One Year Later

Today marks the one year anniversary from when I started on my journey toward better health. This is going to be one of those long winded posts, so ya know, bear with me. :)

Last year, I was in a desperate place. And through a series of unexpected events, I decided to take a risk. To try a program I had previously turned down my nose on. Truth be told - I was scared. I had a lot of... pessimistic thoughts. I was hopeful, but scared to allow myself to actually be hopeful. Does that make sense? I thought...

Here we go again.

Here is another thing for me to fail at.

Here is another thing for me to waste my time and our money on.

Here is another thing that will work for others, but not for me.

But... I had good reasons to fight through those thoughts to find the hope. And ultimately, it's those reasons that gave me the courage to have success. Because that's the true rub of it - sometimes success is plain scary. At least it is for me.

I lost 61lbs in around 9 months. When you add to that, that I have PCOS (Poly Cystic Ovarian Syndrome. A syndrome that makes it extremely difficult to lose weight!!!), it was a miracle. But it wasn't just about the weight, it's all the other things that I started to gain.

• I started to have confidence again. 
• I started to like who I was again. Not because I weighed less, but because I had started to take care of myself and to care about myself again. 
• I started to be a more loving wife and mother. 
• I fit in my clothes again, and to felt like I looked good in them. 
• I had energy again!!!!
• I started to get regular visits from Aunt Flow. Which - was a VERY big deal!!! Pretty hard to get pregnant without her coming around. 
• I started wanting to worry less about myself, and look more for opportunities to help others!  
• There are so many more, I could go on... 

Many of you know the struggle we had in bringing our sweet Emma into our family. We waited 6.5 years for her, she was worth the wait!! We knew because of our struggles, that we wouldn't wait long to start trying again. Well, she turned four this May, and still no siblings. But as all this other stuff unfolded, we knew - we could see God's hand in it. It wouldn't be long. Aug 31st, just before bed, I began to feel nauseous. Because of our almost comical experience with Emma (read here for that one), we both knew. Even before the test.

So here we are, one year later. Our life permanently altered, forever. That may seem a little dramatic - but that's me. :) For me, being able to bring another child into our family is the biggest blessing of all. The second, is the opportunity I now have as a Health Coach, to turn around and share this program with others. Watching my clients as their story unfolds. It has been one of my greatest pleasures to be a part of their lives and journey.

At the end of the day, I know. I know what it can do. I know how it can heal. And in some cases, I know how it can save. Because that's what it did for me. I'll be forever grateful.

~ Sam