Confessions...

19 days ago...I made a choice that would change my life....and its only been 19 days...

You can read more about my life change here.

Today I've been a little extra emotional.  It could be some hormonal but I'm chalking it up to some new revelations about.....me.

Since the age of 13 (this is when I really remember my weight gain) I have struggled to be active.  I played sports in high school and actually was a somewhat of an active person.  As the weight piled on, being active, let alone, doing just normal day to day things became more and more difficult.  You never really realize how much you give up in your life until you start to gain your life back. Today I was on instagram I was looking for some inspiration and came across one of the ladies I have just recently started following.  Rya, you can find her instagram here, made a statement after completing 38 days on her whole30 journey that she feels ALIVE.  I started crying when I read that...that one word...ALIVE is how I feel!

Alive....thats a great word! As a Christian I know my Savior is ALIVE and that I am thankful for.  As a heavy person who has struggled with weight gain because of hormone imbalances no one really understands the struggle unless they have been there.  I have dieted several times in my 34 years of life and not one time have I felt this good! I either felt limited, starving, or still in great pain.....

And then there was today....

Please understand, I have had several non scale victories in just 19 days.  But this one....this one....has been a long time coming! This morning my puppy (13 year old lab) wanted to go outside so I went out and sat down while he sniffed and laid around.  It was such a beautiful day! Warm, sunny and with an amazing breeze.  I had decided I wanted to go to one of the state parks and go for a hike.  So I got on the internet and found Cunningham Falls State Park.  It has the largest waterfall in the state :) bonus...hike and your reward is a fall, I'm game! Of course I needed Tim to go with me for support.  So we ate lunch, and headed out to the park.  When we arrived there were two different paths to chose.  One to the left and the more difficult way and to the right...the "easier" one.  Well I saw a mom and her little toddler go the easy way so I knew if the kid could do it, I could! so we headed up.  There were some big inclines and it was a half a mile to the falls.  Other than being out of breath (yes I know its because of my weight but I'd like to feel part of it was because of my head cold as well lol) I did not have any back pain! I could not believe it! I kept walking expecting my lower back to start hurting! I was in tears by the time we got back to our car.  Happy, joyful tears! No back pain!

The falls were beautiful and nice to see.  I was glad I did it.  I was glad my husband who was tired went with me.  I am glad I captured some of the moments so that one day, when I look back, I will remember just how hard I fought to be healthy! One mile down....many....many more to go!

TruLee Amazed,

Ann Marie