My Fitness Journey: Operation Bikini Bod….

Restored from the Empower Network archive (2011–2017), lightly edited to meet our current advertising standards. Views are the original author’s.

When I say the word fitness… the first thing that comes to mind is the idea that it’s something we all say we’re going to start “one day”…. but never do, aside from sitting down watching a P90X, Insanity or Brazilian Butt Infomercial, stuffing chips into our mouths as we dream of having a body like the model featured in the workout….

Yeah Yeah Yeah… I’m calling you out.. and the reason why I know the scenario so well is because that would be me!! ===>> Raises Hand <<===

For years I’ve attempted to join gyms, go to zumba classes, eat right, buy the various infomercial fitness promos, invest in meal plans, map out my goals to get in shape, but very rarely have I stuck with them.

Honestly, up until recently, I was able to get away with not working out because I was a manageable size 6, and with me being tall, I can hide any extra pounds very well… until NOW….

After giving birth to my 2nd child, Carson, something happened….

I became very depressed, suffering from post-partum depression, while getting comfortable with being an emotional eater, and it was all downhill from there….

Sugar Rush…..

Not to mention, the new cupcake shop that opened up around the corner from my house that I  had to pass everyday, that I couldn’t pass and instead chose to visit them daily for my “flavor of the day” taste…. and I seriously became heavily addicted to cupcakes.

Some people are addicted to alcohol, others are addicted to tv, cigarettes and the likes.. Me, I was addicted to S-U-G-A-R…..

If there was a choice between dessert or dinner, I wanted dessert first.

Things got so bad, that I couldn’t finish my night off WITHOUT DESSERT.. Every Night…

My own 5 year old daughter even revealed my addiction, as she is now asking for Dessert after dinner every night… OMG, what have I done???

Thank God For Instagram…

I joined instagram right after giving birth to my son. As a matter of fact, my first picture is of him at 3 weeks old.

Once I got on instagram, I somehow got connected to a bunch of bodybuilding chics who ate clean, and were beasts when it came to fitness.

I found myself looking up hashtags like #eatclean #fitness #cleaneating #fitchics and that would lead me to an army of inspirational women that I’d gaze at daily, just like I did the informercials.

Along the way I’d try different things they shared, with an attempt to workout, but I now realize that I was totally unmotivated by where I was living at the time, in Memphis, so I didn’t have the motivation to keep going, so I’d quit.

In Walks Austin

Ever sense we made the decision to relocate to Austin, I’ve had a renewed sense of energy, excitement and willpower.  I firmly believe that we all thrive off of our surroundings and being in an unmotivated city, around those that don’t think like you can become very depressing….

But when you reposition yourself and take actions that will change that… in walks a renewed sense of self! So welcome to the new me!

By moving to Austin, not only is a motivating because this is a very health conscious, fit focused type of city, but the people are different…. they seem happy. And when your happy, your motivated to become a better you!

In my subdivision, it’s like a marathon every morning and every afternoon, with boatloads of people walking throughout the community like they’re on a mission, preparing for a race. How motivating!

They’re even hosting bootcamps here in our subdivision, so I’ll be starting that on July 2nd.

I set a goal that once we moved here, I was going to get very serious about my eating and my fitness plan. We’ve only been here for a little more than 3 weeks, and already, I’ve registered for a Boxing class, as well as for the bootcamp in our sub-division and I just bought a groupon for 5 Bikram Yoga Classes…..

I’m also already shifting how I eat, thanks to my husband, who’s finally on board with changing as well. This is huge cause it can get very complicated to try to cook multiple types of meals in the house, while grocery shopping to accomodate multiple preferences.

Now that we’re on the same page, we can shop with the same focus, which makes a significant difference on the bill too… although eating healthy is a bit more expensive;0

Here’s a sneak peek at what I’ve been eating:

This is pretty much what I eat daily for breakfast but to cut this post down, I’ll be blogging a few times a week with updates of what I’m eating to help you on your journey as well.

My Fitness Goals

There are a few key things that I have goals for regarding my fitness:

1. Be properly proportioned physically – I’ve gained a lot of weight in unwanted areas, so I want to shave off some inches in my waist and hips so I can be properly proportioned.

2. Tone – who doesn’t want guns showing when you where sleeveless tops or powerful legs when wearing dresses and skirts. I’d love to have more muscle tone to my body structure.

3. Feel good about myself – I simply do not like what I see when looking in the mirror which makes me very self-conscious when I get dressed. I’ve always had a complex about being tall and I’m not the best at clothes coordination, but thanks to Pinterest and Instagram, I’m learning from others. And once I get this inches down in my waist, and more muscle tone in my legs, I will feel more confident when I put on clothes.

I’ll be sharing the journey along the way so stay tuned as I’ll share what I’ve accomplished week by week and what I’m doing on this fitness journey to make things happen!