New Year’s Resolution: Achieve Rockstar Status by Summer

My New Year’s Resolution officially began on Monday, October 15th – needed to lose 25 pounds asap! I had hit rock bottom with my “baby weight” that I had not lost after the twins were born. My friends and family would often say, you look great, come on you gave birth to four children. To me, that was just an excuse that I could only hide behind. I can’t tell you how many friends I have who give birth to their babies and then two weeks later, they are in their old clothes – unfortunately, this was not a gene that I inherited. And to be honest, I really don’t like these friends very much! So many times I begged my OB/GYN to just give me that skinny pill. I think I actually wanted a thyroid condition just to get that pill – what a whacko! After I was denied the skinny pill, I would find myself thinking that I could just get a mommy-makeover, you know, the ‘ole tummy tuck lift thing. This is when I knew I needed serious intervention. Don’t get me wrong – I do not pass judgment on anyone who has cosmetic surgery. I just know for me personally, I would not be happy if I didn’t do everything in my power to lose weight on my own before resorting to surgery. This I had not done. So finally, after 18 months of being miserable in my own skin, I said – game on. Although my timing wasn’t perfect for a lot of reasons. This particular October Monday came after a super fun bachelorette weekend in Charleston which brought me home with major blisters on both feet. Somehow I thought zebra pumps would be a good idea while I roamed the cobblestone streets of Charleston! The other bad timing was that the holidays were just around the corner so I knew I would have a zillion temptations. But I knew I had to do this for myself and for my family, now or never.

So I met with Mike Danenberg with Performance Therapy the previous week to review his program on nutritional counseling. A neighbor had given me his name. I knew that I needed more than a trainer and more than Weight Watchers (although I know so many people who have had tremendous success with WW). I needed someone who would tie in my athletic conditioning with my diet. So Mike seemed to be a perfect fit. Now I am not a person who has ever had to work all that hard in maintaining a muscular figure. I wasn’t a bikini model, but I looked pretty good in clothes I guess. But on my own, my diet & exercise program just wasn’t working. The day I met with Mike, I felt like I was in WAY over my head. I mean if you look at his credentials, this guy works with Jake Delhomme! Not for nutritional counseling though. Actually, this type of work is just a fragment of what Mike does. I think he accepts only a few nutritional counseling clients -why he chose me is beyond me. I guess I looked pretty desperate! This program was the hardest thing I have ever had to do. The diet consisted of nothing fun to eat except protein shakes – a very strict high protein, no carbs, no sugar, no dairy diet. Basically, no life! This seemed impossible to me and when I told my husband about it, I could tell he just didn’t think I could do it. This is when my competitive nature really kicked in and it gave me the will-power that I needed to succeed. Just to prove him wrong! I think the hardest part of this diet/new way of life was that alcohol was prohibited for the first 6 weeks. I actually emailed, or shall I say, hate-mailed Mike one day and said “how do you expect a mother of four to survive without a glass of freakin’ wine?” I was certain that Mike didn’t have any children of his own or he would have offered me this option – no dice! The exercise regimen was a major shock to the system as well. I got up 4 mornings a week at 5:30am for 50 minutes of cardio + 20 minutes of abs. The other two days were a core conditioning program. But I stuck to it with a few cheats here and there. I had to cancel a few social engagements the first two weeks because I just couldn’t hang with anyone if I couldn’t eat or drink. Usually you get one or the other. When you’re pregnant, you get to eat whatever you want and when you’re skinny, you can drink but not eat, right?! Anyway, I’m proud to report that after 2 1/2 months, I have lost 15 pounds and 14% of total body fat. I can now run for over an hour with a heart rate of 150 – which blows my mind every time I run. This is a huge accomplishment for me – I am a runner but I used to like to keep it short and sweet. Now I am actually contemplating a half marathon in the spring. Not sure if I’ll actually do it, but the fact that it’s in my vocabulary is impressive enough!

I still have a ways to go. But the hardest part is over and I made it through the holidays. I’m back to a somewhat normal diet but just low on carbs and any bad stuff. So it’s definitely doable longterm. And I feel better physically than I’ve ever felt in my entire life. For that alone, I am thankful to Mike and consider this a huge success. I am also elated that my New Year’s resolution is not “need to lose 25 pounds asap” but now it’s “must achieve rockstar status by summer.” Not sure if I’ll be in a bikini, but I’m going to run like Forrest Gump to try and get there!

What are your New Year’s resolutions?