In the Beginning!

This is the 1st blog in a set of many dedicated to weightloss and fitness.My name is Kristen Landon, I am a wife, mother, sister, daughter, & friend, but moer then that I am a former Fat person.  This blog will tell my story, my struggles with weight, & how I fought back against my inner demons.  I am also going to share my success in weight loss, fitness & health, as well as share tips and advice.  My Goal is to inspire, motivate, & encourage others the way I was encouraged.  By writing this free blog I hope to inspire others take their lives back by paying it forward to you my readers.  I will preface that I am not a professional writer, doctor, nurse or fitness professional, so please go easy on me.

With that said let me share my story with you.....

All my life I have struggled with weight.  As far back as I can remember I was teased for being over weight.  Looking back at photos I know now that I was not a fat kid, but I was bigger then the skinny mini's in my class so I was the butt of many jokes.  I attribute all the teasing and jokes to where my selfesteem was crushed, Because my parents were the most supportive, loving and encouraging parents a kid could have.  To them I was beautiful, talented, & special no matter how big or little I was, & they told me that very often.  Unfortunatly my parents praise's fell on deaf ears because the only opinion that mattered to this teen girl was that of my peers.  There for I struggled with "Diets" on and off durring High School & College, with my weight having major fluctuations durring that time. Funny part about that is that durring college I was doing some local modeling, so I couldnt have been as big as I thought I was.  After college I moved about 2 hours from home, I had no family or friends there so I turned to food. I gained alot of weight and was not happy or confident in myself.  Unfortunatly all my weight issues & low selfesteem contributed to me making bad choices one of which was to marry a man who never really loved me. So after our divorce I moved back home. Once I moved back home I dropped 80lbs., but sadly it didnt last.  I got into a relationship with my husband, and best friend since we were kids, Ryan and I was happy, and once again found my love affair with food.  Ryan & I got pregnant & unfortunatly lost 3 children before having our son.  With each pregnancy I gained 10 lbs., but never got it all off before getting pregnant with the next child.  Then when we got pregnant with our son I gained 80 lbs.  This happened for a number of reasons I"ate for 2", I gave up all artificial sweeteners(that means all food had Real sugar in it), I couldnt workout except to walk(high risk) which hurt more then you know, I suffered for severe swelling, etc... After teh birth of our son I was tipping the scales at 250lbs I was mortified.  Finally I decided to take my life back.  While watching the Biggest Loser I was inspired by something someone said, they said "Everyone has excuses & everyone has a reason they Can't, QUIT Making Excuses and Just do it! Just get your lazy fat butt off the couch and do Something."  So I did & let me tell you I was the Queen of Excuses. 
I wasnt going to share this but lately every time someone asks for my advice & I give it to them, they then come up with yet another excuse for why it wont work for them. So here goes just some of my excuses (& maybe you can relate) were, I weight 250 lbs it hurts to exercise, I have depression, I am on med's that make me gain weight, I have no support, I got divorced, I got remarried & need to focuse on that, I lost 3 children,I have several close family members that are sick, and 3 died in 3 years, I have low bloodsugar and other health problems, Ive tried every diet and nothing works for me, a Gym costs too much money, I have no energy, my Job takes to much out of me, I have no time, & ON & ON & ON.
I QUIT MAKING EXCUSES!  I picked up Running(to start w/ not really running) More on that in the next blog. I adopted a healthy lifestyle of eating that worked with me and my body, & lost 90 lbs. I still lack 20lbs., to be at my Goal weight, & I'm in the process of getting my certification to be a personal trainer, but I have to save something to share in my next blog.  In the next blog I will share how I lost the weight and am keeping it off. Until then Quit making excuses, Quit letting your family & yourself down & take the 1st step to your new life.

YOU ARE WORTH IT!!!!!!!

Before                                             Now