Day 11

Wow - we are 1/3 of the way through the Challenge. It is actually kind of hard to believe that. It is going by so fast. It is good that it is going fast, but then part of me worries if there is enough time left to see major results. That is kind of a silly worry because people have already commented on results they can see.

Part of me is just worried that because I'm becoming accustomed to this way of eating, and so has my body, that I'll just stay the way I have always been (or never get away from being this way)- slow metabolism, easy to put on body fat, hard to get off body fat, no dietary change ever being enough! It is a valid concern, especially since the only other time in my life when I was even close to being this fit was 10 years ago when I worked out 1.5 to 2 hours a day, 6 days a week, sometimes with another 30 min mid-day run in there. All that work, and the stress of 3 young children under the age of 6 and a bad marriage, got me down to 17% body fat. Even so, I wasn't as fit as I am now.

As soon as I quit working out like that, the body fat began creeping back on. The only thing that even came close to taking some of it off was a 10-day juice fast. But the effects of that didn't last long. So, being the former chubby kid, I am a little "intense" about never allowing myself to get back that way again. I've tried most of the latest and greatest cures - Hydroxycut, Green Tea tablets, the Master Cleanse, P90X, Marathon training, whatever I could find that would not require too much time or "effort" then I wanted to do it.

In the back of my mind I always missed the intensity of the weightlifting I did, and the fitness classes I had taken. The only reason the stuff I did was so effective then was because of the friend I worked out with who pushed me every day - calling me a sissy or telling me I worked out like a weak girl when I was feeling lazy. (he got the same teasing he gave). I loved being pushed like that. I loved being challenged to lift heavier and do more reps, but my excuse was I didn't have time anymore, so I chose running and focused on that.

More than five years later, and heading in to my 39th year knowing I'd be 40 before I knew it, I got sick and tired of putting on a couple of pounds each year, struggling to try to keep the gain as low as that, and tired of my runs getting worse and worse each year. I finally hit the gym and paid for a personal trainer, found Jerome who introduced me to CrossFit, I found No Excuses, and so here I am.....finally achieving what I'd always wanted - be fit as I can be, challenge myself, reach new goals, feel proud of myself, feel good about my body, and HAVE FUN DOING IT!! (Running is still a love of mine, but even that has changed and is taking a new, exciting course.)

So, even though I'm on the right track, and even though, I know I've come a long way from those chubby teen and 20 years, the fear of going back still remains even if it has quieted some. I suppose that is why I work so hard, and am so intense with what I do, and with how I talk to people about it. I want everyone to feel the amazing feeling of accomplishment when you do something you thought you were never born to do or would ever be capable of. I want everyone to know it is possible to overcome your past and create yourself into what you always dreamed you wanted to be. It doesn't matter if you were an athlete as a child, or a teen, or young adult....it is never too late to start and it is never to late to reinvent yourself.

Take it from the girl who showed up to a family reunion a few years ago (not even at the height of fitness) and was told "Laura, I didn't even know who you were! You were always the chubby one in the family! What have you been doing?".....the worst limits imposed on us are the ones we impose on ourselves. Get out of your comfort zone regularly...you will be amazed at what you can accomplish!