Hi, I’m Amanda
Why I Started This Site
On December 31, 2010, I decided that I wanted to lose weight. 70lbs to be exact. It was a New Year’s Resolution and a lofty one at that. I was almost 221 pounds and a size 18 then. You can read my very first post here: The Start – Day 1
I started this website as a means to chronicle my journey and hold myself accountable. I figured, if I made it public that I wanted to lose weight my friends and family would help hold my feet to the fire and there’d be less chance of failure.
My goal was to get from 220lbs to 150lbs, not because that’s my ideal weight (which I think is around 135), but because that’s the weight that I feel most comfortable at.
Here’s a before and after shot of my 35ish pound weight loss. I accomplished this by eating no carbs and then slowly adding in some half marathon training. (I had never run farther than a 5K) I cut out sugar, flour, caffeine, fruit, rice, pasta and sweets of any kind and I loaded up on meat, cheese, veggies and nuts. It was pretty miserable at the start, until I saw the weight drop off rapidly! 20lbs in the first 20 days with no exercise at all. After I plateaued, I started running. My lowest weight was 187 and I was a size 13. I kept all the weight off… until February 2012.
My Story
In my early years I never had an issue with weight. All through high school and my college years I weighed about 145. In 1998 at the age of 22 I became pregnant with my beautiful daughter. By the time I went in for my last prenatal visit in early 1999, before I delivered her, I weighed in at 200.5lbs! I had gained 55.5lbs. This was my largest weight gain ever and after I had my daughter I had no idea what to do to lose the weight. I had never had to drop pounds before. Time went by and I blamed my pregnancy on my new, heaver, body. I used the pregnancy as an excuse. You know what they say about excuses….nobody believes them but you.
Nearly 12 years later I weighed in at 220 pounds…20lbs heaver than I was at 9 months pregnant and almost 30lbs heaver than my husband. It was time to do something about it!
My daughter….my salvation!
Fast forward to March 2013. 17lbs have crept back on to my 5’6″ frame. Back up to 204lbs. It’s not 220lbs but its not 150lbs either. That’s where I want to be. I’m not a tree…I can move!
Since I’m not real good at following rules and I’ve always had a problem with authority, I’m going to lose the weight MY WAY. No diet supplements, no crazy workout schedule, and definitely no starving. Just clean eating and moderate exercise. I’m going for a lifestyle change this time instead of a “diet”. The plan is to eat clean and exercise five days a week with two rest/cheat days. I’m a foodie and craft beer lover so I have to have at least two days to indulge. I’ll be blogging my progress and meals here on the site in the hopes of inspiring you!
10 Random Facts About Me
1. I love Disney! As you might have gathered from the pictures above. I’m a card carrying member of the Disneyphile Club. I especially love runDisney. You can find me blogging over on my other site DisneyEveryDay.com
2. I’m married to my best friend Travis. He’s not into Disney, running or dieting but I still think he’s the bee’s knees.
3. I have another child a cat named Buddy. But we all call him Bootrows. Some people call him Photobomber since he makes so many appearances on my personal social media channels: Instagram, twitter and facebook.
4. I heart cheese plates.
5. I live in Central Florida…hence my addiction to Walt Disney World.
6. I’m deathly afraid of balloons and rubber bands.
7. I’d rather drink craft beer than water.
8. I love me some country music.
9. I don’t watch the news…ever.
10. I’ve completed 8 half marathons (7 of them Disney) and failed at completing my first full marathon. You can read about that here: Celebrating 21 Miles – My Story of Struggle and Enlightment in the 2013 Walt Disney World Marathon. I said I would never attempt another full again…but between you and me, we both know that’s not true. I’m pretty much a hardware whore and want as many medals as I can earn.
