How I got here... sort of.

I feel like many of you already know my story, but perhaps I just imagine that everyone knows it...
I walked into Undisputed Fitness  in June of 2010. Over the previous 15 years or so, I had gained and lost and gained and lost a fair bit of weight. I would occasionally workout...I loved to walk and I used workout videos. I never would stick with anything very long as I would get board or stress would show up as it always does. I had come to a point where I had accepted that after two kids, my body would never really bounce back. I also accepted that I have chronic pain in my back, my knees and especially my neck. At 42, I had basically decided my life was kinda over...I just knew I would get heavier and less and less active.
Shortly before finding Undisputed, I saw a photo of myself at a friends wedding. I had yet again, stopped  weighing myself. I saw someone I didn't want to be, so I stepped on the scale and I was just over 250. That day, I decided once again to do something about it. I tried yoga again and Nia and my trusty workout videos. After  hearing one of my dearest friends talk about CrossFit and watching how it was helping him make a transformation I decided to walk through that door.

Now please, I wanna make something clear. Even the LOOK of the gym scared me. I am a middle aged women with two children who has never been an athlete...ever. Undisputed looks intimidating, but walking through that door I learned to drop that judgement, mainly because I was not judged.

I have joked with a lot of people that I am the worst person to ever walk through those doors.  I still believe that. I still don't know anyone else for whom the coaches modified more movements than me.  I would give them a look...I cannot do that and their answer was always...."Well, tell me what you can do."

I could not even lift my arms to the pull up bar...I did ring rows.
I could not run...I walked.
I could not lift weights...I used the PVC pipe.
I could not do a push up...I did them on the wall.

It was not a magic pill and it is definitely not easy. But working alongside other people is valuable to me. The community of athletes at Undisputed is supportive and nonjudgemental.  Everyday I walked in that gym was a victory for me. It still is. I went from knowing my life was over to knowing that I have only my imagination to limit what I can do.

As for some quantifiable numbers, I don't know how much I weigh...I stopped weighing myself in June of 2011, but I was wearing a size (this is hard to admit) 20 and now I wear a 12. Went from a 3x to a medium.   I was also pre diabetic and I had funky liver numbers...all of this is gone as well. I am sure that much of this is due to the initial Paleo challenge which for me, which altered my way of approaching food.

I also had the confidence to try a sport and by the end 2011 I was ranked in my age class by the North American Scottish Games Athletics. This May, I will be competing in the International Masters World Championships.

The most important change though was in my children. They see me take on challenges and fail...but I keep going.  I saw pride in their eyes after my first competition when I brought home a second place trophy. I know that my getting healthy changes their relationship to food and lifelong fitness.  My daughter no longer hears me speak hatefully about my body and I know that is priceless.