Let's Start at the Very Beginning

Let's start with a few things about me:

1. I'm Anni

2. 26 years young

3. Wife to the greatest guy around

4. Mom of a sweet, cuddly little girl

5. Lover of running, lifting, boot camp, and burpees 

6. Minimal self control in the presence of sweets, pizza, and beer

As I begin this blogging journey I am 20 weeks & 3 days post-partum.  I've been focusing on losing weight & inches for the last 4 weeks, and have lost 2.2 pounds.  I know I'm not doing as much as I could be doing and need a little accountability.  I'm not completely unhappy with my body, in fact I'm pretty proud of it.  However, I have a closet full of great clothes that would look a heck of a lot better if they didn't include a muffin top.  

So let's start at the very beginning.  Here's the journey I took to get to my current starting point.

I started running in 4th grade.  I was a self-proclaimed sprinter.  My first coach tried to put me in the mile.  I ran 1 lap (of 4), walked off the track, and told him I was a sprinter.

In high school I ran track all four years.  My events were the 100m, 200m, 4x100m, 400m, & 4x400m. I also tried my legs at cross country for a couple of years, but HATED it!  (The distance was what I hated, not the experience)

I'm third from the right.  Senior night 2005

When I started college in 2005 I was mortified of the elusive "freshman fifteen".  I couldn't imagine gaining five pounds, let alone fifteen or more!  So instead of indulging in fries and ice cream, I counted every single calorie and worked out twice a day.  The numbers kept me in control, or so I thought.  Calorie counting became an obsession and watching the numbers go down on the scale was exhilarating.  At my lowest I weighed around 115.

Halloween 2005

After a few people close to me commented on how my frame continued to shrink I decided that I wasn't being the healthiest I could be.  I ditched the calorie counting and decided to work on being strong & healthy as opposed to as skinny as possible.  My sophomore year I joined Team in Training and began training to run my 1st half marathon.  I knew I had to find something to work towards or I would be in a constant battle with food.

Disney World 1/2 Marathon 2007

I put on a few pounds and felt pretty strong, and I found a love of running!  I completed my first half marathon January 2007 at Disney World.  Then I was infected.  I got bit by the distance running bug and I never turned back!  Since then I've run 10+ more half marathons and even 1 full marathon in 2012.

Philadelphia Marathon 2012

2.5 months after I ran the Philadelphia Marathon, I found I was pregnant with our first little one.  I decided to keep as active of a lifestyle as I could.  I had already signed up to run a marathon in May (20ish weeks), but I didn't think that would be possible.  I changed it to a 1/2 marathon and decided to run one half marathon each trimester.  I was successful!  I ran my last half marathon 2 months before my daughter was born.

March 2013 (2.5 months pregnant)

May 2013 (4 months pregnant)

July 2013 (7 months pregnant)

September 26 we welcomed our little girl into the world.  That was the beginning of my first time having to lose weight to be healthy, not just because I wanted to.  I didn't know what I was getting myself into.  I figured it would just sort of happen.  Heck, I had pretty much been the same weight the last 10 years.  Unfortunately, it hasn't been quite that easy.  I'm learning that I need to put serious focus and effort into losing this weight and gaining my happy, healthy, strong body back.  So here I am.  20 weeks post-partum and working my way back into a body I'm proud of.

Starting Point: February 16, 2014

I want to be proud and I want to show others that they can achieve their physical goals without spending loads of moolah.  The point of this blog is NOT comparing bodies.  This is my journey.  One that I will have to struggle through & will hopefully get to celebrate.  Your journey will be different, but ,with any luck, equally as fulfilling.  We can do this!  Ready or not a change is coming.  Where do you hope to be next week? Month?  Year?