Hi Friends,

You don't know where your going until you know where you've been. I usually don't participate in #throwbackthursdays I'm proud of my journey but it's still very personal to me. I enjoy inspiring people to reach for the stars and follow their dreams. That's what I did.

One day I woke up over 300 pounds and was done with it all. Done with being fat, done with low self-esteem, done with procrastinating, done with hiding from the world. I am a very outgoing, friendly, active person but when i was fat i was the opposite of all the verbs I just used to describe myself. I was miserable in my own skin. I felt trapped with nowhere to turn, no one to talk to and no end in sight. I finally took control and slowly started exercising, eating right, reciting positive affirmations, and working on myself.

Nothing came over night, results were few and far between for the first 4-5 months. I remember saying to myself, " I don't care if I lose weight or not! I'm  going to keep on sweating for the rest of my life no matter what." It seems like once I gave up on results and really came to terms with my healthy life style change everything started happening.

Weight started falling off of me like candle wax, I was happy, upbeat, and didn't feel like hiding from the world any longer. I started taking bikram yoga classes, got a job at the nicest gym in SF and cut all the negativity out of my life. I got rid of the leaches that had been sucking the life out of me for years. I decided to be  celibate for a while because the next person I gave myself too had to earn me and deserve me.

FYI - That guys is not my boyfriend... 

When I met my current boyfriend I gained 30 pounds of "happy" weight. I remember looking in the mirror horrified with myself. I couldn't believe I had done it again. I was depressed embarrassed and down right mad. My boyfriend never mentioned the weight, he never said a negative thing about me. He loves me no matter what.

It took 6 months to lose that "love" weight. Now I'm training to run crazy obstacle races and pushing my body to the limit. I'm vegan 2-3 days a week and the other days still refrain from chicken, beef and pork, I only eat seafood. One day soon I hope to stick with a vegan diet but I really love eggs and cheese so I'm not sure if I will ever be ready to give those 2 things up. So that's me. I feels good to share my story with all of you. I hope i can inspire someone to get fed up and take that first step. The first step is always the hardest. After the first step it's just like walking... One foot in front of the other.

 

Peace & Love,

Mary