I did eventually become interested in fitness and health enough that my husband and I, along with our business partner, opened three Curves Fitness Facilities beginning in 2003.
2004, at our first Curves fitness facility
But the over-processed, high-carb, high-sugar food choices I made all through my childhood and into my college days shaped the cooking style of my early adult life. Even while managing our Curves facilities as a young newlywed, I still didn’t make significant health changes. I knew better what to eat because of my Curves training, and I knew how to help other people eat healthy, but I didn’t do it myself because I didn’t need to watch my weight. I worked long hours and didn’t make a lot of time for self care or proper sleep. I did, however, become fascinated with nutrition theory and I learned a lot about all the different diets that were popular back then. Even though I learned about a wide range of diet theories while researching, I didn’t implement any of the information in my own life. Again, I simply didn’t feel like I needed it.
Through the years of managing Curves, though, I absolutely fell in love with helping people achieve their health goals. It was one of the most rewarding careers I’ve ever had, and I love that it’s coming back full circle as I dive into holistic health coaching. I believe God knew back then that it would always be a part of my life!
We eventually sold all of our Curves facilities, and I became immersed in being a wife and mama. I prided myself on taking care of my family. I cooked regularly, but I used a lot of prepackaged foods because that was simply the norm back then. I also served up lots of pasta, including Pasta Roni and Kraft Mac & Cheese. I served the foods that were familiar and considered the societal norm. My children ate all of the typical kid foods, like chicken nuggets, fish sticks, fries, pizza, and frozen Eggo waffles. Unfortunately this translated to many difficulties in the future with encouraging them to eat truly nourishing foods, like fruits and vegetables.
2007, my second pregnancy
I didn’t realize it until years later, but I was completely addicted to white flour and sugar. I was even diagnosed with Gestational Diabetes during my second pregnancy in 2007, but truly didn’t think much of it because “it would go away” immediately after the baby was born. I had no idea that I’d be significantly more predisposed to Type II Diabetes later in life. I wish I had taken that diagnosis for what it was – a warning sign. I wish I had thought to question the information I was being told, but I don’t think I would have really wanted to know anyway. I wasn’t overweight and considered myself healthy. In fact, I only weighed 147 pounds when I gave birth, and I lost all of the baby weight within two weeks!
Though it may go away after birth, Gestational Diabetes poses a high likelihood of creeping back into our lives as Type II Diabetes if lifestyle changes aren’t adopted. With the Diabetes crisis America is currently facing, we really need to pay attention to this diagnosis more.
I carried on with my life, continuing to eat all of the foods I loved. Though I enjoyed the occasional vegetable or salad, I was simply not a healthy eater. Even though I knew better, that diet and lifestyle worked for me until I went back to work. In a high-stress, fast-paced, sales-driven work environment, I gained ten pounds within a couple months. My clothes were tight, I was exhausted, and I was completely miserable. I didn’t enjoy the work and I hated being away from my babies. Although I was able to stabilize my weight gain, it stuck with me permanently.
After a year, I was thankfully able to quit my job and stay at home with my children while I worked as a newborn photographer. My stress levels plummeted, and I loved the freedom of being an entrepreneur and making my own schedule, but my unhealthy lifestyle remained. That worked for me though, and I was able to maintain a healthy-enough BMI, normal blood pressure, and only slightly elevated cholesterol levels. I never checked my blood sugar because I knew the Diabetes had “disappeared” after my pregnancy.
Fast forward through the next eight years, with the addition of more children and several stressful short-term life situations, I gained another twenty pounds. That brought my total adult weight gain to thirty pounds, making me officially overweight as a 30-something year old. I hated the way I looked in clothes. I lived constantly tired. I was mostly sedentary. I didn’t enjoy any type of physical activity. My blood pressure started to creep up. I craved sugary and high-carb foods, and I lived on coffee. But with homeschooling four children (two of whom had special needs), I simply didn’t make the time for my health. It was always much easier to care for others than to care for myself!
.jpg)
2016 with all of my beautiful children (but at my unhealthiest)
I did make a few small changes through the years, like replacing some of our main staples with organic choices and eliminating a few of the prepackaged options. I had also always been interested in non-toxic home products, but my food choices remained fairly consistent. I was slowly and unknowingly running my body into the ground, and I just continued plugging along with the same old habits. Because I covered my extra pounds pretty well, and I wasn’t significantly overweight, I simply didn’t realize that lifestyle changes were needed.
After all, it was normal to gain weight as a busy mom, right?
The big changes didn’t come until the end of 2016. Finally! With the combination of a few events, I sprung into major action, embarking on a journey that began my health transformation.
(Stay tuned for Part III of my story.)