  21. You know? I think weight is one problem that everyone can relate to. Either you're too big or too small, it seems like no one is happy with their self image. Your story is so great because you accomplished something major and it totally changed your life. And by sharing this story, you're changing other people's lives. I want to thank you, because I know it took a lot of dedication to get to where you are and a hell of a lot of courage to share something as personal as this. I can finally see why your confidence shines through as much as it does in your photos, and even your writing! You're truly beautiful, both inside and out.

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  22. That is so incredibly inspiring and brave of you to share with us. You look amazing and more importantly, you are heathy. What a story. Good luck with everything :)

    www.smalltownchic.com

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  23. girl, CONGRATS!!
    so glad you managed to turn things around.
    you look unbelievable!
    cheers to a healthy lifestyle
    and thanks for the compliment on my blog!

    myglitteringcreation.blogspot.com

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  24. Wow, great post and truly inspiring story! You should be so proud of yourself for all that you've accomplished!

    http://floridafashionfun.blogspot.com/

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  25. You have no idea how much this post meant to me!! I am in a similar situation (20 pounds in one year) for similar reason (moved in with boyfriend and ate everything he ate. Auughh!). I am so depressed about it and desperately need to get back into shape. In fact, I am going to e-mail you as soon as I finish this comment. :)
    You are so gorgeous! Your body is fantastic and this story is a complete inspiration to me. Thank you!! You just totally made my day!

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  26. I'm terrible. I can't seem to find your e-mail. LOL. Can you e-mail me? I'm jenniferb02(at)gmail.com. I would love the meal plan and recipes and whatever else you can suggest! Thanks. :)

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  27. well, a lot of girls already said so much I wanted to say...thank you for posting that.
    I'm going to be honest to you, I started crying while reading your post....just...that look in your eyes...in the before pictures...I totally recognized it in me. Everything you felt, I'm feeling. It's this exhaustion of pretending to be happy.
    you really are inspirational.
    if i wasn't really in the mood to work out today - i am now.
    all i can say is THANK YOU.
    and i'd love to hear what your plan was...im still in college so if you remember, it's not the easiest place to eat healthy....what with late night studying, party snacks, busy schedule snacks....

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  28. Ok, wait a sec!!! How did I miss this post?? This is amazing. You look fabulous! I love that you are being an inspiration for women everywhere! I have tried to post about fitness on my sight and no one cared :) maybe I should try again! I love that both of our two passions are fitness and fashion! I think it is great that you put up this post. You look hot and all sorts of girls will be excited to get in shape. You have been quiet in the blogger world. I hope to hear from you soon!

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  29. PS! I tagged you in my last post for "Honest Scrap" it was given to me, so I passed it on. :)

    xo ash

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  30. this is an incredible story. very inspiring. seeing how u were able to go through it all makes me want to get off this chair right now and get into shape. I think I definyly need this challenge.
    xoxo
    mina

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  31. Oh wow girl I didn't even realize that was you! Your story is very inspirational, thank you so much for sharing! I can totally relate to that story, as I was much heavier myself back then. And I realize that for some reason I tend to gain more weight when I'm in a relationship and that's really bad! (I always thought that I can eat the same food my bf's eating and our body would take the food the same way).

    I think that people can look fabulous at any size and shape as long as they FEEL fabulous inside :)

    XO!
    Farrah

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  32. Wow, I would never guess that you were like that before. No offence, but its just that you look awesome!! Way to go sweetie! You also motivated me to get my act together and really start with those workouts I so often talk about, but never complete. Stomach-fat runs in the family, and I don't want to end up looking back at the days I had an opportunity to make things right! Thank you so much for inspiring me!!

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  33. Thank you for sharing your story. I have been sitting on the fence regarding getting in shape. Your story has inspired me to get off the fence and get active.

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  34. I appreciate you taking the time and courage to post this. I've read it twice now!

    I've just begun to follow your blog and enjoy your posts.

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  35. Megan...thanks so much for sharing. It's VERY inspiring. My own story is so very similar (on a team, worked out constantly...then...suddenly, unable to recognize myself in the mirror). I'm struggling to find my own control again. It's inspiring to know I'm not the only one who's been there, and to feel that I CAN do it.

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  36. I stumbled across your blog and love seeing the beautiful and creative outfits you put together!

    Sadly, often as I sit here and look at your pictures I think "I'll start dressing cute as soon as I lose weight" I've gotten to the point where none of my clothes fit and although I've been trying to work out, I continue to go up in sizes.

    Your experience is amazing and I am so impressed! Would you mind sharing some more tips and recipes?

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  37. Girl . . . Let me tell you. I had tears in my eyes (and still do) after reading this post. I literally felt like I was reading a page from my own diary. I am so extremely proud of you for accomplishing something that is very difficult, and even impossible, for some people. Keep up the GREAT work honey!!
    Ever since Brian and I have been together, I've gained (no joke) probably 70 lbs (at the least). Same situation, I ate and drank what my man ate and drank. He used to be a body builder, so his metabolism is rediculous. I come from an overweight family, so for me this was dangerous, which is clearly obvious now. I have a gym membership. My excuse is: I'm too tired, I don't have time, I get too sore. I had a trainer. Too expensive and no results. I have 9 months until my wedding. I don't want to be the "fat bride" either. I am inspired by your story, and have reached the point where I too am eaily out of breath after regular daily activities. Climbing up flights of stairs, walking to my car after work (doesn't help it's 115 degrees) BUT STILL! I'm inspired Megs, I really am.
    ~♥Heathyr

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