Hi Hollowers!

As I mentioned yesterday in my Facebook live I started the 21-day-fix from Beachbody yesterday (Monday!).  I was nagged into it by a good friend but it’s definitely the right decision and i’m looking forward to the results! First of all let me tell you the why…

I try not to talk too much about my health issues on the blog but it’s a big reason i’m starting on this new path so I best explain.  First of all as a small child I couldn’t eat as my tonsil grew together in my throat, it’s hard to believe but it took a great number of doctors a long time to figure this out, so in this time my body came very good at draining every ounce of nutrients (good or bad) from everything I consumed; therefore whilst I don’t eat much now, I get every ounce of badness from it and my weight has been very difficult to control.  Now I know some of it is down to eating the wrong things too so I have alot of blame from an overactive sweet tooth!  Then as a teenager I had my hips pinned together which meant no sports and something that was a medical issue became an excuse, amazing how easy that one forms!  I could never run a marathon but as long as my routines are low impact i’m good.  I have tried 4 workouts so far and i’m really happy they have low impact versions of everything I have tried.

Roll on ’til when I had Maddi and I was very ill with liver failure, pre-eclamsia, more bone issues and after having her I really couldn’t move let alone exercise, then an unhappy marriage which bought it’s own challenges I was comfort eating big time! Then I moved back to England and into my own apartment but working crazy hours, roll in lots of fast or convenience foods!  A few years later my body crashed out from stress; again lack of movement and energy, far too easy to make excuses.  I was ill again having Tilly and lost alot of weight but put it straight back on, I lost some when I was doing ballroom dancing but put it straight back on when we moved.  I also have some health issues, i’m very tired alot of the time, some days getting up is a struggle.  Tilly and I sleep in til 10am most days but that’s now our routine and she seems good with that.  I have alot of pain, they have investigated me for Lupus, arthritis and many other auto-immune diseases, they are back to MS again; we shall see how that turns out!  I also have Psoriasis for good measure, it’s very well controlled and i’ve been lucky to have very few symptoms.

So now you are up to date on all my excuses as to why I have let my weight and fitness spiral out of control! A couple of months ago a friend of mine started a little facebook group for good posture on a 7 day challenge, it was a new things so in return for some critique she offered us some Shakeology samples.  Well mine sat on the side for weeks, she kept emailing to see if i’d tried it and I felt awful because I am normally a reliable person and don’t let people down, however as it often is life got the better of me, I was making and videoing all my launch projects for the blog.  Last week when we were all wrapped up I sent her a message and she mentioned she had a group starting the 21 day fix on monday. We chatted for a while and I decided the best deal was to sign up as a coach, I thought what do I have to loose (apart from a few pounds or maybe that should be stone!).  So here we are!  Now you have the how, what about the whys?

So as I mentioned there are some health problems, and I knew for a long time that loosing some weight would no doubt help them and some of the joint pains I have, but there’s more to it than that.  First of all there’s my own mental well being, now I am happily married to my absolute soul mate who is the most supportive and tolerant man of my crazy habits (and crafting!), I have no reason to comfort eat, but it’s become a habit.  I also hate what I see when I look in the mirror, I have no aspirations of being super skinny but I look good as a size 12-14, if I was here again I would be happy.  I want to put on some of my summer dresses and feel good.  I also have the ultimate target dress of a stunning designer number i bought over 10 years ago and wore once!  I look back on when I had Tilly and I was 16-18 and I looked so much better than I do now at a size 20.  Then there’s the girls, so many times has Maddi gone to a park or event and i’ve had to sit and watch, I feel like I missed out on so much.  This summer I want to beable to run around the park with the girls, not in pain, able to keep up and not instantly out of breath.

So I have taken my measurements, weighed in, ordered my shakeology, put a time in each day for 30 minutes of exercise and I’m off!  I am going public with some of my before photos so you can see the mountain I have to climb.  I will check in on the blog periodically with my thoughts and progress and if you want to join me on this programme get in touch! I truly believe if it works for me it will work for anyone, I am unfit, with a massive sweet tooth and terrible eating habits!  Stay tuned for my progress!

Thank you so much for following Hedgehog Hollow and I hope you will follow along my journey, we will still have all the card making you can handle but lots of you seemed interested in this challenge so I hope you will keep cheering me on!

Happy stamping!