How I got to where I am now-

I am a 30yr old stay at home mom. I went to school to be a funeral director, after finishing my apprenticeship in 2003 I broke my back. I should back up a bit to say prior to this accident I was extremely athletic and loved being active on a very regular basis. I eventually recovered enough to play a little tennis or basketball here and there but still nothing really consistent and really no excuse since I only experienced back pain when lifting heavy objects. But I was sad, I loved my life and had such passion for my job and future career. A few years passed, I married my husband in 2005 had my firs child and went from being a college student to union member working for the phone company. I excelled at my job, had top notch benefits and money that was as good as it would have been to continue in my funeral directors career. BUT I hated the job, it was very high stress, pressure to always do better-which is good and something you embrace when you love what you do, but pressure creates nothing more then a path for disaster when you dread going to work every day to face that pressure. Late shift equals late suppers which meant something quick and easy not always the healthiest. I really packed on the pounds during my 4 year stint working for the phone company.

I will say, My eating habits changed for the better once my son was born-wanting to set an example for him and knowing how easy it would be for him to grow up healthy and not have to battle this war with food that I have had. I realized how hard it was to change when I made the switch from white bread to whole wheat bread. It was very HARD for me. So now I do love whole wheat bread and dont care for even the taste of the bland white bread, I love my fruits and vegetables but struggle with portions, feeling full and saying no to cookies and ice-cream. I feel good that I have succeeded with setting an example for my kids and making sure they have eaten healthy right from the start. Still I snacked A LOT having a desk job for 4yrs and have very limited exercise. The pounds just kept on adding up.

Moving on-I broke my ankle in 2006, this really and truly put the biggest damper on my activeness. My ankle to this day is very painful with anything strenuous andeven just normal every day life makes it swell like a softball. Still no excuse because I am perfectly capable of walking. I asked my physical therapist if I would ever be able to run again-like full speed sprint and she said this exactly to me "You could run if the adrenaline was there, for example if your son fell and got hurt-adrenaline would take over and you would run." That’s a hard pill to swallow when your a basketball junkie and a Serena Williams wanna be! I still love sports and ache to play them with my kids...its just carrying all this extra weight around is not easy and not very fun.

So catching up to the present-I don’t look in the mirror very often at myself and when I do I feel disgust towards myself. I avoid cameras like the plague and cringe at the sight of what I look like if someone has managed to capture me in a picture. In 2010 I gave birth to my second child, a beautiful daughter who we thought we would never have-thanks to being over weight coupled with Poly-Cystic Overy Syndrome (PCOS)-mostly like a direct result of being over weight. I eventually lucked out with fertility drugs and got pregnant. I ate very healthy throughout my pregnancy and seemed to feel full sooo easily (which is probably one of my biggest problems-not feeling full until I’ve eaten way to much) So being pregnant was great for me. After I had my daughter in the summer of '10 I lost 30lbs right off the bat-more weight than I had dropped over the previous 5yrs combined. It made me happy but only temporarily. I fit into some summer Capri’s that I had never fit into (I bought my size, but they ran small and I never returned them with the hopes that I would someday be able to wear them and maybe have them even be too big some day!) So I say I was temporarily happy because still I feel that I certainly don’t look on the outside- who I am on the inside and that in itself I believe has played a big part in what has kept me failing at the weight loss for so long-I was still me on the inside, I was in denial about what I was on the outside. I eventually gained the 30lb loss back...Out of sight out of mind is probably the best way to put it or you’ve probably heard the saying "fat and happy". And as long as I kept what I looked like-"out of sight, out of mind" I was "fat and happy".

 In February 2011 I heard about this diet, started it, made it to a second round of cycle 1 (so about 2 months of doing the 17 day diet), lost 40lbs and loved it.Everything was going great until I shockingly discovered I was pregnant with my 3rd child. I say shocking because if you knew the trying times we went through trying to get the first 2 children (who are 5yrs apart due to infertility, you would know how completely unexpected and shocked that  it had occured on its very own! (And by that I mean no fertility drugs at all.) The 17 Day Diet and the results it was gaving me I believe was #1 reason my body allowed me to get pregnant naturally for the first time. I was unable to "diet" during my high risk pregnancy but once again ate healthy during pregnancy only had a weight gain of 4lbs and ended up losing 15lbs or so after having my beautiful little girl in December 2011. Ive known I needed to get back on this train and do this because it worked so well, but busy schedules, being a stay at home mom, caring for 3 kids and being self employed working 3-4hrs/night as an independent contractor for LiveOps, all seemed to be causing me to procrastinate. Well here I am, Im back. I started the 17 day diet cycle 1 this past Monday June 4, 2012. Its just how I remembered it, after the first couple days of flushing out all the toxins in my system I am feeling great, have lots of energy and am looking forward to accomplishing my goal on my own.I need to do this not only for myself but my family, most importantly my kids. I cant wait to be able to activily participate in sports with them. Its much to hard carrying all this extra weight around! Its time for a change Ive been happily married for going on 7yrs and though I have a wonderful husband I have not been able to get him to join me on this incredible program. That being said  my mom has also joined me in this journey and am excited to see what our combined weight loss will be! Having just turned 30 its time for a fresh start, a new decade equals the start of a new chapter. Im closing the book on the past of being obese. Time for a new me on the outside! (and on the inside for health improvements too!) I cant believe I spent a good portion of one whole decade looking and feeling this way, I am ashamed-but thats over with and Im looking to the future. 

"I will complete this "Metamorphosis" of my body, I have to."