Wednesday, June 26, 2013

My Weight Loss Journey

I was never a small or petite girl, even as a child...you could say I was a bit scrawny as a younger girl but as I grew into a teen I started to gain weight slowly.  We (my parents, brother and I) moved a lot while I was growing up.  My dad was a pastor and a truck driver and we moved where the churches and jobs were.  Around my 14th year my moms mom was diagnosed with cancer so we moved from California to Oregon to take care of her and manage their trailer court.  

It was the first time I was in a public school and things just kinda spiraled from there for me.  I got into the more secular part of life and soon learned some very hard lessons.  I don't regret where I came from because it helped make me who I am today.  

I got married at 20 and my husband and I  had our first child ten days before our 1st year Anniversary.  Our second child came almost exactly 2 years later and I had not lost all the baby weight (42lbs) I gained from our first.  Apparently you don't have to eat for two when your pregnant, who knew...lol.  The third child came 18 months later and finally the fourth 3 years after that.  I gained and lost, 4 times and never ever got back to my pre-pregnant days. 

When our 4th child and only daughter was about a year old I was diagnosed with Thyroid disease and in the following few years developed two other thyroid disorders.  Finally I was diagnosed with Thyroid cancer, had surgery, treatment and went through recovery.  The cancer was so bad it took a lot longer in surgery than the doctor had anticipated and I lost a lymph node in the process.  At the time I was overweight, sick and very out of shape.

After recovery and getting the all clear I decided that if I could beat cancer I could become a runner.  So I found a C25K program on the internet and started running.  At first I could barely run a minute without having to stop but here I am 3 years later and training for a half marathon.  Weight loss came with the running but not as much as one would think.  Apparently running makes you hungry...strange.  A few months ago I got more serious about losing the weight and here I am almost 30lbs lighter and smaller, more fit than I have ever been.  

To date I have lost 74+ pounds and am just about ready for maintenance and then I will be building more muscle to tone up some more.  I do weights now but will be doing a lot more from here on out.  I am so thankful that I am healthy and still in remission.  I plan to continue my journey of healthy living and I am so excited to see what the future holds for me.

After and Before
 

"Limitations only exist if you let them"

Godspeed...this comes from the Middle English expression "God spede (you)", a wish for success and fortune for one setting out on an enterprise, voyage, adventure, or travels. It may also mean good luck.

© 2013 Shannon M. King. This publication is the exclusive property of Shannon M. King and is protected under the US Copyright Act of 1976 and all other applicable international, federal, state and local laws. The contents of this post/story may not be reproduced as a whole or in part, by any means whatsoever, without consent of the author, Shannon M. King. All rights reserved.

6 comments:

  1. Congratulations! Weight loss is a long, arduous journey (if you go about it the right way). You should feel proud of taking your health in your own hands!

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  2. Very cool! Congratulations on such a wonderful loss. Maintenance isn't as much fun as you might think, but there is a lot less pressure. and now thinner = faster so it's time to watch the running improve. Go for it.

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  3. That's amazing! Congratulations, Shannon. You have so many reasons to be healthy now - keep it up.

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  4. Awesome. Great job and I wish you great health and happiness from here on out.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Congratulations Shannon on your weight loss.

    ReplyDelete

I'm so happy you stopped by...can't wait to hear all you've got to say! Blessings!

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