Welcome to Fit Friends!

Over the course of the last 3 years, I have lost a significant amount of weight. 95 pounds to be exact. It was definitely a journey. Through my journey, I have had a multitude of people ask me how I did it. And as much as I would love to give them a really easy, simple solution... I can't. You have to WANT it. You have to bust your butt and DO it. You have to make a commitment to lose the weight and get healthy. Just as much as marriage is a commitment, so is weight loss. It takes a DAILY commitment. You have to get up each day, and put just as much effort into today as you did yesterday. You have to make better food choices. You have to carefully think about each and everything you put in your mouth. If you truly want this bad enough, you WILL make it happen. But just as  the smoker trying to quit smoking cigarettes... you have to BE READY. Only YOU can change yourself. You won't change until you are ready and have committed your every move to it. You can definitely start this process with small steps. You can start by eliminating one bad habit from your diet each week. You can go cold turkey also, and change it all at one time and learn to live with it! We are all unique individuals and we all have different needs. I started this group to help each other along the way. Because we are all different, I feel like we should all be able to chose our own diet/eating plans and exercise routine. No one way is better than the other. It will be about what works best for you. The most important thing to remember is YOU ARE IMPORTANT! You have to realize that your families count on you and your health! They need you! So make yourself a priority and MAKE A CHANGE!

My Journey:
By the time we decided to have baby #4 (our last little bundle of joy), I weighed 235 lbs. With each pregnancy, I would lose some weight after the baby was born and then gain twice that back. During my pregnancy with baby #4, I had a condition called Hyperemesis. This condition caused me lose a LOT of weight during my pregnancy. I started the pregnancy out at 225( I lost 10 pounds on WW before getting pregnant), and delivered at 198 pounds. After giving birth I was down to 185 pounds. I was determined this time to finish losing the weight! I suffered from anxiety attacks for years as well, and I was also determined to never take another anti-depressant pill again! With consistent exercise (running is my drug of choice) and calorie counting, I successfully lost the rest of my weight- 45 pounds. With my new lifestyle, I turn to running when I am stressed. I eat clean, the way God intended it. I avoid as many processed foods as possible and food is no longer the center of my life. For years, I lived by where I was going to eat, what event I could plan around food, and when the next meal was. Food has NO importance in my life now. I simply eat what my body needs to work properly. Food doesn't run my life anymore! Food should NOT be that important. It should not make you happy, or sad, or excited. Food is for nourishment only. Don't get me wrong, I do enjoy a DQ Blizzard every now and then, but it's not something I look forward too, or need every week. I just want other people to experience the freedom I feel from no longer being addicted to food. And to experience the relief from stress and anxiety that exercise will bring you!  This group, Fit Friends, is about bringing on the freedom from weight, from stress and anxiety, and from food. It's about a group of people coming together and sharing with each other. I look forward to this journey with you!

Here are links to other weight loss posts I have made on my personal blog:

http://thehawkinsfamilyblog.blogspot.com/2012/09/weight-loss-journey.html

http://thehawkinsfamilyblog.blogspot.com/2013/02/weight-loss.html

http://thehawkinsfamilyblog.blogspot.com/2013/05/running-my-1-year-anniversary.html

Join Fit Friends here:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/fitfriendsforlife/