i used to think of myself as an athlete. all through middle and high school i played volleyball and soccer, and i was always in decent shape and maintained a healthy weight.
enter my second year of college.
though i hadn't been very physically active my first year, i hadn't gained any weight because i was spending so much time pining away over my then-boyfriend now-husband (so at least it worked out, right, adam??!!). my second year, though, everything changed. i lived just far enough from uva's anthropology building that it felt like i couldn't walk to class unless i built in a ton of extra time, so i started grabbing the bus instead. i kept eating the way i always had, regular soda included. in hindsight, both of these were BIG MISTAKES. in that year i went from a healthy 155 pounds to 180 which, on my 5'6" frame, is just plain too much, not to mention that i still wasn't working on strength or general fitness.
and so it went until 2008.
in november that year i found out i was pregnant with zeke, and i was diagnosed with gestational diabetes at week 27. it was perfectly controlled with diet only, and after i delivered him, my blood sugars went completely back to normal. i hung onto about 5 pounds after he was born, leaving me at 185 and still not even approaching fit.
and so it went until 2010.
in october that year i found out i was pregnant with ezra, and i was diagnosed with gestational diabetes at week 16. this time, i had to inject myself with several units of insulin each night before bed, and it still only barely kept my fasting blood sugar under acceptable limits. once again, though, i was completely back to normal after delivery. this time, my obstetrician recommended that i have my primary care provider run an A1c several months later, which would give some information about my blood sugar over the 3 months prior to the test.
those results labeled me 'pre-diabetic'.
now, in my family, diabetes and heart disease are pretty common. three of my four grandparents developed type-2 diabetes as adults, and several aunts and other family members had gestational diabetes at different times. most of these situations were relatively mild, but my severely-diabetic grandfather died at 59 of a massive heart attack. my father had three heart episodes (at least one of which was a true heart attack) and two stents before age 50. this did not look good.
when i looked at the results of my A1c and said to my nurse-practitioner, 'what can i do?', she didn't prescribe pills or any kind of medical therapy; instead, she said, 'you need to start by losing 25-30 pounds'. when i asked what might happen if i didn't, she said that with my family history and developing diabetes so early, it was a very real possibility that i wouldn't be around to meet my grandkids.
that was may, and the school year was almost over. when it ended and i was home for the summer, i signed up for LoseIt and started walking almost daily with my mom, pushing zeke and ezra in a double stroller up and down the hills of winchester for 30-45 minutes. by simply tracking my calories and walking, i got down to 160 pounds by september.
over the course of the 2012-2013 school year, i only gained back about 5 pounds, but my fitness levels started to fall off. i could feel my endurance ebbing and i knew i needed to get moving. i walked again that summer, half-heartedly, but lost no weight and regained very little fitness. i found out i was pregnant with levi in september.
this time, miracle of miracles, i did NOT have diabetes. hallelujah! losing weight was a huge contributing factor.
the downside, though, was that i didn't have to pay as much attention to my diet, so i gained about 55 pounds rather than the 30-35 i'd gained with the older boys. levi was born in may 2014, and i realized i had a lot of work to do.
so here i am. after carrying three babies to term and enduring three c-sections, my body doesn't feel like mine anymore. this blog is a way for me to force myself into some accountability with meeting my fitness and weight loss goals, and who knows? maybe it'll inspire someone else. i'll be posting my daily workouts and the challenges i take on, as well as diet information and pictures (well, pictures will come after i enter the smartphone world!).
tomorrow i'll post the 30-day Abs Challenge that i and some friends are doing together.
let's do this.
enter my second year of college.
though i hadn't been very physically active my first year, i hadn't gained any weight because i was spending so much time pining away over my then-boyfriend now-husband (so at least it worked out, right, adam??!!). my second year, though, everything changed. i lived just far enough from uva's anthropology building that it felt like i couldn't walk to class unless i built in a ton of extra time, so i started grabbing the bus instead. i kept eating the way i always had, regular soda included. in hindsight, both of these were BIG MISTAKES. in that year i went from a healthy 155 pounds to 180 which, on my 5'6" frame, is just plain too much, not to mention that i still wasn't working on strength or general fitness.
and so it went until 2008.
in november that year i found out i was pregnant with zeke, and i was diagnosed with gestational diabetes at week 27. it was perfectly controlled with diet only, and after i delivered him, my blood sugars went completely back to normal. i hung onto about 5 pounds after he was born, leaving me at 185 and still not even approaching fit.
and so it went until 2010.
in october that year i found out i was pregnant with ezra, and i was diagnosed with gestational diabetes at week 16. this time, i had to inject myself with several units of insulin each night before bed, and it still only barely kept my fasting blood sugar under acceptable limits. once again, though, i was completely back to normal after delivery. this time, my obstetrician recommended that i have my primary care provider run an A1c several months later, which would give some information about my blood sugar over the 3 months prior to the test.
those results labeled me 'pre-diabetic'.
now, in my family, diabetes and heart disease are pretty common. three of my four grandparents developed type-2 diabetes as adults, and several aunts and other family members had gestational diabetes at different times. most of these situations were relatively mild, but my severely-diabetic grandfather died at 59 of a massive heart attack. my father had three heart episodes (at least one of which was a true heart attack) and two stents before age 50. this did not look good.
when i looked at the results of my A1c and said to my nurse-practitioner, 'what can i do?', she didn't prescribe pills or any kind of medical therapy; instead, she said, 'you need to start by losing 25-30 pounds'. when i asked what might happen if i didn't, she said that with my family history and developing diabetes so early, it was a very real possibility that i wouldn't be around to meet my grandkids.
that was may, and the school year was almost over. when it ended and i was home for the summer, i signed up for LoseIt and started walking almost daily with my mom, pushing zeke and ezra in a double stroller up and down the hills of winchester for 30-45 minutes. by simply tracking my calories and walking, i got down to 160 pounds by september.
over the course of the 2012-2013 school year, i only gained back about 5 pounds, but my fitness levels started to fall off. i could feel my endurance ebbing and i knew i needed to get moving. i walked again that summer, half-heartedly, but lost no weight and regained very little fitness. i found out i was pregnant with levi in september.
this time, miracle of miracles, i did NOT have diabetes. hallelujah! losing weight was a huge contributing factor.
the downside, though, was that i didn't have to pay as much attention to my diet, so i gained about 55 pounds rather than the 30-35 i'd gained with the older boys. levi was born in may 2014, and i realized i had a lot of work to do.
so here i am. after carrying three babies to term and enduring three c-sections, my body doesn't feel like mine anymore. this blog is a way for me to force myself into some accountability with meeting my fitness and weight loss goals, and who knows? maybe it'll inspire someone else. i'll be posting my daily workouts and the challenges i take on, as well as diet information and pictures (well, pictures will come after i enter the smartphone world!).
tomorrow i'll post the 30-day Abs Challenge that i and some friends are doing together.
let's do this.