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. 

Blogging for a Better U!

Testing, Testing, 1,2,3...

Today I begin my blog as part of a new adventure I have recently begun.  I was chosen by the American Heart Association and Parkview Heart Institute as a participant in this year's Go Red Better U Challenge!  Myself and the other 29 ladies kicked off the challenge at Bootcamp where we shared our stories and received lots of helpful information about our health.  We also had tons of fun getting to know each other, doing yoga on the beach, and canoeing on the lake.  It was a blast! 

As part of the Better U Challenge I am going to share my thoughts and heart in this blog.  I chose the title "Slow and Steady - Wins the Race" because this is my motto during this season of my life.  It has been a slow but steady race for me and I will be sharing that story and others with you right here in the days to come!  I hope you are joining me in the excitement as I begin this new adventure, follow along as we all race toward the finish line!  Blessings~Kristen