My Fitness Journey

Hey y’all! I shared briefly on here in my Weekly Wins post on how I was working out every day straight for 21 days in order to make working out routine in my life. I wanted to share with y’all that I made it & I’m still working out! …Just no longer working out every day. However, I do workout about three to five times per week. Now I’m on a mission to keep working out consistently for 90 days to make working out a lifestyle!

I officially started working out August 19th, so I’ve been working out for a little more than two months and I am feeling great! Some things I have noticed:

• I can run longer
• I have more energy to play with my boys
• I don’t like to sit still for too long
• I feel better
• My joints don’t ache
• My skin “glows”
• My clothes are looser

When I first started my fitness journey I was about 10 months postpartum, and at one of my lowest lows in life. I was depressed because of weight gain and I was in so much pain! My fingers were swollen and aching. I mean it hurt to button my son’s onesies and to change diapers! Every inch of my body hurt; seriously like even the bottom of my feet. I would honestly pray before getting out of bed in anticipation of the pain I was about to experience, but even sleeping was painful! I was exhausted and I felt defeated, and I knew something was just not right! So, I scheduled a physical and long story short I was referred to a Rheumatalogist and soon after diagnosed with thyroid disease. More on this later, but this explained my swollen + aching joints, and also partly the reason for my weight gain and difficulty to shed the pounds. I need to do more research because I am unsure if it is because of the trauma your body experiences or what, but it is not uncommon to find out you have thyroid disease after having children.

I got my medicine regimen down and the pain started to alleviate. However, those first few weeks at the gym were not easy. I couldn’t do much because of pain, but I was more motivated than ever and I was happy that I wasn’t feeling so depressed. Slowly, but surely I get better and better and my weight loss started helping with my pain and joint pains..

I have lost a little more than 12 pounds. I don’t like to get caught up in weighing myself, because I tend to get discouraged when I don’t see the pounds dropping like I feel they should. Also, I feel like I could lose more weight if I could get my eating under control! I’ve got the working out part down, but my nutrition is not so good, and all the holidays rolling around isn’t helping. For instance, we have so much Halloween candy in our home right now.

I need some help from someone with nutritional expertise! What can I do to obtain better eating habits? All suggestions welcomed! 

I also need to work on my water intake. I cannot for the life of me make myself drink enough water! I have cut out sodas, but I occasionally drink sweet tea (I know, I know that’s just as bad), juice, and coffee.

For your viewing pleasure, I am going to share a video of my very first home workout. I always start at the gym with 30 minutes of cardio, and then I go to my parents house and do an additional home workout. Over time I have transitioned to 3o minutes weights at the gym and 30 minutes of cardio omitting my at home workout, but I think I am going to start throwing in a home workout on my rest days… I’ll let you know.

Anyway, this video is my first workout after a long, long time of no working out, so don’t judge me! Over time these videos have improved, and I may continue to share. I am only sharing this one now to encourage someone that hasn’t worked out in a long time and is discouraged by their current physique. I’m here to tell you do not be discouraged, everyone has to start from somewhere, enjoy!

Also, share with me some of your favorite workouts and tools you use for workouts.. I am always looking for ways to change up and improve!