Reality Bites Back

I didn't have these shoulda-woulda-coulda moments that brought me to where I am today. I had one life changing moment that made me wake up and realize that I was not who I wanted or needed to be. My husband and I go with our children yearly to Florida for family vacation. We do all the fun things that families do. Go to Disney, to the beach, swim at the pool and play mini golf. We also get family pictures done at that time so we can look back and see how much the kids have changed.


Lets go back to Feb 2006 as I stood there at the waters edge in Daytona Beach with the wind whipping thru us at a balmy 82F. A picture is taken with my husband and I like usual and then we go on with our day. 5 days later I uploaded all the pictures off the camera and started flipping through them. That's when it hit me like a TON-O-BRICKS!! Who is that woman standing there with my husband? Sadly enough it was me. I sat there staring at that picture for hours crying, thinking how did I ever let my weight get so out of control? I thought of every excuse in the book. I had children, I was a wife, I worked too hard to take time to eat right and I was tired all the time and my favourite was.... I was comfortable! The next day I called our benefit provider to see if the Dr. Bernstein program was covered under the plan and it was 100%. So I made the appointment and I started the program the next week. I weighed in at 250lbs and I almost passed out..

I struggled through the first few weeks until I got my bearings and then I was off to the races. 7 months later (Labour day weekend) I stepped on the scale for the last time and I was 165lbs. I thought I was done. I maintained my weight with a bit of fluctuation for 3 years and then I felt I failed because I put on 25lbs. It was that vicious cycle that we go through in our lives, so I called again. I went back on to the program and took the weight back off only this time it was harder. I felt like my body was fighting me and I didn't understand why. It took 5 months and then I gave up, stopping at 169lbs. Long story short I bounced again back and forth for 2 more years. I kept eating the way I was taught to, had my nights out with the girls for dinner, drinking and dancing ( because that made the calories stay away RIGHT??!?! ) and going to the gym a few days a week but not on a regular schedule.


So here we are Summer of 2010 and I am an active member at the gym I go to. I get a flyer saying they are opening a new one just down the street from my house and my excitement was through the roof! Little things make me happy :)  That was when I met Sandra Compton. She was an angel in workout clothes hiding behind the biggest smile I have EVER seen! We met, we talked, she did a "where are you" analysis of me. I was in a rut and I couldn't get out of it. She asked me a little bit of my background and I laid it out like the red carpet for her and I cried A LOT. Being as professional as she could be, she cried with me because she GOT IT! She knew where I was and where my struggles were and where I was right at the moment.


Months go by and I go on with my life never letting her out of my mind. I kept her business card with me all the time with my gym card (and I still do to this day). Fear of what would happen if I contacted her and fear of what would happen if I didn't is what held me back. The day finally came and I jumped for the first time and sent an email. That is where it all started.... January 2011, I started Beautyfit BootCamp and my life has NEVER been the same since then. My life didn't end....  it BEGAN!!

I left this woman behind in the parking lot at Tim Hortons December 31, 2010. Wait till you see her now!