NO MORE EXCUSES

Hello.  My name is Michelle Rodine and here is my story of the fitness journey that I am now on.  First off, a little bit about me.  I’m a wife, mother of two, friend, career woman and overweight.   Yes, I said it, “I’m overweight”.  I’ve struggled throughout my adult life with being overweight.  I feel I’ve made many excuses over the years as well.  From trying out this diet or that diet, losing the weight and then gaining it back and then some, to just saying “I really don’t have time” has been my motto over the years.  One thing that started me thinking and admitting that I was overweight was after my miscarriage.  I know that life happens, but I couldn’t think that a little bit of the problem was that I was carrying to many “extra” pounds and wasn’t exactly healthy.   Also, I was having some thyroid issues to the point where I was put on medication for my thyroid being “under active”.  When I finally did get pregnant, they were worried about high blood pressure during my last trimester.  Sure enough, the “added” weight caused my blood pressure to spike and I was put on modified bed rest for the last 4 weeks of my pregnancy.  

That kicked off my rollercoaster of losing and gaining weight for the past 5 years.  Don’t get me wrong, I’ve tried exercising/working out and I even joined a few “clubs” but with my self confidence low and the constant worrying about “what others thought or what others saw” didn’t exactly motivate me to continue to go.  I then thought, “well if I just walk and eat healthy” that’s all I need to do.  Sure enough, I lost like 30lbs (still considered overweight) but moving in the right direction, and I then became pregnant with my 2nd child.  This time, no high blood pressure, a lower dosage of thyroid medication and I felt a lot better with the overall pregnancy.  But then came the dreaded post-baby weight issue again.  I didn’t gain as much weight as I had with my first pregnancy, but I gained enough; and honestly, I just couldn’t lose it.  It took me a long time to realize that I need to get healthy because I have kids that need me, a husband, family and friends that needed me but most of all, I just wanted to be happy!

Now, with that rollercoaster ride under control, I’m starting to realize that fitness and getting healthy is not ALL about losing weight (obviously that is important for health too), it is also about strength, focus, determination,  finding yourself, looking good on the inside, being confident and overall, having a positive attitude.  Ups and downs are going to happen; it is how you handle them that matters!!

My journey to focus completely on my health, fitness, and nutrition began in September of 2013 (yes, only 4 months ago) with a few of us girls talking about trying a Zumba class at The Warehouse.   Even though I had committed to these girls that I would go and “try it out”, I still had that voice inside my head that said “what are people going to think of me”, “how am I going to look”?  But I went even with my insecurities and guess what, I had a great time.  Trying Zumba was the door opener for me.  It created a challenge that I was glad to accept for myself and that challenge was to stick with this, stay motivated with my fitness and really start to focus on me!  That led me to try another class, a little class called Bootcamp.  I know, what the heck was I thinking.  Well, within the very first 15 minutes of class, I hurt my ankle.  Normally this would have been the perfect “excuse” for me to quit.  Well not this girl.  I had a change in my thinking and with talking to Nickie there was plenty of “exercise” that I can still get out of every move I make.  Just because one person can do 10 jumping jacks doesn’t mean that I can’t to the same with just a little modification.  This was the best realization and motivation that I could give myself.  

Having this motivation and drive I challenged myself to do a month long challenge at The Warehouse:  Lean and Mean by Halloween with Jeanine, one of the trainers at The Warehouse.  There was something I felt I needed to prove to myself;  will I stick to this?  After this month long challenge, I increased in every assessment from Day 1.  From my weight and BMI to the number of sit-ups I could do or seconds I could do a wall sit (this was the best of my numbers, and I was pretty proud of myself).  I think the most important result that I received out of this challenge was how good I felt about myself and how motivated I was to continue with this journey I had started.  I finally had the attitude of “yes, I can do this” as well as “I want to do this”.  Also during this time, I “trained” to run my very first 5k with Jessica’s Run Club at The Warehouse…yes, I surprised myself with thinking I could do this.  Well, I never gave up and with the motivation from my friends and the trainers at The Warehouse; I completed my first 5k.  What is awesome is during the “dry run 5k” that we did on a Sunday night, I finished in like 47-48 minutes.  On race day, I finished my very first real 5k with a time of 41m 57 seconds (okay, 42 minutes 🙂 .

Now here we are, 4 months later.  Not only have I stuck with this, but I LOVE challenging myself to get better and to achieve even more.  My health has improved.  Even though I’m still considered overweight for my height, I am heading in the right direction.  I am down a total of 17 ½ pounds, lost -4 ½  inches (put it this way, I’ve dropped 1 full pant size almost 2 ) , no more thyroid medication, I’m in the desirable/normal  range with my cholesterol  and my attitude is as positive as can be.  I’ve also set a new challenge.  I’m doing another run and this time,  I’m doing a 7k.  I also have hopes to do a few more 5Ks this summer and fall.  I’m also hoping to continue to drive the weight number down.  I know that I can do it, whether it takes 6 months or a year, I know that I will get down to the optimal or normal weight for my height.  The motivation and drive will get me there.  I must add one last thing.  I do owe a great deal of what has happened to my friends and family as well as the “new family at the warehouse” that I have met along the way;  helping me stay focused and the positive energy that all of you put forth, I can’t thank you enough.  But most of all, I’m pretty darn proud of myself; I am definitely kicking some booty and pushing myself to do better!!