I had always wished for the "skinny gene!" I have been working out since I was 14. I had hips at age 12 and always looked at my friends wishing that being skinny would come easily. I did not see other girls my age have my body type. In high school, I started to run and found that if I ran 3 miles a day, 3-4 days a week, I was satisfied with how I looked. I did this 3 mile run for a while; never went further than 3 miles, I just did what I had to do. I was very inconsistent. I knew what I was supposed to do to lose weight, but struggled to stay focused and devoted to a healthy lifestyle. I was still jealous of the girls with the "skinny gene." I joined a couple of big name gyms and continued to be that elliptical, treadmill, weight machines robot.
Then I became a Mom. I continued to have fluctuating weight in between having my two daughters. I was never comfortable with my body at this time. I had many excuses not to take time for myself. I am a working mom and thought that the time that I was not at work needed to be spent with my daughter. I found it very difficult to leave my house and my baby to work out. I bought a treadmill, like so many do, so I could work out at home and be close to her. It worked, when I went on it. The struggle continued because ultimately I was not committed to it. I continued the yoyo dieting and lackluster exercising for the next several years.
After having my second child, I now had the family I had always dreamed of, but I wanted to change the way my life was going. My husband, Tim, had been going to 212 for about 6 months when I had my second daughter. I had noticed a difference in him, but to be honest with you, I had no interest. The first part of my life that I wanted to change was my relationship with my husband. We had very little interests in common, and I wanted to have a common hobby with him. If you know my husband, I wasn't going to start getting tattoos, or get into jujitsu. I am not into comic books or video games. he wasn't into the Real Housewives, so I took up the challenge and started 212 for the 5 week introduction.
I have never been afraid of new challenges. I just had no idea how much fun this one would be. I became addicted to the challenge, to the weights and the way my body was transforming. My husband was instrumental in my ability to have success. He became just as committed to my success as I was. We also had something to talk about and share our triumphs and our progress at 212. In the beginning, I would make him laugh by calling the Turkish Get Up a Russian Sweep of the Leg. He is like another trainer, giving me teh confidence to push myself. He has been amazingly supportive and will give me the nudge I need if I am looking to him for an excuse to slack off a bit. We now not only have the way we workout in common, but we have been very lucky to find great people that we have become friends with at 212.
This was not the only part of my life that I wanted to change, I also wanted to change the way I felt about myself and the insecurities I had with my body. 212 has transformed my body and my mind. I no longer look at the time that I go to the gym as time I should feel guilty for because I am not spending it with my girls. I look at that hour as a time to be a role model for my two girls. I want them to see their Mom as a strong woman who knows that taking care of her health is very important. I don't want them to be jealous if they are not graced with the "skinny gene" as their Mom was not. I want them to know that by having their Mom and Dad's genes, they for sure, without a doubt, have been blessed with the "strong gene." I know longer worry about if people are looking at my hips and thighs, because I know they are staring at my guns. (Mostly because my husband keeps pointing them out.)
The most wonderful compliment that my husband has given me in the year that I have been going to 212 is when he told me I looked like a Super Hero. I know, because of the trainers at 212 and my commitment to myself, have one thing that I never had, and that is confidence!
