Healthy Living: Laura's Story

Laura writes:

Throughout my life I have always struggled with my weight. I can remember the first time I became aware of it, I was only 7 years old and I experienced bullying at school which led to low confidence and self-esteem throughout my teenage years. I did try to do something about it: I would exist on an apple a day to try and lose weight, but -- of course -- this didn’t work. I ended up binging on unhealthy food and eating in secret from my family and friends.

As I got older I tried weight loss clubs, joined gyms and tried various detox diets. Sometimes I did lose weight, but eventually I would fall back into old patterns and regain the weight, plus some more!


When I turned 26, I reached almost 15 stone (210 pounds). I knew I had to do something drastic. I was recently married and I could really see how much weight I'd gained when I looked at the photographs. I was so unhappy and didn't want to spend my life like this. I loved fashion, but never felt comfortable in my clothes and hated the way I looked. I read lots of nutrition and exercise books and decided that I would try and lose weight myself through healthy eating and physical activity. The more I read the more I realized that the best way to lose weight was to eat plenty of fresh "clean" foods and avoid processed foods.

When I realized how many chemicals and artificial ingredients had been in some of the foods I'd been eating, I was horrified! I cut back on heavily processed food (such as ready meals and Cup-a-Soups) and started to experiment with cooking more food myself, and better yet I really enjoyed it! Over the course of two years I managed to lose almost 5 stone (70 pounds).

It wasn't long after that I discovered healthy living blogs, I just couldn't get enough of them. I found them so inspiring that I decided to start my own blog to help me in maintaining my weight loss. I started to become even more experimental with my cooking after being inspired by recipes on blogs, especially the recipes on (never home)maker (Thanks, Laura!!!) . . . and I even started running!


I used to really worry that I would end up regaining the weight that I had lost just as I had so many times before, but then I realized that something had changed. My journey had no longer become about weight loss, it had become about health. A few weeks ago I made the decision to stop weighing myself all the time and to try and eat for health rather than worrying about the number on the scale. It has been wonderful!

My biggest achievement came just yesterday when I completed my first ever half marathon –- The iconic Great North Run in the UK. I entered the race after encouragement from other bloggers. I had never dreamt I would be able to run 13.1 miles. I had never been athletic at all. In fact, before this year, I couldn't even run for a bus! Completing the race was like the culmination of my healthy living journey and I couldn’t have been happier.

I'm now looking forward to where the future will take me. I've already signed up for a beginners yoga class and I'm thinking about what my next fitness challenge will be. I'm becoming more confident in my cooking skills, and I even tried baking my own bread for the first time. I'm so thankful that I discovered blogging and the healthy living bloggers community. I've learned so much, and get so much enjoyment through writing my blog, onwards and upwards to my next challenge!

Thanks for letting me share my story with you!

Laura (from Keeping Slim & Getting Stylish)

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Healthy Living: Ariel's Story

Ariel writes:

I have been reading, and loving your blog for quite some time now (thanks, Ariel!), and I am inspired every day by the adventures that you go on in and out of the kitchen. This is more of my recount of how my perspective of exercise has transformed, and how I finally stumbled upon something I love.

I've always kind of had the healthy eating thing down, thanks in large part to my parents. Growing up, my mom (who is a phenomenal cook) always encouraged my sister and me to get creative when it came to cooking. Fresh produce was a staple in our house, and we sat down to a home cooked meal together every night. By the time I was in high school, I was one of the only kids that hadn't been out to a fast food restaurant, which was just fine in my book!

My family is also very active, especially my father. When he and my mom lived in New York City, he ran from Brooklyn to Central Park regularly, and ran in the '77 and '79 marathons. My parents moved upstate to start a family; my mom took to hiking and my dad became an avid biker, and then kayaker. They introduced these activities into my life at a young age, so I've always had a love of the outdoors. When I was 16, my dad had a heart attack and was shortly thereafter diagnosed with bladder cancer -- he is doing fantastically now, and still kayaks every single day.

When this all happened, though, I was in complete shock, because he was by far the most active member of our family, and because dads are invincible! From that point on, I cut out red meat and poultry of my diet, and vowed that I would exercise more. In addition to the weekly hikes I went on, I started walking home from school everyday, and did yoga a few times a week. I never really thought about weight, since we didn’t have a scale in my house, but my clothes became looser by the week. I felt good about these changes and continued them throughout high school.

Oh look, I'm in college now! I had never really been to a gym before, and seeing as I could go to the one on campus for free, I began going more and more frequently. For the first few months, I really enjoyed using the treadmill and the elliptical. My body was getting used to the exercise and it wasn't uncommon for me to spend anywhere from 60-90 minutes on a cardio machine. Toward the end of my freshman year, the excitement I had for working out started to dwindle, and I viewed it more like a chore than anything.

Still, I woke up every morning at 7:15 to go to the gym because I was terrified that if I didn’t exercise, I would gain the Freshman 15. I was underweight, overworked, irritable, and just plain drained. On top of the pressures that I was placing on myself, as well as those from my classes, I was in a long-distance, and unhealthy, relationship. It was all too much, and something had to give.


More than one thing gave. My relationship ended, by obsession with exercise slowed, and I focused my energy on schoolwork. While this may sound ideal, I was now heading toward the other end of the spectrum! I had gained the Junior 25, was still vegetarian but was eating too many carbs, wasn’t getting enough exercise, and felt lethargic all the time. The sad part is, is that I was in that state for about 11 months because staying in a self-destructive routine is easier than putting yourself out there and making a change.

As a senior and psychology major, I knew that I wanted to go on to graduate school to become a therapist. I also knew that there was no way I could help others feel better about themselves if I didn't feel good about myself. I wanted to be happy with who I was, so I decided to do those things that made me feel good. I started going to the gym on a regular basis, but only went on the elliptical, because it was within my comfort zone. I went back to my diet of mostly fresh fruits and vegetables, with some tofu or beans and whole grains mixed in for good measure. I started to feel better about myself, but I still didn't have the confidence that I wanted.

Enter: Grad School. Most people use going away to college for the first time as a way of reinventing themselves. I, however, am not like most people. I was staying at the same school for my graduate program, but I knew that this was my time for growth. I began by upping my protein intake, which immediately helped to get rid of some of the excessive baggage I was carrying around my middle. Hello, whey powder! I was also on the go a lot, what with a job, classes, and an internship, so when I had time, I would walk around outside, or go for a bike ride (thanks to my fabulous friend Marissa who taught me how to ride a bike at age 22). I found that the less that I obsessed over food and exercise, the happier I was. The less I obsessed, the more results I also saw.

When the summer heat started, I decided to go back to the gym because it was much more comfortable than being outside. My sister recommended the book The New Rules of Lifting for Women, so for the first few weeks, I focused on weight training. I loved the book, and started to see changes from the training I was doing, but I still missed doing cardio.

You should know that I'm secretly a competitive person. I like to see what exercises people are doing and try to do them too. I also used to like to see if I could stay on the cardio machines longer than the person next to me. I know this sounds nutty, but sometimes it was the push I needed. One particular day, I saw a girl hop on the treadmill and run for 40 minutes like it was nothing. And get this: she was smiling the whole time. Why would anyone smile while they ran? Most of the people I see running outside look like they hate their lives. I needed to try this for myself.


The first mile was a struggle, and that's an understatement. I didn't think too much of it, and went about the rest of my weight training. I went to the gym the next day and instead of climbing on the elliptical, I stepped onto the treadmill. What was I doing? I wasn't a runner. Runners love to run. I only ran yesterday because Top Chef was on the TV above the treadmill. But I ran. Not too far, a little longer than I had the day before, but that's when it clicked. The type of change I wanted to see in myself wasn't one that was going to happen overnight. I was going to have to work for it, but as long as I could push myself a little bit farther each day, I would eventually get there.

Slowly but surely, I made progress. I ran a little bit longer each day, and on days that I wanted a shorter workout, I tried to increase my speed. By July, I was running 5 miles, 5-6 days a week. When I was at school, for my job and classes, I went to the gym. When I went upstate to visit my parents, I would run a 5-mile loop around the local reservoir. My energy levels had increased drastically, I was significantly more confident, I had muscle definition that I had never had before, and I was happy. I didn't think it could get any better. But oh yes, it did.

I was visiting my parents one weekend in early September and the weather was beautiful. For the first time in months, there was no humidity and the temperature was in the 60s. It was time for my 5-mile loop! I finished it in record time (41 minutes!) but the weather was too perfect for me to leave just yet. "I'll just jog half of the way around and walk the rest," I told myself. With each stride, I felt energized and enthused, and believe it or not, I ran the whole loop with a smile on my face.


Thanks to the love and support of my family, friends, and (new and improved) boyfriend, I didn't throw in the towel when things got rough. It took me a while to figure out, but I realized that my journey was ultimately about happiness. If you ask me, that's something worth fighting for. Keep your chin up and always remember to smile -- you never know who you could inspire.

Thanks for reading my story!

Ariel (from Positive Regard)

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Healthy Living: Marike's Story

Marike writes:

Greetings from Cape Town, South Africa! A place where we run up mountains, through vineyards, and along beaches were two oceans lap the shore. A place where we enter races purely for the wine tasting tables at the end!

If you asked me a year ago what I did on my weekends, I would probably have answered that I liked going to the beach in summer (not swimming -- Cape Town water is near freezing!), having cocktails on the beach, or eating at one of Cape Town’s many wonderful restaurants.

The one thing I would never have said? "Waking up before dawn to drive an hour to do a trail run in torrential rain and gale force winds."


But this is exactly what I do now!

Last year this time a friend of mine handed me a 10K training program she was using, as she was thinking of entering the annual Gun Run –- a 10K race where the starting "gun" is the Noon Gun -– a cannon usually used to signal 12 o’clock noon every day (a Capetonion tradition).

At that point, I could run about 3K on the treadmill at the gym, so I thought, "why not? It might be fun!" The day of the race came, and as I crossed the finish line in 1:10:00, I was simultaneously happier and more tired than I'd been in my life.

I was hooked. I was . . . a runner!


Over the course of the year my life changed. I started hiking -– Cape Town has such beautiful hikes, including Platteklip Gorge –- a route which is essentially vertically up the mountain, and something I never even have considered attempting before!

I started taking part in trail running -– where I discovered the delights of racing through vineyards while rain slashed my face and mud covered me up to my hips!

This month, I am in the last stages of training for my first half marathon -– the same Gun Run I took part in last year. I can't believe how scared I was of running 10K –- now I regularly run more than that in my short weekly runs!


Running has changed my life -– now I can't imagine not grabbing my shoes after a day at the office to go for quick run, or spending my Saturday morning breathing in crisp ocean air, sharing the seaside promenade with other fitness enthusiasts, as we all contemplate how lucky we are to live in one of the most beautiful cities in the world!

Thanks for reading my story!

Marike

In need of some healthy fitspiration? While you're here, you can read more great stories like Marike's -- as well as submit your own healthy living story to be featured on our site!

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Healthy Living: Jessica's Story

Jessica writes:

Ashley -- I LOVE your blog. Especially the healthy living fitspirations. What wonderful reassurance that we all battle certain demons with getting comfortable with our bodies. (Thanks, Jessica! We agree -- this series ROCKS!) It's been so refreshing to learn how different people have come to appreciate them for the wonderful tools they are. My healthy living post illustrates how I learned to accept myself as a runner -- which wasn't an easy process :-)

I've always identified runners as being tall and thin. They wear short shorts and visors. They have strange contraptions for drinking water and wear big watches. Runners breeze past me as I jog at a snail's pace.

So basically, I'm not a runner. A jogger, maybe, but not a real runner.

Am I?

Up until last November, I had never run a race longer then 4.2 miles -- Pat's Run in Tempe, AZ. For some reason, around my 26th birthday, I began having hallucinations about completing a half marathon. I call these inklings "hallucinations" because that's how unrealistic it seemed that I would ever actually pursue this. Because every time I went running, all I could think about was stopping.

Nevertheless, with the support of a close friend (a real runner, she's done marathons –- plural), we began training together for a half marathon about a year ago. We had the best of intentions, but the problem was as life got busier, training got more demanding. We both realized about halfway through training that it wasn't a good idea to attempt the race. We instead opted for a 10-mile race that was going to be held around the same time.


After the 10-miler, I was really sore and really tired. And really mad at myself for not working a little harder and going for the half. A few months later, when I got an e-mail announcing the Rock 'n' Roll Marathon in San Diego, I decided to try again.

Training for the half this time was more successful than before, I think -- in part -- because I told everyone I encountered about it. I made myself so darn accountable that even my coworkers were tracking my mileage.

In the month before the race I ran into a few challenges that almost threw me off course again (two puns, both intended). My hip started bugging me, work got painfully busy, and I caught a cold. I thought, several times, that this was not meant to be. The difference this time around, however, was that I knew better than to come this close and bail again.

The race was in June, over my birthday weekend, and I'm still amazed –- and thrilled –- that it happened. It was a struggle, no glossing over that, but what a rush to cross the finish line!

My friend stayed with me every step of the way -– bless her heart. I had some moments of serious whining and self doubt but refused not to finish.


Revelations?

1. Can’t shouldn’t be in anyone’s vocabulary.
2. Anyone can be a runner.
3. Your time doesn’t really matter, you just ran 13.1 miles.
4. A race expo for 45,000 people is completely overwhelming.
5. Medals are the new black.

I was astounded by the array of people participating in the race. The Rock 'n' Roll series is hugely popular and for good reason. There's so much going on throughout the course, and so much support, there were actually moments I forgot what I was doing. I saw people of all ages/shapes/sizes/abilities/whatnot along the course. I started to have the heartwarming epiphany that not only was I NOT going to finish last out of 45,000, but if all these people were runners, maybe I was too? Corny, I agree.

And . . . I finished. It was really hard, especially the last mile, but WOW -- what a rush to actually finish. I'm so glad I had the experience of the race, and moreso, the experience of pushing myself so far beyond my comfort zone.

Thanks for reading my story!

Jessica (check out her blog (mis)adventures)

In need of some healthy fitspiration? While you're here, you can read more great stories like Jessica's -- as well as submit your own healthy living story to be featured on our site!

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Healthy Living: Rowena's Story

Rowena writes:

Hey there, Ashley and Stephen! I've been following your bloggy -- I just stumbled across it recently, and love it. It's innovative and different in a place full of healthy living blogs, your stands out! (Thank you, Rowena!) I'm 26 years old . . . and I'd like to share my Healthy Living journey -- my fitspiration, if you will -- with you.

At age 20, I went to Cyprus where I met my fiance. I was on a girls holiday . . . he was on a lads holiday, and we spent the 2 weeks together, totally ditched our friends and had a blast. When we got home, we kept it going, despite living 350 miles apart. During the "traveling to see each other" period, the weight crept on. Once we moved in together, I think it's fair to say I piled weight on. This was my first "real" home as an adult and I was finding my love for being in the kitchen.


I was a size 18, but still my weight/size weren't bothering me. Sure, I hated pictures of myself. They bothered me at times, but never enough to do anything about it. Then we got engaged, and it all changed: I started wedding dress shopping and realised that I didn't want to be a big bride. Nor did I want to be disappointed looking back at my wedding photos. No, I wanted to be a slim, beautiful bride.

After a few months of playing at it on my own and not understanding why I wasn't losing weight, I joined a slimming class. I got off to a good start, I lost half a stone fairly quickly, and it was working well for me. Then in March last year, we had a car accident. It was a pretty bad accident, too. It saw me off work for 4 months -- badly knocked me up -- my pelvis was knocked out of line and most of my vertebrae were unaligned. I suffered huge deep tissue damage to my back, neck, upper arms and upper legs. I was in pain most of the time. I was undergoing intense physiotherapy and the doctor had me on crazy strong painkillers.

Needless to say, these pills were messing with my insides and more-or-less made weight loss come to a halt. I wasn't putting weight on, but I wasn't losing it either. I still attended class but regularly ended up in tears. I'm a member of a wedding planning website . . . and the girls in the weight loss section offered their virtual shoulders for my tears on countless occasions. The doctor told me I would always be a chronic pain sufferer and I had to adapt my lifestyle to accommodate it and accept it. Perhaps some gentle yoga to increase peace in my mind, she suggested.

This was an all-time low for me.

But I persevered with the slimming club and my physiotherapist kept on relentlessly. One year after the accident (March this year), she discharged me with a clean bill of health! I couldn’t believe it -- that doctor was wrong -- and if it hadn’t have been for the positivity of my family and friends and my online friends from the weight loss forum, I doubt I’d have battled through!

By May this year, I lost 2 stone with the slimming club. I started to read a couple of healthy living blogs and had learned a boatload about healthy living and a clean diet. I was starting to feel like the slimming club was holding me back now, their ways and views weren’t in line with what I was learning about, a basic clean diet, so I made the leap and left the class.

I started running (I’d never run before –- not even for a bus!), following the Couch-to-5K programme. I also started calorie counting and following a clean and healthy diet. I rarely drink alcohol -- and when I do its only a couple of glasses. I read more and more healthy living blogs and even decided to start one of my own: http://broadbeantorunnerbean.blogspot.com/. I completed the C25K programme, and got the full on bug for fitness. I dabbled in the 30-day shred and then decided to move onto Insanity. I’m now on week 2 . . . and I love it!

I feel like I wasted so much time (and the car crash wasted so much time for me, too) . . . and with now only 3 months till the wedding, I’m on full steam ahead. Months and months ago, I bought my wedding dress 3 sizes too small for me! To date I’ve lost 3 stone and I’m about an inch off fitting into it, my goal is in sight!

BUT and here’s the huge BUT -– this is no longer about "the dress" or "the wedding" or "the honeymoon". Sure, these things are forefront in my mind right now, and I get pretty anxious about them on a weekly basis (the girls from my weight loss forum will second that!), but I'm pleased to introduce you to ME! This is ME! This isn't just a phase, this isn't just a diet, this is ME! These choices for healthy food and for exercise are no longer difficult choices, there's no longer a battle going on inside of me. I’m at peace with myself and my choices, and 99 percent of the time, I make the right choice for my health.

And you know what? I kinda like the healthy me!


Thanks for reading my story!

Rowena (from Broad Bean to Runner Bean)

In need of some healthy fitspiration? While you're here, you can read more great stories like Rowena's -- as well as submit your own healthy living story to be featured on our site!

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Healthy Living: Samantha's Story

Samantha writes:

I've been reading your blog for a short time, maybe a month or two, but it has already inspired me. I am also finding comfort in reading the stories your post about other people. It has brought me full circle (hopefully) with something I have been struggling with for a little over a year now. So, I share with you my story because I want you to know why I'm glad you guys came into my life. (Awww, thanks! We're happy you found us!) Here it goes, with more honesty than I have shared with anyone.

Four years ago, I weighed my heaviest, about 150. I'm only 5 foot 2, so this was a lot on my little frame. It didn't bother me much. I exercised, so I was in decent physical shape. I could really kill it when it came to cardio. I enjoyed exercising. However, I didn't pay any attention to my eating habits, I thought I ate pretty healthy, and I also enjoyed an alcoholic beverage occasionally. (Okay, more than occasionally! I indulged.)

I got pregnant in September of 2006. I managed my weight well, only gaining 24 pounds. I worked out until I delivered, and I was very proud of myself. Once my daughter was old enough to eat the same things as myself, I began to change my eating habits. Mostly because I wanted her to eat healthfully. I was a stay-at-home mom, and if I didn't want Hannah (my daughter) to have chips, then I decided I should not have them while eating with her. I wanted her to eat lots of fresh fruits and veggies, so I began buying them more and introducing those as snacks. After I stopped breast-feeding, my new eating habits had become just that, habits. Without ever trying, or even wanting to, I dropped down to 115 with a body fat percentage of 17% over the span of 10 months.

Somewhere in the middle of the weight loss, my life changed dramatically. We moved, across an ocean, then halfway across the country, and into my parents home while my husband went through new job training and we found a home. My family is deep south and there is never a meal where something is not fried. With my new-found body and weight loss, I became terrified of gaining all this weight. Looking back, I see where this lead to a dangerous trend. I practically starved myself.


Then things got worse. Last August I began to gain weight, and it was unexplainable. Over the course of 3 months, I gained 30 pounds and a lot of depression. I began to binge eat. I would starve, restricting my calories to less than 1000 a day. I would over eat one or two days a week, and then have horrible food guilt from it. I would exercise for hours a day, 7 days a week. It was compulsive and if I couldn't work out I would get very cranky. I hated the way I looked. Nothing I owned fit me.

Things got so bad that by December I had covered all my mirrors with black paper so that I couldn't see my reflection. I hated myself. I was, and still am, seeing two specialists for this problem. No one is sure why it happened but I am on medication to try and tackle some of the possibilities.

The covered mirrors didn't last long. My husband put his foot down and insisted I get help. So I did. I started seeing a therapist and a personal trainer in January. My personal trainer, and now friend, was fantastic. I was completely honest with her. She did not have a weight loss goal, of fitness goal for me, but a self image goal for me. She encouraged to pack away all my clothes, so I would stop trying them on to see if they fit. She helped me feel human about the feelings I had. Things began to turn around. I started to loss weight but I still struggled with food guilt. I want to consume as few calories as possible because I wanted nothing more than to lose the weight as quickly as possible. The binge behavior stopped, but the constant thoughts about food/what I was going to eat/what I had eaten continued.


Today, I have not lost all the weight I gained, but I have dropped just over half. My muscle definition is starting to come back, which I'm very happy about. I still meet with my trainer. She still pushes me as hard as ever. She has yet to put me on a scale or take my body fat percentage. Knowing all that I know today, I think my poor eating behavior really jacked up my metabolism. Through reading your blog, and the healthy fitspirations, I began to see that my eating habits are still not what they should be. While they are much better, I still have the random bout of guilt or the over thinking how much I ate.

The good news is I see improvement. I know how to do this. I did it once, without much effort. I still have to remind myself that it's okay to give in to my cravings. Depriving myself only leads down a more destructive path. I am thinking about food, and what I eat, less and less.

So, from the bottom of my heart (and my stomach!) thank you.

Samantha

In need of some healthy fitspiration? While you're here, you can read more great stories like Samantha's -- as well as submit your own healthy living story to be featured on our site!

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Healthy Living: Nina's Story

Nina writes:
I recently found your blog and have been reading it non stop since then. I love that you decided to have a healthy living celebration week and then continued it! (Thanks, Nina! We're loving all the fitspiration, too!) Here is my story . . .

I was always a bit on a chunky side, never skinny and never fat. I ate as much as I wanted, whenever I wanted, and since I was a latch-key kid, I didn't have anybody around to stop me from sitting around and doing nothing but eating. I dabbled in working out a little bit but I never really got anywhere. My senior year of high school my (then) best friend and I signed up at the local YMCA and started going together. We also went separately, myself more so than her.


In addition to working out together, we also ditched class, smoked, and didn't eat/avoided eating as much as we could. We did a 3-day fast together to "gear up" for Thanksgiving. I ate about 5 plates of food on that Thanksgiving. I kept up these habits throughout the year and into my first semester at college. I think it is important to point out that while I had these unhealthy habits, I lost maybe 2 pounds, if that.

Then, my mother and I went on Jenny Craig to lose some weight for my brother's wedding. She is about 30 pounds lighter than I am -- she has a tiny frame. Mine is bigger, I'm built more like my father. Anyway, the program wasn't that bad . . . and during it, I lost about 12 to 15 pounds. But the second I started eating "real" food again, I gained all of it back. Weight Watchers was my next diet, and while I didn't lose much weight, it opened my eyes to portion sizes.

After I had worked in a gym for more than a year, I finally started to use it regularly. I even started working out with one of the trainers. Personal training was fabulous because my trainer kept me motivated, entertained, and super sweaty! It took a while, but my body started to change, become more athletic. It seemed like overnight, I had lost 20 pounds! Despite this fact, I still felt very uncomfortable with my body. So I started restricting what I was eating, trying to stay under 1200 calories a day, and I did that on most days (usually with the aid of Camel Lights and loads of water).

During this time, I was living away from home and had a tight budget, which only added to my lack of calories. I often ate a can or two of veggies for dinner. One day, my trainer put me on the treadmill for my warm-up. I was NOT a happy camper. I've always hated running, I walked most of the mile run in grade school and high school, always coming in near the back of the pack. I practically kicked and screamed when he made me run for 5 minutes. Then he did made me do it again. And again. And again. I stopped fighting it and eventually found myself choosing the treadmill for my cardio workout. A few weeks later, one of the members came up to me and said "It looks like you are quite the runner now, Nina!" I was very confused because I didn't think myself a runner. I mean, I liked running and I could run about 45 minutes without stopping, but no way was I a runner!


March 2009 was quite an eventful month. I was at my lowest weight ever, 153 pounds, I went on spring break with my (then) best friend Allie, I met my (current) boyfriend. And at the end of the month, I was the sickest I've ever been. Being on bed rest for 7 days was not fun. All the hard work I had put into my body had left and all those pounds came back immediately, it seemed. It took longer than it should have, but I got back into working out and back into running and the excess pounds melted off. I wasn't with my trainer anymore, so I signed up for boxing at my local LA Boxing to use as strength training. I signed up for the Soldier Field 10-miler that May, trained for it, and completed the race 2 minutes ahead of my goal time of 1:40. Currently, I'm 3 weeks away from my first half marathon and hoping to finish in 2:10.

I also recently started taking Bikram Yoga classes -- they are addictive! The first class I took was amazing. I didn't stop at all and I did all the poses pretty easily. The second class was HORRIBLE! I had to sit nearly 25% of the time, if not more, but I still loved it. I love the heat, the sweat, the everything! At one point in time, I disliked yoga, mainly because of all the audible breathing. Audible breathing makes me cringe . . .

I'm happy to report that I rarely step on the scale these days, whereas I was at one point weighing myself twice a day -- once in the morning and then again before bed. I'm seeing myself as an athlete now. One of the biggest changes of all? I stopped smoking November of last year (cold turkey!), and I eat as healthfully as I can. I'm smarter with my meal choices and my portion sizes. I avoid buying bags of potato chips and cartons of ice cream. Otherwise, I will eat them in one sitting. I really do enjoy working out and being active and feeling healthy. I'm around 157 pounds now (though, again, I haven't weighed myself in a while), but my body is so different than it was over a year ago. I am much happier with my body and I feel healthier and happier, too.

Thanks for reading my story!

Nina (from Running Nina)

PS: And I can now eat fried dough loaded with powdered sugar without feeling bad about it!

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Healthy Living: Kerri's Story

Kerri writes:

I wasn't always a "big" girl. In fact, my entire childhood, up until about age 17, I was skinny-mini. I was very active and had a fast metabolism. I could eat anything I wanted and never worry about gaining weight. It changed for me as a senior in high school, when I quit my sports and dance classes to focus on making money for college. Unfortunately, I was working at a fast food restaurant. The combination of zero activity, free fast food, and faulty hormones (which was later diagnosed as polycystic ovarian syndrome or PCOS) put me on the fast track to obesity.

I spent my twenties in an endless cycle of losing and regaining weight. Like many, I've tried all the diets -- Weight Watchers, South Beach, the "Mediterranean Diet," the Flat Belly diet, the Slim Fast and Special K diets. Been there, done that. Spoiler alert: They didn't work. Oh sure, they worked while I was on them, but, inevitably, I got bored, gave up, and stopped losing. In the meantime, my body image and self-esteem really plummeted. I felt doomed.

Fast-forward to this past spring. I don't recall what day it was exactly, but it just another day like most: I probably ate poorly, didn't exercise because I had no energy, and felt depressed at the end of the day because yup, I was still "fat." But at some point during that day, I thought about giving running a try. Maybe it was one the first warm and sunny days and I wanted to be outside . . . or maybe I was thinking about all of the races my sister (she blogs over at epicuriousrunner.com) competes in. It took another week or so before the moment came when I stopped thinking about it and decided I was going to DO it.

A friend had recently started a program called Couch-to-5K. It seemed, well, do-able. Run three times a week -- increasing your running to walking ratio over the course of nine weeks -- until you can run 30 minutes straight. So, I did it. The first week was pure misery. Hell. "I can't do this," I thought. Except I DID, and I kept doing it every single week, save for two weeks when I was recovering from knee bursitis.

Somewhere along the way, I had an epiphany and realized that getting enough sleep and eating healthy foods made me a better runner. I've always had an interest in a wide range of foods and I enjoy cooking, so adapting to a healthier menu wasn't difficult. I am eating a very low meat diet these days. I've learned to think of food as fuel and when I think about what I want to eat, I think about whether or not it will make me a better and stronger athlete. Yeah, athlete. I'm 33 . . . and I want to be an athlete. It's never too late.


On August 12th, I ran in the most popular New Hampshire road race -- the annual CIGNA/Elliot Corporate 5K. It took me 38 minutes and 41 seconds to finish. Slow? Sure. BUT I FINISHED! And I ran the whole way. I signed up for another 5K in October. I can't wait. I'm also following a Hal Higdon training schedule to increase my distance from 3 miles to 5 miles. What's next? I don't know, but I don't think longer distances (10Ks and half-marathons) are out of the question.

I still have a long way to go on my journey to health. Frankly, I have about fifty pounds to lose. I know it won't be easy and it might take me a while, but I am doing it the right way this time. No more fad diets. No more poor body image. My last thought at night is no longer, "Yup, another day of being fat." Nope. It's more along the lines of, "You kicked butt today!"

Thanks so much. (Never Home)Maker is my absolute favorite healthy living blog (THANK YOU, KERRI!) and a huge source of inspiration and motivation for me.

Kerri (from EatDrinkMoveShrink)

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Healthy Living: Jen's Story

Jen writes:

Hi, Ashley and Stephen! I recently discovered your blog through Ashley's blog (Edible Perspective) and love your content, style, and recipes!!! (THANKS, JEN! WE'RE GLAD YOU FOUND US!) As a fairly new runner, I have especially loved the running info. I look forward to your posts every day! I wanted to share my healthy living story with you, so here goes!

I am a self-proclaimed foodie. For as long as I can remember, I have loved being in the kitchen, trying new recipes, watching cooking shows, and eating. I was never sporty or athletic whatsoever, but maintained an average weight throughout my high school years by having a generally busy lifestyle. When I went off to college, the weight began to creep on with a steady cafeteria diet of chicken patties, fries, pizza, and salad (iceberg, cheese, and ranch!). I not only gained the freshman 15 in the first year, but for every year after as well. In the months following my college graduation and gaining another 10-15 pounds through indulging in my own cooking and baking, I finally decided that I had to make a change in December 2008.

At this point, my weight was around 210 pounds. My self-esteem was non-existent, I never exercised, my activity level in general was low, and I just felt terrible physically, mentally, and emotionally.


I started by making very small changes in my diet and lifestyle. I ate more fruits and vegetables, cut down my fat intake, and ate the typical diet foods. I started doing a 12 minute aerobics video everyday. Slowly, but surely, I started seeing a change in the number on the scale. I bought Wii-fit, which still labeled me as obese, so my new goal was to get my BMI in the category of overweight instead of obese. I used my Wii-fit everyday, but I realized that I needed a higher level of activity to meet my goals. Still not athletic and uncoordinated, I decided to go out on a limb and try attending a group fitness class.

I attended my first Zumba (a Latin and International rhythms fitness class) class in May 2009 and was hooked. I started attending class as many times a week as I could and it seemed like the weight started melting off. My motivation increased even more and I began to research healthy eating. I also started eating clean, whole, real foods and eliminated white sugar, white flour, artificial sweeteners, and processed foods from my diet. With the addition of Zumba and cleaning up my diet I noticed a HUGE change in my energy levels and I began to thrive! Around this time everyone else began noticing huge changes in me as well.

In the fall of 2009, still on my weight loss journey, I decided I wanted to incorporate some new exercise in my routine. I began running a little bit at a time and really enjoyed the time it gave me to just think and clear my mind. Although it was difficult, I stuck with it and remember thinking that it felt like a huge accomplishment when I could run 4 miles in a row without stopping. I also started incorporating some of Jillian Michaels' circuit training DVDs into my routine.

With this small amount of weight training, I noticed my body begin to change and tone. I felt strong for the first time in my life. In November 2009 I became a certified Zumba instructor, something I never dreamed of doing a year prior. So much for not being athletic!!!! Around this time I also discovered food/healthy living blogs which was also life-changing for me. Although I am not a blogger myself, it was so refreshing to hear other people's stories so similar to mine. The recipes, tips, and stories I have found on blogs have been invaluable to my new lifestyle.


In early 2010, a year after beginning the changes in my life, I had lost 70 pounds. However, it wasn't really what I lost that was important, it was everything I had gained. I gained self-esteem, motivation, health, a new zest for life, the belief that I can do anything, and a new wardrobe to boot:)

Today I continue to thrive with my new healthy lifestyle and feel better than ever. I eat a mainly vegetarian diet, occasionally still eating fish and eggs. I love experimenting with new foods and seasonal fruits/vegetables, whole grains, and things like tofu and tempeh (which I had never even heard of a year ago!) are now staples in my diet. In June 2010, I completed my first race ever, a 5K, finishing in 2nd place in my age group! I completed my first 10K on August 1, 2010, and am training for my first half marathon which will take place on September 12th. I still go to Zumba multiple times a week and love it as much as ever! Lastly, I am still a foodie. I am just a foodie who is much more aware of what she puts in her body. In fact, I feel like the food I eat now is the best food I have ever eaten in my life!

Thank you for reading my story!

(Before pictures are from April 2009 and After picture is from June 2010.)

Jen Liston

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Healthy Living: Maddie's Story

Maddie writes:

I'm an aspiring writer and photog over at my blog called Spidatter. It wasn't until early this past spring that I began to love talking to others about my relationship with running. Not to worry . . . this won't be a rant about the marathon I'm training for (because I'm not), nor about how much I just love love love to wake up at 5am and get a few miles in before work (because I don't).

It's a relationship that never really got off the ground, unfortunately. I'm not sure what the deal breaker was. It might have been all of those forced jog-a-thon fundraisers in Kindergarten (which I walked), or the "running of the dreaded mile" in third grade (which I also walked . . . in the snow), or perhaps it was all of those laps we did in PE in fifth grade . . . in our plaid, pleated uniform dresses. I'm the one with the white sailor blouse on under my jumper.


While the above memories all feed into my broken relationship with the track, the moment in my running history that truly highlights my athletic demise (and also doubles as an oft-repeated family anecdote) was the mile I had to run for physical fitness testing in junior high. Junior high was a nightmare in and of itself, from which I'm still debriefing. And then at the end of the day, they made you run. We had these super cute red PE shirts we had to wear with the private school's logo printed on them. And all of the girls who needed sports bras were anti-wearing them (I was in that category) . . . while the girls with nothing to cover would seemingly wear them "just for fun."

So there I am running the mile on a beat-up field full of gopher holes and puddles. Near lap four, I glance around and realize that I am one of only two people left still running. And the other girl is about to cross the finish line. And I am behind her. AND SHE IS WEARING A BACK BRACE. If that doesn't scream, "Give up already! You are not a runner!" to an already insecure 13-year-old girl, I don't what does...

My childhood eating habits also mirrored my poor grasp of exercise. I have never been more than ten or so pounds over the normal weight for my height and age (whatever normal is), but I was rarely in good shape, and my body type leans more toward the curvier side of the spectrum. Growing up, I ate decently, but definitely not intelligently. I rarely binged and learned early on what portion sizes were, by I had no idea what I was eating. My mom and younger sisters had metabolisms that allowed them to eat Cocoa Puffs for breakfast and not gain an ounce. By college I realized that I was not capable of living the same lifestyle.

Now I'm 24, and I have just begun to mend my broken bond with running and whole foods. In one month, I decided to quit my job of three years and move to a new house after three years in the old one. I also found myself surrounded by new friends who all seemed to be yogis and half-marathon trainees. I was struggling to find something I could control in this 'new life' that suddenly looked so different than it had a few months ago. To be honest, it really started as a shallow effort to fit in. I was frustrated by my lack of health and fitness knowledge (last year I had NO idea what an "out-and-back" was . . . or Stevia, for example). So I started small, knowing that jumping full force into anything new could result in a fast burn-out.

It really began with a trip to Lululemon and the purchase of this bra, the first sports bra that actually took the chest pain out of physical activity for me. I had foolishly sworn off this store previously as over-priced and over-zealous, created for the people who do yoga up to three times a day. And then I found myself all but drowning in a social circle of Lululemon believers and testimonies. So I ventured into the store -- petrified, mind you -- and bought the aforementioned sports bra. Which is solid as a rock . . . and yet bizarrely comfortable. And Lord help me if I don't get my money's worth out of a $50 sports bra and burn some major calories in the process. So now, I run. At least every other day. Not impressively fast, and not amazingly far -- but that's still running.

It's amazing what a little monetary guilt can do to your exercise routine. Sometimes looking fantastic and spending unholy amounts of $$$ on athletic attire is by far the best motivation to sweat. Whatever it takes, right?


Shortly after my fitness wardrobe update, a friend asked me to run a half marathon with her. I laughed, and then realized she wasn't laughing, and then thought, "Oh, I guess I actually have been running . . ." My friend Amanda (on the left in the picture) was super inspirational (even if she doesn't know it!) because she herself has already ran several half marathons and one full marathon as well. The whole idea was completely foreign to me. But I was graciously shown different online training schedules that laid out daily runs and work-outs to slowly (keyword here) prepare my body for a 13.1 mile run (jog?) . . .

The first time I successfully ran four miles without stopping to walk was huge for me. I remember calling my mom feeling heady with endorphins, and just about crying into my phone that I'd finished four.

There is a half in my hometown of Santa Barbara in November that I'm planning on signing up for soon. I've only gotten up to six miles so far, but knowing how big of a battle one used to be gives me hope that this goal is reachable.

Thanks for reading, and hope you are encouraged! ANYONE can become a self-made athlete.

Maddie (from Spidatter)

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Healthy Living: Jenna's Story

Jenna writes:

I've been reading everyone's healthy living stories and wanted to share my own. I read your blog every day (Thanks, Jenna!), and lots of the posts are inspirational. I'm hoping to provide a little inspiration too!

Throughout high school, I was very active. Cheer, dance, and cross country took over my life. I had zero time. I was skinny and felt amazing. After high school passed and college started, so did my problem with weight. Since I was no longer participating in sports (I had to quit my cheer career due to injury), I started gaining weight like crazy. I'm not talking a hundred pounds, I'm just talking about that extra weight that everyone tends to carry around. I definitely was part of that "freshmen 15" category. I'm only 5 feet tall, and anyone who is short knows what a change 15 pounds can make.

Fast forward a bit: I got married, then gained 15 more, and it's at this point where my story truly begins.

After getting married I "let myself go," in a sense. I stopped running completely, got a second job to pay for school, and stopped doing the things I loved. One day, my husband found a Collie/Lab mix on Craigslist. We were about to buy a house, so we eagerly went to get her because we knew we'd have space. She was the runt, but being a Lab mix, had tons of energy. Everything changed when we got our dog. I started walking her (Zoey) every day to get rid of that energy she had balled up. All that walking helped her a lot . . . and guess what!

I even lost some weight!


Walking Zoey made me feel good. I was toning up, and she was getting tired. As she grew, so did our routine. We now run instead of walk, and I'm at a comfortable weight (not my high school weight -- that would be impossible -- but I'm healthy and eat much more healthfully too!). I thought I'd get sick of running her every day, but it turns out that we need each other. She needs to get out and go, and I need to take a moment for myself.

Since I started running again, my whole world has changed. I have more energy, my marriage is better than ever, and my dogs (we have a Great Dane as well, who gets walked right after Z's runs) are healthy as can be. For a while I forgot about the power of exercise, but when you have a dog that waits for you at the door for that nightly walk or run, it's impossible to forget.

For a while I felt discouraged, like I'd never be able to feel healthy again without cheering or dancing (which is a thing of the past) and the moment I started running again I felt myself come back to life. I'm happier overall, and that's what counts. It's not your weight or how far you can go that matters, it's how you feel.

Thanks for reading my story!

Jenna Scott (from Running Wild)

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Healthy Living: Alysa's Story

Alysa writes:

Hi Ashley!!! It's alysamarsiella over from Twitter, plus I have a blog over at girlvfood.blogspot.com. I think this is so cool what you're doing with the Healthy Living Stories. I love reading about other people's transformations and switches to healthier lifestyles!

Here's my story: I was always a bigger kid. Not chubby or fat, just bigger. I have a small skeleton, but at the same time, I'm broad and flat. So, in my childhood years, I always looked "solid." My diet as a child was the SAD (Standard American Diet): white bread, meatloaf, hamburgers, french fries, and an abundance of pasta from my fiercely devoted Italian family. You try turning down my grandmother's homemade baked ziti with vodka sauce! You're made of stronger stuff than I am if you can!!!

Because I was an active kid, I never got "fat," although because I was always a little bigger than the other kids in my classes, I would definitely get teased for my figure. I first thought I was fat in third grade, when a classmate told me my mom was probably scared to let me sit on her lap because I'd "smash" her. Kids are so nice, eh?

I had great exercise stamina from my years as a dancer and a three-sport athlete, but once I started college and quit sports, I just ate to eat. I was bored and constantly felt like I had my back against a wall. Nothing I did, it seemed, was good enough. My mom tried to get me in shape, but it wasn't until December of 2004 when I started thinking "Maybe I have a problem with overeating." At the time, I was 5'4" and weighed in at approximately 196 pounds, and a very, VERY tight size 16. I had stretch marks that scared me with their violent red color, my back was constantly hurting (my weight was all gained in my stomach area), and I felt lonely and listless. I even dyed my hair black in a goth phase because I didn't want to be seen. In the spring of 2005 I stepped onto the scale and what I saw shocked me. I had pushed over the dreaded 200 pound mark. I weighed in at 202 pounds. I was devastated.

Over the course of a year (from August 2005 to August 2006) I lost close to 50 pounds. I plateaued out at 155 for about two years, but that was because I kept sabotaging myself with unhealthy binge eating and falling victim to enabling "friends" who wanted to wreck my progress. Once I began to get rid of those impulses to overeat, the rest of the weight melted off. I now weigh around 135 pounds (I don't really know for sure because I don't weigh myself regularly anymore.)

However, in my fear to keep the rest of the weight off and maintain my 70 pound weight loss, I thought I needed to work even harder. I ended up starving myself and overexercising. Then I counted every single calorie, which just drove me crazy (I was measuring out my ketchup, for goodness sake!). Then, I developed lactose intolerance and IBS, so now there are times where I'll be starving, but I honestly can't eat a thing because I'll be sick.

As you can see, I didn't exactly lose my weight the healthy way. I did a lot of kickboxing, didn't really eat properly, and punished my body for its so-called "failings." But now, I can honestly say that I am living to be healthy, not skinny. I credit, oddly, my IBS for this. When you're swollen and in pain, vanity goes out the window. You have to take care of yourself. You only get one body.


Which brings me to my favorite two forms of working out/staying healthy now: Running, and yoga.

I was never a runner. Ever. I'd run for five minutes and get winded. I can go on the elliptical for two hours -- trust me, I have proof -- and not even be bothered. But if you told me a year ago I'd be running 5 miles, three times a week, I would have told you you were out of your mind! But with the encouragement of my father's personal trainer (who told me anyone can run if they really, really want to run), I started off slow. Actually, that's a bald-faced lie. I started with 3 miles, a couple times a week. My cardio background helped TREMENDOUSLY. I upgraded to 4 miles a little while after that, and now I can go for 5 miles outside without feeling like I'm exhausted at the end. It's been a little hard because this summer has been so hot, but I actually think that's going to help me in the long run.

Running keeps me sane. When I feel stressed, or overworked, or feeling like I want to engage in unhealthy habits, I run. Back in the day when I used to work out I did it for one reason only: to burn calories. It didn't matter how tired I was, I worked out to burn calories and that was it. When I run outside, I don't time my splits, or check calories burned. I run because it keeps my digestive system in check, and it feels like I'm flying. When I run, I feel like I can take on the entire world, and like I'm a superwoman.

And yoga? I had done yoga for almost a year with my best friend (who is a big-time yogini), but had to quit due to it becoming too expensive. In April, I started working at the yoga studio which pays me in free yoga. Yoga calms me in a way nothing else does. When I started doing it again, it was like reuniting with a longlost friend. My panic attacks vanished. My back problems diminished. My posture improved. My arms and legs have never been stronger. And my mind is so much clearer and my self-esteem skyrocketed. In yoga, everyone can feel like they are powerful. I rarely get addicted to one mode of exercise, but if I had to do only two forms of working out for the rest of my life, it'd be running and yoga.

As for food, I stick to a mostly vegetarian, almost-vegan diet. I say "almost" because I do not say no to steak every once and a while, and I love grilled chicken, Greek yogurt, and ice cream far too much to completely give them up. However, my diet is mostly comprised of fresh fruit, vegetables, whole grains, nut butters(!!!), beans/legumes, and meat substitutes such as tempeh, tofu, and seitan. I eat what I want, when I want, how I want it. And sometimes I splurge, but I know it's smart. Over the last few months I've been diagnosed with a myriad of stomach problems which are leading me to consider a mostly raw diet. I can't wait to see what changes it will make in my energy levels and my digestion! I also love taking unhealthy recipes and putting my own spin on them to make them healthy, such as baked rutabaga fries, one-serving veggie dairy-free pizzas, and organic tofu stir-fries. I really love the process of cooking for myself.

The best feeling, though, is knowing I'm not a project anymore that needs to be continually improved. I am perfect, just the way I am. And for the first time in my near 25 years on this planet, I believe that I am beautiful.

Thanks for reading!

Alysa (from Girl vs. Food)

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How I Fell in Love with Running, Part I

Where were we? Well, last time -- I told you all about how I viewed health as a child. I ended that story with my discovery of yoga. If you missed out, you can go read that now. But today, I want to share how I started running.

Seriously. It wasn't always this easy for me. Far from it, in fact . . .


I contracted a horrible mystery illness after my freshman year of college. I was living in Ithaca, NY, at the time -- away from home for the summer -- and one day, my throat swelled up. I could hardly swallow soy ice cream, it was that bad. Excruciating waves of pain radiated from my pocked (yes -- ew!) tonsils. I also had a high fever, though I didn't know it yet. But I was young, and I didn't really think to go to the doctor.

So, I did what I knew to do best: I drove to Wegmans.

After standing in the medicine aisles for a while, I noticed my thinking wasn't exactly clear. No, I was dizzy and basically out of it. So, I left the store with some Tylenol and a thermometer, then got in my car to go home. I turned the key. Nothing. I turned the key again. Nothing. I thought maybe in all my out-of-it-ness, I wasn't doing something right. However, after the third attempt to start my car failed, I called my parents -- crying like a baby. Thankfully, they lived only two hours away and told me they'd be right up to help! (Thanks, mom and dad!)

I spent the next two hours sitting in the food court at Wegmans. I had taken my temperature, which was over 102 at that point. Yikes. When my parents arrived, they saw how sick I was and took me to the nearest urgent care center.

What followed was a period of about two and a half weeks where I visited two doctors, had two frantic trips to the ER (I thought my throat was going to close!), have countless viles of blood taken from my body, and eventually had to come home to stay in bed. I stayed in bed for two whole weeks. I was too weak to shower. No one knew what was wrong or why my fever stayed so high, but they blamed it on some wicked, unnamed virus that was similar, but not mononucleosis.

TMI? Maybe. However, this event was my health wake-up call. I hadn't been taking care of myself. I hadn't been eating right. I'd been drinking too much. Not sleeping enough. I rarely exercised. Those two weeks -- spent in a codeine haze, mind you -- gave me a lot of time to think about myself. My health. Toward the end, I couldn't stand it. All that pent-up energy. When my fever finally receded and my tonsils returned to their normal size, the first thing I did was go running.

This is me during this sickness thing. It was one of the few times I got out of bed.


Back to the running. I didn't have proper sneakers. I wore a baggy cotton shirt and mesh shorts I'd worn since 7th grade gym class. I didn't wear socks. But that afternoon, I walked down the stairs of my apartment building with a mission: EXERCISE. Move. Breathe. Feel ALIVE.

Two minutes later, I was panting like crazy. I hardly made it down the street before I felt like I was going to die. But I kept going -- taking walk breaks when I needed them. I did this until I was half a mile from my apartment. Then I turned around and kept going. It was hot. I felt like crap. But I needed to move my legs.


This is my first running route, a 1 mile out-and-back. It's what I ran every day (well, for the most part) for several weeks until I got more used to running.


After that, I decided to challenge myself by adding another mile to this route. Again, I did the walk-run thing if I got tired. It was difficult. OK. I'll be honest here: There were times I would swear under my breath because I hated how awful it felt. But I knew in my heart that running was good for me. I secretly enjoyed it, too. However, that feeling only came after I would finish a workout.

At some point when I was running this 2-mile route, actually -- on my 19th birthday -- I bought my first pair of running shoes. They were a much-cushioned Adidas trail sneaker. I thought they looked cute.


After several weeks of doing this 2-mile route, I increased my distance to three miles. A loop instead of an out-and-back. I kept at this distance for the rest of the summer. My hunger increased -- I started seeing food as fuel. In turn, my eating changed. I felt strong and resilient. I didn't keep track of my pace back then, but I was much slower than I am today. It didn't matter, though: I had forged my identity as a runner. I printed off a 5K plan in late August.

But the universe had other plans.

I was back in the ER after I badly twisted my knee -- I didn't do this running. Nope. Clumsy me twisted it while packing to move to my new apartment. The doctor told me I had nearly torn a ligament and that the only recipe for pain relief was rest and ice. I can't even begin to explain how discouraged this made me feel. I was a runner, I told the doctor. I couldn't take time off. I was finally able to run three miles consistently!


I listened to his advice, though. I knew I had to or I might never run again. Plus, the pain. Ouch. So, I moved. I started the fall semester of my sophomore year. And on September 11, 2002, I went for my first post-injury run. I remember it was September 11th because there was a memorial at the local high school that I ran by. I ran in the dark because I didn't want anyone to see me struggle. I had pain, yes. But I was OK enough to run my three miles. My ability to retain my fitness shocked me. I wasn't quite as comfortable, but I wasn't completely out of breath either!

On that run, I fell in love. I felt confident, strong, and fit. I felt HAPPY for my new relationship with food and my body (it didn't used to be so good, as you'll remember) . . . and I was far from the weak, bed-ridden teen that I had been earlier in the summer. I was also far from that girl who hated running The Mile in gym class.


That's part I. Part II is coming soon! In the meantime, are you in need of some healthy fitspiration? While you're here, you can read more great stories -- as well as submit your own healthy living story to be featured on our site!

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