What brought me to make a change for a healthier lifestyle? Well, it goes something like this, but first a NOTE: I'm not here to promote products or supplements, I'm just here to share what has worked for me and hopefully together help you find your own way to a healthier you!Blessings. I am a mother, jogger, and overall a hard worker. I've always liked working-out but was never 100% committed to making it a lifestyle. I joined several gyms over the last 18 years in efforts to try and stay in decent shape. When I worked-out, I was serious about it but it never lasted more than several months. Something always came up and I would always put working-out at the bottom of the list of things to do. I've always maintained a decent weight but I would not say I was in the best of shape. I had no definition, and endurance and strength needed lots of improvement.
In January 2008 my husband's older brother (his only sibling) was diagnosed with MDS/AML (Myelodysplastic Syndrome/Acute Myeloid Leukemia). After a hard fought battle of about 10 months including a stem cell transplant he lost the battle and was called to life with our Lord and Savior. This was a devastating blow to our family and to my husband. However, it gave us joy and we were thankful that he got to meet his nephew before his departure.
My husband and I had our first baby boy in May 2008 and he would prove to be the light for our family.
In 2009 my husband was diagnosed with MDS/AML just 6 months after the passing of his brother. After 5 months of outpatient treatment followed by 5 months of inpatient treatment, including a stem cell transplant, we lost the battle. As a result, I was left to be a single parent, working full-time, sleep deprived/an insomniac (since I was only getting 2 hrs of sleep while living out of a hospital room), I had put on weight from being completely inactive, and after a visit to my doctor's office to asses my overall health, I also found that I had high blood pressure and anxiety (something that was never a problem for me before). All of this was a result of HIGH STRESS over a long period of time, SLEEP DEPRIVATION/INSOMNIA, and INACTIVITY.
The doctor wanted to put me on medication for the high blood pressure but I rejected the suggestion and decided I would fix the problem myself. I decided then that it was time to commit myself to a lifestyle change that would include working-out, sleeping more, and eating right (something I had been doing all along).
Not really knowing where to start I decided that I wanted to do something from home because I also wanted to spend as much time as I could with my son. I felt I had missed out on so much during the time I had to leave him behind with family to care for my husband. I decided to start by jogging every day. I was eventually jogging 2 miles daily after work around the neighborhood. I dropped some of the weight I had gained and was feeling better and sleeping a little more. That seemed to get my blood pressure back into a normal range but my body was still not in “shape”. I jogged for about 7 months until I had a series of injuries (not related to jogging) over the next 2 months. I recovered and decided that I needed to do something more than just jogging but I did not want to go to a gym I still wanted to do things from home. I had always been curious about the P90X infomercial because I remember watching it so much during those late late nights of no sleep and I always thought it would not work. One day I decided to look into the BeachBody website and I started to ask people I knew who also worked-out a lot about some of the programs. It turned out that an acquaintance and a relative of mine were both using P90X and were getting results. I decided then I would invest in the program and give it a try and I am THANKFUL I did!
On Friday April 8th, 2011 I began my P90X journey.
God has a way of always providing what we need.
Follow up: http://getfitbestrong.blogspot.com/2012/05/before-and-after-year-later.html#!/2012/05/before-and-after-year-later.html
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