My Story

Posted on my wordpress.com blog
About
Mar 26th, 2007 by Vilma Perez
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Vilma here… Welcome to my FITNESS blog!

So much has happened since December 2005! I lost about 30 lbs., got married (May 2006), went back to school, and gained back 40 lbs +. This seems to be the story of my life ever since I graduated from high school about 9 years ago. I was never an overweight kid before then. I was actively involved in sports (volleyball, basketball, softball, track) & I ate pretty well. I gained the famous “freshman 15″ right out of high school & it was an up and down battle since then. I think that I could write a book on how many times I’ve lost and gained weight and all the different “diets” I’ve tried… believe me, I’ve tried them all! And most of them worked - temporarily….

I remember back around the year 2002 I lost about 50 pounds (my lowest weight was 127) & I mainained a 140-145 weight for about 1 year. How did I lose all that weight? The first 30 I lost just based on nutrition & a lot of tennis. I also took Xenadrine pills that had Ephedra in them and left me shaky & without a good night’s sleep. I started lifting weights when I had about 20 more lbs to lose. I continued eating healthy & like I mentioned was able to maintain my weight for about 1 year. But I because I did not make a LIFESTYLE change, all the weight I lost just kept on coming back with a little bit more and more and more… and a day after Christmas (12/26/2006) was my lowest point ever. I tipped the scales at 200 pounds. Never in my life have I weighed over 200 lbs before. I honestly cried when I saw that number on the scale.

How could I have let my self go like this?

How are we (hubby & I) going to have baby #1 when I have a BMI of 31.9 which puts me in the “obese” category?!

Yes… obese!

Not just overweight but OBESE!

“I seriously need help”, I thought. I’m tired of living this way. It’s not fair for me, for my husband, and my future family.

Were would I start? What would I do? Losing 50 lbs. was daunting. I continued eating myself away and managed to gain another 12 pounds. My highest weight ever was 212 lbs. when I went to get a doctors physical so I would be able to participate in my Employer Fitness Program. UHHH!!! Now it’s 62 lbs. that I have to lose!!!

That day was a turning point for me. I chose to take my weight head on and lose my gut once and for all! I had some time to kill before the doc. would be able to see me, so I passed by Sam’s Club & saw the book YOU on a diet. I had seen Dr. Oz & Dr. Roizen on Oprah & had read some of their articles on Realage.com & on Discovery Health.com. I started reading bits and pieces from the book & it made sense to me. Now, this is not just another “diet” book. No, no, no. This is a manual that explains, in laymen terms, how our bodies react to the foods that we eat, it explains about food metabolism & nutrition, how and why our bodies store calories, and how our bodies burns fat. It has a lot of material including quizzes, ‘factoids’ and ‘myth busters’ along with recommended eating & exercise guidelines that you can also find online.

Anyhow… to make the long story short, I bought the book, started applying some of the guidelines given, and finished reading it in about 1 week. Oh yeah… I also was able to lose 10 pounds and 2 inches off my belly before my civilian fitness program began!!

In these coming months (April - December 2007) I would like to lose those 50 + lbs that I’ve gained since the wedding and then ultimately get down to 155 lbs. & 15% body fat. I want to live a healthy life, make healthy food choices, continue exercising and maintain this lifestyle forever. I’m sooo exited. I’m determined to keep this fitness blog up, updating everyday… to keep me accountable, to help me keep track of my progress, to share my ups & downs in my journey to lasting health & fitness, and to be an inspiration to others like me that are looking to become healthy & fit.

Thank you for reading!

Please check back often to see how I’m doing…

God Bless You.

~ Vilma
3-26-2007