I would like to introduce you to Andi! Her story is worth reading! It is incredible and if you are struggling with any health issues, we hope you can find some inspiration from her story!……. This picture was taken of me with my dad in 2005, when I was about 275 lbs. Im not sure if this was my highest weight ever, I refused to step on a scale for nearly a year. I was diagnosed with diabetes, and crash dieted down to 240, but the medications I was taking had terrible effects. I had chronic nausea, and I started having pain in my legs and hips. Extreme pain. I started losing strength, where Id always been strong. I couldnt open jars any more. Id cry out in my sleep from the pain. It was terrible and I wanted to die. I didnt realize that the medication I was taking to make me healthier was slowly killing me until 2010. Once we knew, I stopped taking the medication and my diabetes got even worse. In October 2012, I ended up in the hospital for emergency surgery and my blood sugar was sky high. They put me on insulin and I was as freaked out about my health as Id ever been. I didnt want to be on insulin, so I made that into a long term goal. I started writing down what I ate, counting carbs. I met with a nutritionist that specialized in diabetes. Then I started walking, every day. A friend invited me to do a 5k Color Run with her, and I was so embarrassed. I was an athlete once, in high school. I felt like a failure in life, but I was already doing more than I had for years and my (fabulous) support system was challenging me to do more, to see how far I could go. I started taking Shred at the Star Center, walking, jogging.... And I started losing weight. As I lost weight, I found more things I could do. I started jogging with a couch to 5k app. I started lifting weights and swimming. A great group of ladies from the gym invited me to start running trails with them. I was so nervous. These are runners!, I thought, theres no way I could keep up. But they stuck by me at my pace and helped me to become a runner. They encouraged me to try new things. Obstacle courses. Triathlon. They inspired me, daily, but mostly they believed in me and helped me believe in myself. Since 2012, Ive lost 60 lbs (93 from my highest recorded). Ive done 23 races, including numerous 5k, 5 obstacle course races, a 10k, a 12k, 3 triathlons, and a half marathon. My normal week of training is 10-12 hours of swimming, biking, running, lifting, and BeliRaq. Im at the lowest weight Ive been since I was 14, but more importantly I succeeded in getting off insulin. My diabetes is now controlled through diet and exercise.. I worry sometimes when Im at the starting line that I wont finish a race, or that Ill be last. But the woman in the picture never would have tried, and I know Ive won no matter what the race results are.
Posted on: Fri, 03 Oct 2014 22:04:46 +0000
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