My Story...

My Journey......

I was feeling very inspired today after reading a blog about a weight loss journey a coworker sent to me.   I say journey because it's not over yet.  Losing weight doesn't happen over night and it you can't ever stop working on it.  Well you can work on not losing anymore, but you still need to maintain what you have lost.  The real way to be successful is by changing your lifestyle. 

Here we go...

Summer 2006

As a young child I was told by the doctor at every appointment that I needed to lose weight because I was "overweight"  what does that even mean?  The number on the scale? (Shaking my head).  When I was around 9 I was sent to a nutritionist so I could lose weight. *side note - at this point in my life I was playing outside all the time, swimming year round, and playing softball*  The first thing the nutritionist did was take my body fat index.  I had something like 12% body fat.  (it was around that number - my mom would remember) She told me that I did not need to lose weight and that I should watch what I eat and continue to exercise.

Winter 2008

In middle school I was very self conscious about my body.  I wasn't the skinniest girl in the bunch and in middle school everyone is self conscious.  I couldn't shop at the stores that all the "popular" girls were getting clothes.  I decided to try weight watchers and had little success.  Most likely to do with my love for chips, chocolate, and mashed potatoes. I was still playing tons of sports and was very active. 

High school I had the same perception of my body.  Just not super happy about, but when you are 5'2 and have an arched back so your stomach sticks out and your butt sticks out what are you going to do?  I played field hockey, ran track, played softball year round, and even played ice hockey for a bit. When I was 16 I started working out at the YMCA on top of my sports (mainly in the winter - slow time for me when I stopped indoor track).  That's when I really started noticing results.  I loved it.  I felt good about myself. I went from a size 8 pants to a size 6 - which is shocking because my legs are so muscular I have no idea how I got them over my thighs let alone my huge calf's. 

Fall 2007

College was a wild ride. I'm sure we all had our ups and downs, literally scale going up, scale going down in college!! The scale definitely went up freshman year.  I was barely working out, eating college food, drinking, and stressed.  My sophomore year I joined an off campus gym and started running a ton and working out.  I lost a lot of weight between my sophomore year and junior year! I felt great and looked great!! Then I turned 21 and it all went down hill.  I was drinking more, never working out, and eating horrible food.  I really packed the pounds on and after graduation I didn't want to start working out or changing my habits. 

Thanksgiving 2010

It took me from 2009-2013 to get myself together.  I always had an excuse. I was waitressing for a year and I started working out, but I hurt my knee doing an exercise and went to the doctors.  I then found out I don't have that much cartilage in my knee.  I used that as an excuse.  I went  back to college for my history degree and secondary education certificate.  I was also working a part time office job and told myself I just didn't have time to work out. My other excuses consisted of: oh sure, I'll go to lunch with you! or Yeah, I can go to happy hour!  I'm just too tired from work to workout. 

October 2013

Finally, I started running.  In the fall of 2012 I ran my first 5k!! I finished in roughly 32 minutes.  It was a struggle and my legs were hurting.  Then in April of 2013 I ran my first 10k in 1 hr and 1 min!!  I felt so much better after this run.  At the end of 2012 I weighed my heaviest at about 184 lbs. Hard to admit.  From my 5k to my 10k I was running at least 3 times a week if not more.  I lost about 20 lbs during that time.  I was also stressed and not eating as much.  Which was probably not the healthiest thing for me, but I did force myself to eat during the days.  It was just a considerably smaller amount than I had been eating.  Instead of wings I would get a salad.  Which is a huge step! In the spring of 2013 I hurt my hip playing softball, but refused to acknowledge it.  I continued playing all the sports and running.  I ran my first half marathon Oct 2013 and finished in 2hr and 27 min!! I later found out that the injury was a torn labrum in my hip.  I had to do months of PT.  I wasn't able to run and I knew that something needed to change. 

June 2013

March 2013

I've never been the type of person to do a diet like Jenny Craig, Atkins diet, or a diet where you eat special food.  What happens when you stop eating that food?  What are you supposed to make yourself?  How much are you supposed to eat?  I'm just going to gain all the weight back!  These programs just weren't for me.  They seemed like a quick fix to a problem that would just come back when the programs were over.  That's when I learned about the 21 Day Fix!  It's the first program that really caught my attention.  It combined eating the right portions with workouts!  This program really opened up my eyes to all the things I was eating.  It's amazing the way it changes your relationship with food.  I got a container for all of my food and I used that to measure out what I could eat! It was simple.  I could eat normal food!  It really set me up to be successful.  I used this program for about 4 months and I still follow the nutrition plan.  I have been doing the T25 workouts for a few months now because I needed some variety.  I love working out everyday and eating healthy meals.  It just makes me feel 10 times better!

July 2013

Shakeology has been great.  I NEVER ate breakfast before the 21 Day Fix.  I just did NOT have the time for it.  By that I mean I couldn't pull myself out of bed 10 minutes earlier. Now i make a simple shake on my way out the door and have my healthiest meal on my drive to work!! This shake has really helped me with my energy and cravings.  It's crazy the way it helps with cravings.  I never thought anything would help that!!! 

I'm not finished in the journey of mine.  I am now at 161 lbs and still wanting to tone up and lose a few more lbs!  I want to get back to my healthy weight, but I know it takes time.  I'm willing to put in the time because this has become a lifestyle.  Sure I have my bad days where I want to eat wings, mac n cheese, french fries, chips, and pizza.  But everything is done in moderation.  I wont let one bad day set me back from all the good ones!  After having success before and letting myself go I'm dedicated to not letting myself go back to the self conscious, unhappy, unmotivated, lazy Ashley.

If there's a will there's a way!

If you want more information about any Beachbody programs or if I can help you on your journey please email me at ashleyfrancisfitness@gmail.com or check out my website www.beachbodycoach.com/chuckles3515