From couch potato to.... some other type of vegetable.

[ijustwantanap]

So.... I've been 5'8" since probably sixth grade and until I got pregnant at 17, I was always 125lbs ish. I lost the baby and hit a downward spiral into a really really bad place. Come to find out, I was just a ticking time bomb. Never been overly social, always been... well.... a nerd. Definitely the ugly duckling. I started on the Pill and gained a massive rack, which was fine. But then, I started gaining weight everywhere. Though, the Pill isn't what you want to take when you're suffering from a mental illness. I started taking meds for depression and started gaining more weight. I was running and doing pilates while I lived with my parents, then spent almost all day every day in bed when I left their house (something my mother NEVER allowed me to do). I lived with a health-nut-gym-rat-vegetarian for a while and started doing kickboxing. The boxing instructor ensnared me in his trap, and I stopped going to avoid him. Then I was working 40hrs a week and going to school full-time, and it just didn't work out. I was always tired. As a waitress, I was always moving, ate rather well b/c I worked in a healthy kitchen, then I quit and got a sedentary job where the boys always got take-out or fast food for lunch/dinner, depending on the shift. And the craft beer. OMG the craft beer!!!! Stuff is SOOOOOO GOOOOD!!!!! That's my achilles heel. When I got to TX, I started taking a mood stabilizer that packed on the pounds, really fast. In just a handful of months I went from being 150 to 200lbs. I kept trying to tell myself I was the sexiest 200lbs I've ever seen, but in my mind I kept hearing my mother telling me about the diabetes in our family and the heart conditions, etc. I quit taking the mood stabilizers, changed meds, and quit gaining weight exponentially. I did some research and found that women, especially, have a difficult time losing weight on the meds I was on, even with diet and exercise. I convinced my doctor that being mentally well wasn't gonna do me any good if I couldn't stand looking at myself in the mirror. So he put me on anticonvulsives, which has an off label use is to treat depression.

Long story short, I'm tired of being tired ALL THE TIME!!! I ran into fitness models on Instagram and was like "WOW! I'd LOVE to look like that." And they all talked about "eating clean," so I looked further into it. And this is where I ended up. I don't know how to utilize the gym to the best of my ability and I figured I need to do some more research. That's what I'm hoping to achieve here. Because I don't have a spare $200 a month to spend on a personal trainer. And the last one I had didn't do anything for me.

Voila. I've gone back too waitressing and enjoy the somewhat physical activity I get outta that, but when I'm done with work, I absolutely crash cuz I'm so hungry and so out of shape. Hopefully I can find some guidance here. I'm tired of running. I want to gain muscle and shred fat some other way that doesn't kill my feet. I'm on them allllllllllllllll daaaaaaaay loooooooooong.

[CaffeineMan]

How about a Yam, or a Sweet Potato?

If you work hard you could make it to Plantain!