My fitness journey!!

My fitness journey started in February 2011. My baby was almost a year old and I was bigger than I had ever been. I was outgrowing all my clothes and was very depressed about it. I ate what I wanted, when I wanted, hardly got off my couch, had little energy to go play with my kids, and often took naps instead of spending time with myfamily. As an RN, I knew about all the medical problems that faced me if I continued down this "unfit and out of shape path" I was on. I decided it was time to do something about it and that day I realized the importance of loosing weight, getting in shape, and becoming healthier and happier. My kids and my family needed me, and I was not there for them physically or mentally like I should have been. I was loosing focus at work and on my responsibilities as a wife and mother at home. One of the PA's I work with had put together a weight loss clinic for our patients which involved 8 weeks of no pop, candy, cookies, donuts or chips; working out 5 days a week; and a prescription for an appetite suppressant. I had her measure me like she would any other patient just to see where I was. When she put those numbers on paper it brought to life what I already knew was true. The next day I quit my 4 to 6 can a day of DP habit and also stopped eating candy. I cut back the portions of everything I ate and focused really hard on only drinking water. I did not want to do the prescription she offered but I did want to exercise. But this is where I got stuck. I lost twenty pounds from diet modification alone, which tells you how much pop and candy I was putting in my body. I was happy with my weight loss up to this point, but something was missing and I could not put my finger it. I have never worked out in a gym, I own some select exercise equipment; a treadmill, bowflex, and an airdyne bike but rarely, if ever use any of it. I have a jogging stroller but don't use that, a good friend of mine is a zumba instructor and that looked fun but I just had no motivation to do any of it. My lack of motivation is from being shy, lazy, and just having no desire to be out in public so obviously out of shape and self conscious. I tried writing down a work out schedule for a month and I didn't even stick to it a week. I would walk/run on my treadmill and hated every minute of it. I drug my feet, held onto the bars and very anxiously watched the clock telling me I was done. The bowflex stayed folded up and I probably rode the stationary bike twice, it was just boring and tortuous. So I stopped and gave up on exercising all together. I figured I would just stay off pop and candy and eat smaller portions and have that be the end of my fitness journey. I did have more energy but I still just wasn't happy and I felt like no matter how much weight I lost, unless I brought some sort of fitness into my life, my journey would never be complete. Well May came along and my husband's cousin, who I saw as a fitness guru, started talking about some CrossFit thing on facebook. She wanted to go but had no body to go with. FEAR was my first reaction. Fear of working out like I was at boot camp or in the police academy and knowing that I could never do anything intense like that. It just sounded scary. Also, fear of being in public. I thought, if I go there I will be the only one who has no idea what they are doing and I will make a complete fool of myself. I imagined a room full of people all fit and buff staring and laughing at me and it literally scared me to death. Well, its pretty obvious that I decided to go or I wouldn't be writing this story. I walked in and Ryan, one of the trainers, immediately greeted me by my first name. This immediately put me at ease. Little did I know this AWESOME guy and his facility would change my life FOREVER. Infact, to date I have gone to 54 workouts and thanks to all 4 of the amazing trainers at this facility, I have done what I never in a million years thought lazy, shy me was possible of. Simply saying that my life has changed does not even come close to the reality of how I feel. One of the very first workouts involved running, which I am not good at and hate with a passion. Both Ryan and myself wondered back then if I could even run a lap around the building and survive, so he ran along with me and tells me now that he really didn't think I was gonna make it that day. One of our recent WOD's, just two months later, was running a 5K on a course around the gym. When they told us we were doing that, I just about went home. I just knew I was gonna end up walking most of it or worse not even finishing. I did not want to deal with the humiliation. But I gritted my teeth and took off when they said "GO!" and I didn't look back. I did what I never would have done just two months prior. Not only did I finish that 5K but I ran the whole thing and came in FIRST!!! When I finished that race I sat down and cried and while I cried I was also smiling from ear to ear. That moment is when I realized that this is what was missing. I had finally found the one thing I needed to complete my fitness journey. Thanks to CrossFit Zion not only am I stronger and in better shape, but more importantly I am happier with myself outside and in, I am more confident in public, and have the energy I need to keep up with my two kids. I have lost 7 more pounds since starting CrossFit and through this whole journey have gone down 7 pant sizes and from large to small scrubs for work. I know without a doubt that I would not be where I am today both physically and mentally without CrossFit. It has taught me that I am capable of way more than I thought and that exercising can be fun. It has improved my realtionship with my husband and my kids. There are so many people I need to thank for making this part of my life possible. First of all, Pam for taking me and teaching me the ropes, Cody for letting me be gone so much (he has joined me there now and is also doing really well on his journey), my two kids for being cooperative, and ESPECIALLLY all the trainers and fellow crossfitters for making it such a positive environment. There is nothing but support and encouragment at this place and that is the key to being successful. For an inexperienced couch potato like me I would never have accomplished this by working out at home on my own or even going to the typical gym filled with negative energy. I wish everyone would go give CrossFit a try, the possibilities are endless and you do not know what you are missing out on until you try it for yourself. I can't tell you enough what it has done for me, I will be forever greatful for the way it has changed my life now and forever!!!!