Ashley's Story: Week 1 - A Little Accountability

Three years ago, I met Lorri Ann for the first time. A friend called and said, "I just met the most amazing woman at the park and you have to do this thing with me." At the time, my daughter was six months old. I had gained 70 pounds (!) during my pregnancy and I was feeling pretty down on myself. Mama Bootcamp turned out to be just what I needed.

I'd love to say that I lost all of that weight and you can find me in the success stories, but I didn't. Instead, I lost some weight and a lot of inches, got overwhelmed with being a mom and dropped out of bootcamp. I turned back to the old habits and gained about 20 more pounds over the course of a year. After struggling on my own, I emailed Lorri Ann one day and told her that I needed to come back to bootcamp.

Becoming an Athlete
Lorri Ann welcomed me back and challenged me to do tri training. Last year, with the support of Mama Bootcamp, I completed a sprint triathlon. I never changed my eating habits though, so I competed in what I jokingly called the fat girl category. Despite the fact that I was still very overweight, I was so proud of myself for finishing the race. My whole life I thought I couldn't do things like that and, in fact, I could!

Just a week before the triathlon, I got a positive pregnancy test. I was so excited! My son is now six weeks old. I vowed that I wouldn't gain a ton of weight during the pregnancy and I did a good job of sticking to that vow. I gained about 15 pounds, all of which I've lost since his birth.

Starting Over, Again
So here I am - back where I started three years ago. Except this time, I'm about 15 pounds heavier, but a whole lot stronger and I have so much more faith in my ability to finally have the body that I want. And now, I have a whole new level of accountability that I never had before - you.

Last night, Lorri Ann did my measurements. I've thought long and hard about whether or not I would share them on this blog. I mean, who wants to put their weight and body fat percentage out there for the world to see? But it's only going to get better from here, right? So, world, here's my dirty little (okay, big) secret:

Weight: 210 pounds
Body Fat %: 49.2 (Yes, pretty much half of me is fat. Ugh.)
Clothes Size: 16/XL

My Long-term Goals
This is going to be a long journey. I have some idea of what I want my final goals to be, but I've been overweight my entire life, so I really have no idea of what's realistically possible. Here's what I'm thinking:

Weight: 140 pounds
Body Fat %: Something healthy
Clothes Size: 8/M

More than anything, I want to be healthy. I want to be a good example for my children. I want to feel good and look good. I want to end my battle with food and stop the dysfunction that's kept me overweight my entire life. This time, I will do it.

When you see me at bootcamp, please cheer me on and I'll cheer you on, too. We could all use a little accountability.