I had two posts on this blog from 2011 that I just deleted. I have had quite a journey since that time and wished that I'd kept up the blog but alas, good intentions pave the road to hell.  So here I am again at the end of 2013.  It's been a journey over this last year and a half.

My starting weight at that time was 230 lbs.  I felt like crap and knew I needed to do something about it.  So I did PINK Method program http://www.pinkmethod.com/  and loved it.  Found it simple and straight forward with not much special food, plus it included 3 awesome dvd's of exercise.  The three women leading each have their own story but the one I connected to the most was the first one, Jenna Phillips.  Her story is and continues to be inspirational.  With that program I lost 20 lbs.

I have continued to search for other things.  As some of you may know, once you join in on something, especially in the fitness industry, you start to get all these invites on your e-mail.  One that was sent to me was an invite to try was The Virgin Diet by JJ Virgin.  I know it's called a diet but what it really is is a way to see what you might be intolerant of.  There were some major differences in how I was eating but it was not hard to do. So I tried it for 21 days.  I found I have sensitivity to soy and dairy.  I also lost another 10 lbs.

So, at 200, I was pretty happy.  Of course there is always room for improvement.  At this time I was also helping my hubby figure out better nutrition for his triathlete self.  I wanted him to get away from using commercial goo and other really crappy products that are just chemicals.  I looked around and discovered  Brendan Braizer.  He is a vegan triathlete and has written several books about changing the way you eat and train.

I bought all the books and began to make many recipes that he could use for training.  He saw a vast difference in his outcomes.  I also liked the recipes.

While I liked to PINK workouts, I found that the amount of time it took once you started stacking them was just more than I could do, I found BodyRock. Amazing FREE workouts online.  Lisa Marie was the original gal but now they have several more that they tape and post workouts from.  They are quick, 3+ rounds from 8 to 12 minutes in length, so really no more than 34 minutes of time.  Believe me, you sweat your ass off.  I maintained my weight even shedding a few more pounds.

Next, a friend of mine convinced me to sign up for the half marathon in Montgomery, AL where I live. She is a walker not a runner.  I trained for it and completed it walking in Oct.

Then a bad thing happened.  You all have been there.  After I finished I told myself that I could take a week off.  NEVER do that.  Now it is 2 months later and I've gained about 8 lbs back and am so mad at myself. Plus the holidays have never been a good time for me food/exercise wise.

In addition to the hubby doing tri's, he's also embraced Spartan Races.  He training for his first one in Feb. in Tampa, FL.  and will complete the trifecta in 2014.  He kept sending me inspirational videos of various teams and people completing.  I finally said, are you trying to tell me something?  He kept saying no.  However, I decided that one of my presents to him for Xmas would be to train and sign up for a Spartan Sprint.  So as 2013 closes, I've joined an awesome group of ladies, Spartan Chicked and started back Body Rocking.

I invite you to join me on this journey as I get refocused on my wellness and health and become the athlete I've wanted to be my whole life.  It won't always be pretty but it will be honest.

Sonja