What is at the top of the hill?

During my time with Fort Wayne's Smallest Winner I took many Spin classes.  During my rides whenever the instructor would ask "What's at the top of the hill??? Go get it!!!!"  This was it. . . I wanted to fit back into my wedding dress.  

July 2013-Still didn't fit, about 4 inches before it would zip, and the arms were still quite tight.  This was taken the week after weigh in with FWSW.

Recently on a snowy Saturday in December at Spiece Fieldhouse I spent the day learning how to coach a Spinning class.  I was there with 9 other students and a Master Instructor from the Mad Dogg Athletic Inc.  She downloaded all the information we needed, giving us the how to and why of proper safety and workouts on the bike.  It was an incredible experience for this newbie Spinner!  The MI led us through two one hour rides.  The first ride of the day was the hardest of my life, not that I should be surprised, this gal has been riding for almost 20 years!  Then we ended day with another one hour ride which was much like a victory lap for me personally.  I have been riding since April, I know I am very new at it, I still have a lot to learn and experience to gain.  However, with all that is behind me I most definitely taste the victory.  I have won this prize and I am so grateful for the process and for the new passion it has instilled in me.     

~January 2, 2014~

 

     What is at the top of YOUR hill???? 

Let me encourage you.....

GO GET IT!!!!   

Love~Kristen

Certified Spinning Instructor

 

Endurance, Character and Hope

Struggle, endurance, character, & hope

The Bible words say in Romans 5:3-5  (New English Translation)

^"3  . . .we also rejoice in sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, ⁴ and endurance, character, and character, hope. ⁵ And hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us."
 

The struggle for health has been very real to me in the past two years.  Suffering from my disease has been very challenging.  I am acutely aware that poor or even failing health is a reality for many people.  In some cases it is even the young who are afflicted with such a tragedy.  The older I get the more I come to expect things to wear down or wear out completely.  My recent diagnosis and flare up of my arthritis has given me a new perspective on making the most of my health today.  If I can move, I can exercise.  If I can think, I can make educated choices about what I eat.

My struggle to lose weight during the FWSW season 6 has given me the gift of endurance without a doubt.  Working day in and day out to make and record the best food choices was difficult.  Working out in some of the most challenging ways I have faced in my adult life and not seeing the immediate results required a new level of endurance for me.  I would go for days or even weeks without loosing 1/2 a pound!  I would step on that scale each morning and I would be the same weight as the day before.  Giving all that effort with no results made me cry some days, made me resent the process, and made me all the better for driving through those moments to realize the reward at the end of the 21 day plateau.  If I would have given up at any point, the reward would have been missed! 

My character (defined:reputation, traits that form the individual nature of a person) would be less than it is today.  My compassion and understanding of those who struggle in this way would not be as whole as it is today.  I would have failed to prove to myself and others, most especially my children, that when all the odds are against you dig in and you will make it.  Choose the right thing, even when it doesn't feel good, honor God with all the details of your life and you will receive your reward.    

That is the hope that has taken up residency in my heart.  Not just within the context of my health but in the wholeness of my life.  I know that God's economy and man's economy are not congruent.  So when the other areas of life seem insurmountable, the finances, the brokenness, the failures, the illness.  My heart just reminds me of the HOPE that pushing forward, making the right choice every time, pressing in, sweating it out, crying real tears, pushing through the pain, gripping tightly to what I know is true and not letting it go, I will reap the reward.  Not only in this life but in the life that is to come.              

CELEBRATE GOOD TIMES!!!!!

On the morning of July 10, 2013 I headed to the YMCA for my "last chance workout".  It was weigh in day for the Public Division of Fort Wayne's Smallest Winner Season 6!  The instructor at the Y was pretty pumped for me and was so encouraging about my journey.  That morning I was reminded once again that it takes a great deal of support from every angle to do this and make it sustainable.  I also felt a deep sense of gratitude for the many opportunities we have in this community for getting the help we need to make a change.  We really have NO EXCUSES!

    So just like the day I weighed into the competition back in March and the many days that followed my team was there to cheer me on! 

They were a big part of why I was working so hard to be healthy! 

 My family, my biggest fans!

Some of my other cheerleaders over the months...

 My little sister Kim and little brother Tyler came to run my very first race with me.  Also pictured my sister in law Penny, her nephew Drew, and Public Division contestants Kristen S. and Cami R.  It was such a sweet day for me, running with these people "on my team". 

Here is my crew at the FWSW Public Workout session in June 2013, cheering me and the other contestants on. 

 

 Hannah (lower left) trainer at Spiece, and other Public Div. Contestants.

Below (Front row left to right) Kasi, trainer at Spiece, my girl Selmita PD contestant, me, Tina Walters co founder and heart behind FWSW.

(Back Row) Frank, Pink Team, Myla, Navy Team, Jessica, Alumni, and Amber FWSW trainer/nutritionist.

So there I was again, stepping on to that same scale and waiting for the results...I was so aware of the change I had made.  I was stronger physically, tougher mentally, and much more aware of the gift my own health is to me and those I love and serve. 

The scale read 198.6! 

I had cleared 200 for the first time since I had babies!!!!!!!!  Later that week I received an email stating that I had made it into the top five finishers of the public division and the winners would be announced on Saturday July 13 at the Arts United Center Body Building Competition.  That Friday night Patrick surprised me by inviting some of my biggest fans and friends over to celebrate this accomplishment, it was a great time to celebrate and reflect on where I was, I was SO thankful for the journey! 

On Saturday we continued our celebrating!  Our sweet friend Stephanie came to hang with the kiddos while we went out on the town. We ate my favorite meal of pizza downtown at Pint N Slice then walked over to the Arts United Center.  At intermission they called the five finalist down to the front row to be recognized.  I sat with the others basking in our success.  I already knew that Rose had won, her hubby Frank was a Season 6 contestant and they had both lost over 50 pounds by this point.  She had spent hours a day working out and dancing, she loves ballroom, swing, etc.  She was an inspiration to me and so many others, she deserved it! 

 

On the left below is Sidney, whose girlfriend Megan was also a contestant in Season 6, they had been working out together and really changing their lifestyle.  He was the only male finalist and his smile showed the pride he felt.  Kristen S. with me on the right, was also a finalist, she and I had worked out together on many occasions.  She showed a great deal of dedication and commitment to her health, I was so proud of her! 

Sidney who finished in 3rd place and Kristen S. who finished in 5th.   

AND NOW 

Ladies & Gentleman

here is the 2nd place finisher

Kristen Riecke!!!!

Losing 32 pounds in 15 weeks!

2nd Place! 

Now that is really something to CELEBRATE!!!!!

Fort Wayne Smallest Winner Public Division Results:

Rose Murphy-53.0 lbs. =25.36%
Kristen Riecke-32.0 lbs. =13.91%
Sidney Custer-45.0 lbs. =13.89%
Marilyn Wedler-23.04 lbs. =11.02%
Kristen Stadler-27.08=10.43%

40 and Fantastic!

Shame on you if you thought that I was actually referring to my age!!!        I, of course, don't look a day over 28 and am actually only 35 yrs. old.  However, I am 40 pounds less of a person than I was on April 1 of this year!  Six months ago I weighed into Fort Wayne's Smallest Winner Public Division at #230 pounds.  This is not the heaviest I have been, during a few of my pregnancies I was up close to #250 pounds.  And after watching a home video from Fall 2005 I said, "Wow!  That is the heaviest I have ever been!"  To which my oldest son responded, "yeah I could really tell!"  The best part of that interaction with my impressionable young son is that he can now really tell that I am the thinnest I have been since he was born and he has cheered for me all along the way!   

In 25 weeks I have dropped #40lbs! 

I have lost an entire Kelsey, my four year old daughter!!

I haven't been very good along my journey of celebrating when I reach my goals.  However, I have a husband who has been very good at celebrating my goals and pushing me to do the same.  I bought a new pair of workout pants when I lost 10 pounds.  My sister in law gifted me a spa day so when I hit 20 pounds I got my hair cut.  When I hit the 30 pound mark mid July we did it up big!   

The missing piece...

I was missing a key piece to my weight loss puzzle and I was about to find it!  Much of last year I spent watching a friend and neighbor battle her way through weight loss.  After her first pregnancy and a devastating personal loss in the death of her father she had to reclaim her whole health.  I was blown away by her dedication!  She was getting up early, staying late, eating right, and fighting for it even when it was miserable!  During a time when I couldn't walk up and down my stairs she and 24 other people were running the stairs almost every morning at Spiece Fieldhouse www.spiecefitness.com.  They were all contestants in the 5th season of a local weight loss competition called Fort Wayne's Smallest Winner www.fortwaynessmallestwinner.com. 

In February 2013 new applicants were being accepted for FWSW Season 6 and I was the first person to turn in that application!  I was SO disappointed when in March I found out I was not selected to participate.  However, there was an alternative and if I was going to do it I was going to do it all the way!  So I joined the "public division" of Season 6 and I was off and running, quite literally!  As part of the PD, we were given a FREE membership to Spiece along with opportunities to attend nutrition classes and other group workouts with the FWSW trainers.  By some random coincidence (of which I believe in no such thing) I had the opportunity to meet another contestant from Season 5 of FWSW and I asked him what his advice would be.  He then introduced me to my favorite new tool for health and wellness, My Fitness Pal  www.myfitnesspal.com.  When Season 6 kicked off on April 1, I was armed and ready for the challenge!  All the pieces were in place for success and I began, to quote recording artist Toby Mac, the "Race of my life".

 

You've got to start somewhere

I have never been on a diet and I likely will never be on one.  I know that some people suffer from the yo yo dieting cycle, but that's just not my vice.  I have always believed and experienced that to make it sustainable it has to be a new habit of eating and activity.  Back in Nov. 2006, after having 3 babies in 4 years, I wanted to lose that baby weight.  My family joined the YMCA and began making changes nutritionally.  I took a class at the Y called "Weight Sense" and learned lots of ways to cut the calories.  I found a love hate relationship with the elliptical at the Y and by June 2007 I was 36 pounds lighter!  It was a slow and steady weight loss of 1 lb. to 1 1/2 pounds each week and I was thrilled with the results. 

In late November of 2012 after my first few weeks back at the Y, I decided to give running a try.  So I did my first run on the inside track, eight laps equals one mile.  I could only run one lap without stopping.  So lets see that was 1/8 of a mile or approximately 660 steps.  My body ached, my heart ached too!  I wondered if my body would ever recover from my run in with PA.  However as with many things in life, you have to start somewhere.  So I did just that.  I began attending group fitness classes again and running, even if it was just one lap before I had to stop and walk.  Between November and late January I had lost a total of four pounds.  All that added activity and only four pounds...what was I missing?  

Knowing that I eat pretty well and I am intentionally active, what could I be missing?  I was about to find out... 

Slow. . .

Slow is a very apt word to describe how the year 2012 was for me!  I woke up on Christmas morning, Dec. 25th 2011 and I couldn't walk.  No really, I am not being dramatic, my left knee was so swollen and my right knee followed about four days later.  My symptoms were swelling and pain in both knees and other random joints such as hands, feet, face.  I also had a patch of dry itchy skin the back of my neck just above my hairline that I attributed to the winter weather.  To explain the pain is still difficult, to sum it up I can only say I felt "disabled".  I couldn't walk up my stairs, I would crawl up each night and slowly slink down in the morning.  I couldn't use my hands, several fingers were swollen and changing a diaper was a daunting task!  Sitting down on the toilet took courage to get down that far and stand back up again.  I had to lift my legs in and out of my mini van to drive.  Besides the swelling, I was in a constant state of pain. 

It was a slow process to figure out what was happening to my body! After seeing a total of 7 doctors and 6 months I was given the diagnosis: Psoriatic  Arthritis  http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/psoriatic-arthritis/DS00476 ).  

After a round of steroids my body began to bounce back, however it wasn't until Nov. 2012 that I was able to really use my knees again.  We joined back up at the YMCA and I slowly got on the road to recovery!  By the time 2013 rolled around I was in a place of my "new normal".  I will live with PA for the rest of my life but it is up to me to control what I can, so began the next leg of the race.