How Did I Get Here?

How did I get here? That's a good question. It happened overnight, yet in reality, it was over the course of many years. What's the "it" I'm referring to? Being overweight. It's hard to even type that word. Well, let me explain... I started playing soccer when I was 5 years old. My two older sisters did, and I wanted to be like them, so naturally I started as soon as I could. By age 9, I was playing competitive, travel soccer. I made my first traveling/club team. For the next 11 years, this was my life. I played travel soccer, olympic development soccer, varsity soccer all 4 years of high school, and two years in college. Because I played at a high level for so many years, I had to train. Constantly. I didn't have a choice. If I even took a few days off, I felt it. I'd fall behind. So, running was never done out of leisure. Never for "fun". It was always something I HAD TO DO. If we had a horrible game, we would run more at practice. If we played bad, we were told the dreaded words that any soccer player hates to hear....just bring your running shoes to practice. Great. I kind of envived people who could go to the gym and just do whatever they wanted. I had to run. It was something you did more of when you were in trouble with your coach. Never for fun. When I would hear about or see people running "just for fun", I would wonder what was wrong with them! "So, you like, CHOOSE to go out and do this to yourself?" Weirdo. It was a mystery to me. In my world, running was never done for fun. So how did I gain the weight? Let me explain... After my soccer career ended, I was so burnt out. I had been playing the sport for 17 years and I was just DONE. My last and final year playing was in my hometown in California at the local community college. It was an awful experience. For many reasons. I didn't even finish the season. It was such a toxic environment that I quit 3/4 of the way through the season. That's when I started gaining weight. I had played soccer for so long and trained so much, that I could eat however I wanted, whatever I wanted. I can't remember ever caring about nutrition, healthy eating, etc. My diet consisted of fast food, pizza, mac n cheese....the basic food staples of most kids in their late teen years. When soccer stopped, the eating stayed the same. I didn't change a thing. I was so relieved when soccer was over that I didn't work out at all. Not a thing. I very quickly fell out of shape and the pounds stared to pile on. I would do tae bo classes here and there, go for walks sometimes, cardio kickboxing maybe, but not nearly enough to fight off the weight. Before I knew it, I had gained a lot. I was shocked at how quickly it happened. I would get so discouraged by it, I'd just deal with those emotions by eating more. That would help right? Uh, no. Lame response. When my soccer career ended, I weighed about 160 pounds. I was muscular, toned, healthy. Mercy sakes, I HAD ABS!! Now, all these years later, I am well over that. One day I will share my weight as I begin this new running program, but not yet! Yes, I'm too chicken to. I will say there is a "2" in the front. So what now? Why take back your life now? I'll explain... I will be 40 in March. My joints are always hurting. I have low energy. I want to keep up with my 3 year old son. I want to be healthy. My mom died of cancer, and one of the things that fights off cancer is a healthy diet; low sugar. For my husband. I know he loves me no matter what, but I want him to have the best of me. And by golly, I'm just sick of feeling crappy. But, most importantly, I need to be a good steward of the body God has given me. 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 says " Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body." My prayer is that the Lord would help me to focus on why I do this. When it gets hard, remember. When I don't want to run or walk or move my body, remember. When I'd rather have mac n cheese for lunch instead of a healty smoothie, remember it was mac n cheese that got you into this mess. I will be as transparents as possible along the way. It's hard for me to, but I will. It's embarrassing, shameful, and I hate it, but if it helps someone else who is overweight to start tackling this and taking it by the horns, then awesome. Here we go!! Thanks for following!!