Why did I start?

I want to preface this whole series with the disclaimer that I’m just a regular ole mom of three who wasn’t super comfortable in her own skin after growing and birthing and nursing said three humans. I’m not a professional, I’ve had no training in this. In fact, I’ve never worked out consistently in my WHOLE LIFE until August 2017. But with that, I hope it encourages you because if I can do this, you can do it too.Now the first thing I want to write about in this series is the WHY. What was my motivation to get started and what was I hoping to get out of it? Well, to say I wasn’t confident I would even continue working out is the understatement of the year. In fact, I called my husband wondering if we should do a contract or month-to-month at the gym and we both laughed and said MONTH-TO-MONTH. If you would have asked me even last summer to work out with you, I would have very quickly declined because “that’s just not my thing.” I was actually pretty anti-working out. I’m the type of person who typically only likes to do things if I know I’ll be successful and I just couldn’t picture myself being successful at being fit or eating healthy.Fast forward to August 2017 and my friend Courtney of Tnees Tpees had moved to Texas. She joined Lifetime (the gym we still go to) a few weeks before and she even came with me to sign up. I definitely have her to thank for starting all of this for me. I wouldn’t have signed up for a gym if I didn’t have someone to go with. I was intimidated by them. I wanted to do something though because after having three kids, I wasn’t comfortable in my own skin. I was constantly sucking in, trying to tuck my “mom pooch” into my jeans to hide it from popping out when I sat down. I wasn’t crazy hard on myself but I knew I didn’t love how I felt inside or looked on the outside.My number one goal was to feel confident in a swim suit. I figured if I could get to where I felt confident and comfortable in a swim suit, I would absolutely feel comfortable wearing jeans and a t-shirt. My second goal was to get strong and not skinny. I’ve always been on the thin side but never in shape. I wanted to get in shape for my kids, too. I didn’t want to be the mom who sat on the bench at the park anymore...I wanted to chase them and play with them and not be tired after three minutes! That has been one of the best benefits of this whole thing — having the energy to keep up with my kids. I feel like (and they probably do as well) they have a new mom — Mom 2.0 — and it feels so good.My goals have shifted a little. I feel like I could totally wear a swim suit now and not be self-conscious or trying to get in the water as fast as humanly possible. I feel like I am strong. Could I be stronger? Absolutely. I’ll continue to work on that one but now I’m at the point where I’d like to target certain areas. My triceps (back of my arms) are one and my booty is another. It’s not about having the perfect body for me. I’m all about progress over perfection and even if the progress is only on the inside at times, that’s amazing and is so important. This whole thing has helped me to be a better version of myself and not just because I’ve lost weight. It has given me confidence, pride, energy, happiness, better sleep, better diet, and the knowledge that I can do hard things.I can’t wait to share more of this process with you guys. Next up will be all about my exercise routine so I hope you guys will stick around!-LWPH