Well…not only do I have another brave soul for the “Take Control” campaign for 2013 – I have two…perhaps this is to compensate for the fact I worked overtime with the amazing Kelly last year! The wonderful thing about having these 2 beautiful souls step up – is the fact that they share similar goals and are striving to get in shape before their next beauty pageant…’yes’, a world that focuses on inner beauty – and overall health & FITNESS as well! I started working with Andrea in early Dec., so I’ll post her intro blog first and then provide Marisa’s tomorrow….here we go…..let’s make 2013 a year that counts, by staying focused AND getting fit!
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Growing up people used to ask my mother if she was feeding me. I was so skinny, I looked unhealthy, and I stayed that way until after I got pregnant. At the age of 27, I gained 50 pounds with my son, and after that my body was never the same. I went from looking like Twiggy, to having the appearance of “Humpty Dumpty” himself. Not to mention I come from a long line of overweight people that love to get together to eat and drink beer and call each other “fat” as they inhale food with both hands. Needless, to say in my adult years, weight has been a struggle for me and an emotional struggle as well as physical. About 3 years ago I topped out at 240 pounds. Please keep in mind that I am 5’10” so I can get away with carrying some extra weight without looking too hefty. However, at 240 my fat rolls were touching, every time I bent over I’d throw out my sciatic nerve, and I was extremely miserable. It was then I knew I had to do something. In an effort, to lose some weight and cross off a bucket list item, I joined the “Mrs. Texas International Pageant”. I knew I was going to have to get my porky self into a fitness leotard, so I began exercising and cutting back on what I ate. Let me tell you, I looked ridiculous on stage in that fitness outfit, but I “worked it”, and then cried when the pictures were delivered. Together with portion control, exercise (mostly cardio 5 days a week), and giving up sodas and increasing my water intake I lost 70 pounds. It took me over two years to do it, but I was looking “fine”! I would have married myself except I was already married and about to go through a nasty divorce from a man who couldn’t stay faithful. So once again, my negative body image returned to plague me. Even though I had lost so much weight and was into a size I had not been since High School, I wondered why I could not keep my man satisfied, and why wasn’t I woman enough for my husband? However, it was my pageant sisters that kept telling me I was “beautiful and wonderful at any size,” and “I deserved the best”, that encouraged me to get out of that terrible marriage. I am happy to say my divorce was finalized three months ago however with the loss of a husband, I found about 30 pounds of the weight I had lost and am back up to 200 pounds. Some people handle stress by drinking, some handle it by eating, and I handle it by…….both!! Between my love for Shinerbock and Wendy’s Bacon Portabella Melt, all my hard work went right out the window. Stress eating and self medication is never good though, so my stubborn redheaded personality came through and I contacted my pageant sister, Angela to please help me not only lose the weight, but begin a new and improved healthy lifestyle. Really, that is what losing weight is all about, a lifestyle change. It is about setting goals and working super hard to achieve them. Now I know, my timing is impeccable, (yes, that is sarcasm since the holidays have been not so far behind), but being challenged only makes me stronger. I intend to lose 50 pounds over this process and no Turkey and dressing was going to stop me!!!! So bring it on, by next Christmas I will be in a sexy Ms. Santa Suit….now let’s get this thing started!
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About Angela Lee, B.A., CPT
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