Hello! Here's My Story!

Where to start?

My name is Heather, I just turned 25 and recently moved from Central NY to New Jersey for a job.

This blog is going to cover my ongoing struggle/journey with weight-loss, nutrition, fitness....and anything else I throw in along the way.  To be honest, this is more for me than anyone else.  I need an outlet, some where to vent my frustrations and to share my victories.  Somewhere I can be brutally honest with myself, and work through things that are bothering me.  My journey began almost a year ago, so I guess I should give you the back story:

I've always been over weight.  It's been an ongoing struggle for as long as I can remember.  I've been up and down, and everywhere in between.  As a result, it's wrecked havoc on my self-esteem.  I was always a shy and quiet person.  Never very outgoing, and extremely nervous around new people.  When I graduated high school I decided to go 4 hours out of state for college.  It was terrifying! But I hoped I could learn to break out of my shell and learn to be outgoing.  When I started college I began to lose weight, I guess the little changes in my diet and daily routine were enough to make a change.  I lost about 30-40 pounds my first semester.  It felt great! I made new friends, joined a sorority and became a lot more self confident.

Photos of me at my high school graduation in 2005 and my Junior year of college (2008).

I had lost weight and I felt good, but I still wasn't healthy.  And despite dancing for 15 years, I was seriously out of shape.  After college I moved back home.  And I began to put the weight back on.  Here is a picture of me at my heaviest in early 2011, I weighed 250 pounds.  

By that summer I knew I needed a change.  The year before my older sister had begun to get healthy.  She was chosen by a local news station doing a fitness challenge for the summer and began working out at a local 'gym'.  (I use that term loosely because Next Level is way more than a gym, but more on that later!) That summer changed my sister's life! She started a membership and stayed on at Next Level, she learned to love fitness (she started running and has done 5, 10 and even a 15k!), eat healthy and gained more self confidence than you could imagine. I knew I needed that.  

In September of 2011, my sister told me they were doing a 1 month buddy contest.  I could join Next Level for a month, partner with her and give it a try.  The gym was Next Level Athletic Performance.  I did bootcamp classes, we did everything from cardio to strength to mobility work.  Basically, I got my ass kicked on a daily basis! And it was the best thing that has ever happened to me! In my first 2 weeks, I dropped about 5 pounds and 6 inches, 4 inches in my hips alone! But Next Level wasn't just a gym, it was a family.  Everyone there, from Steve the owner to the trainers, to the other bootcampers, they were there to support you in anything you did.  And everyone felt so welcome and at home. I chose to stay on and got a full membership after that first month. We did fun little challenges from time to time to keep everyone going.  My favorite was the 'Dream Jeans' where everyone bought a pair of jeans a size small than they wore, and in 3 weeks went from:

Next Level was the best thing that could have happened to me, it made me love working out (something I had always hated) and taught me to eat healthy.  But above all that, I grew to have a lot more self confidence, and feel like I can accomplish anything. I began running, and in July I ran my first 5k! I'm registered for 3 more this year, including the Warrior Dash in a little over a week!

About 3 months ago I got a new job and moved down to New Jersey.  I left my home, my family and friends, and I left Next Level.  I'm on my own, I lost my support system.  Yes, I know they are all still there when I need them, and they all offer tons of support over Facebook.  But it's not the same.  

Now is the challenge of doing this on my own.  I know I have the skills, and the knowledge.  But it's hard.   I was doing great when I first came down, and lost another 10 pounds, I'm now down to 178, and I wear a size 12.  This is the smallest I have ever been! 

Running the Boilermaker 5K July 2012

But the past few weeks have been rough.  I finally moved into an apartment (had been living with a friend) and I've been a little homesick.  Need less to say the first thing that went was my nutrition... I'm human like everyone else and have my big weaknesses, the foods I turn to when I'm sad, overwhelmed, or stressed.  The past 2 weeks have been all three, so I turned to my favorites, including anything Buffalo Chicken, in this case pizza,  and chocolate, but not just any chocolate, Nutella! 

Yesterday I had an epiphany and realized I have worked too damn hard to screw this all up.  So I came home from work and threw it away...

I haven't found a gym yet I want to join, I'm looking for places with bootcamp classes similar to what I was doing.  I have a few places in mind and plan on giving them a try this month.

So that's my story.  I hope to be able to post updates here regularly, from my weight to my thoughts, to my workouts or recipes I like...whatever I feel relates. Hopefully I'll be back soon!