for as long as I can remember I’ve been an athlete. To name a few there was tee ball, select volleyball, high school varsity sports and college soccer. So it goes without saying, I had a rockin’ body! Being active in sports was my life and my passion but shortly after college I was ready to hang up my jerseys and start a family. I got married and (BAM!) out popped some babies! I am now a blessed mommy to two beautiful boys, ages 1 and 4. what a shock it was to gain 60 lbs and watch my toned, skinny, athletic body be replaced with stretch marks, leftover skin and lots of weight left to lose! But how do I do that!? All my life I’ve stayed in shape by just playing sports. After a year of having my first son I had lost the majority of the weight by breastfeeding alone but it definitely did not look like it. By this time I was 150 lbs, wearing a size 10-12 and beyond ready to get my body back and be a hot mom! So I started the South Beach Diet, was running 1-2 miles a day and was doing pilates about 6 days a week. In a matter of a couple months I had lost 20 lbs and was feeling great! I even started playing volleyball and indoor soccer again to help me stay active.
fast forward 2 ½ years later and I’m pregnant again with another baby boy! This time around I promised myself I would stay active and eat well. I had worked so hard, I didn’t want it to all be in vain. If you’re a mom you know how incredibly difficult it is to muster up enough energy to make it through your work day and not be in bed by 7 pm! God bless all you moms out there that managed to exercise while pregnant, I admire you! You’re a special breed! And then there’s the cravings…oh, the cravings! You just can’t stop them. So I gained 60 lbs, of which I don’t regret, my babies were healthy and that’s all that matters. Most of the 60 lbs that I had gained again came off with breastfeeding. But, of course, it never looks the same - I was left with even more of that dreaded “mommy tummy.” I was ready to start a diet and exercise program but now that I had a family to feed I decided I didn’t want to go with the South Beach Diet, but rather clean up my diet and portions. I’ve noticed over the years that my body responds well to low carbs, low sugar, high protein, fresh fruit and veggies. I was eating 6 small meals a day and was sure to give myself one or two cheat meals a week! Now that’s nothing you’ve never heard before. It’s amazing simply what a clean diet will do for you.
so now I needed to start an exercise routine. Now that I had two children it was more difficult for me to find time to get into sports, I’ve come to realize how much I hate, hate, hate (did I say hate?) running and the pilates video that I did on the tv exercise portion of “On Demand” was removed. I needed something new. I remembered what some friends had told me about this thing called CrossFit and the phenomenal results they had seen from it. I googled it, saw a video and thought, “This is so for me! When do I start?!” I am a girl that absolutely loves a challenge. Tell me I can’t do it and I will plow you over just to prove you wrong! I started CrossFit in January of 2012 and was completely hooked! It was exactly what I needed to give me that extra push to not only transform my body and give me more muscle and definition but it truly transformed my life! Because of a clean diet and CrossFit I am down to 123 lbs and 14% body fat.
* written beautifully by Ashley*
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