Hello and Happy Friday! I hope that you have been having a great week so far. I have been staying on track with all my workouts and have been feeling quite sore, and loving it! Do you love feeling sore from your workouts? I have been keeping consistent with my weight training schedule and I'm seeing results, whoop! I will post a recap on Sunday about my week. On with today's Feature Friday...I am really excited to share Robin's story with you. She has totally transformed her life with exercise and clean eating and has a truly inspiring message to share! She blogs about her journey at Hammi: Bacon-Fueled Fitness, so be sure to head over and check it out.
Robin's Story
I have loved food for as long as I can remember. Family meals, eating at restaurants with friends, holiday specials are all treasured memories in my mind. Unfortunately, my love of food put me in a position that I never imagined. At 26 years old and 270 pounds (5"3") I stood in a hospital by my dad's bed and said goodbye. He had just turned 51 and he was just as unhealthy as me. Leading up to that day I wasn't totally unaware that what I was giving my body for fuel wasn't working. I knew that something was up and had to change, I just didn't have the follow through and knowledge needed to really do anything about it. I became a yo-yo'er and I used diet as a verb. Pills, hours of cardio, fads- I would try just about anything and have some small wins, but I would always so back to the way things were, and I would always get sicker than the time before.
In 2012 I discovered Paleo and the idea of clean eating. To say this rocked my world would be an understatement. I started to use the word "diet" the way it was intended- as a noun. My diet started to consist of whole real foods that nourished me. They were foods with ingredients that I could actually pronounce! Each month I made great strides in health- I was starting to look awesome and feel awesome. I had gone from being someone who couldn't walk around the block to a runner. In 2013 I ran a marathon. My great food choices propelled me to places I never would've imagined I could go.
My food choices now keep me healthy, alert, and focused. I can sleep at night and in the morning I wake up refreshed (provided my dogs let me sleep, haha!) It is not always easy and I'm not going to pretend that it is. Through all of this I discovered I have an intolerance (not an allergy) to gluten and that dairy and sugar really mess me up. I use my body as its own experiment- I try things constantly to see what it needs and what keeps it performing its best.
I'm training now for a Spartan Military Sprint, a slew of 14ers, and a GORUCK- I am a machine. A properly fueled machine! The biggest thing I have learned in my journey so far is not to be so hard on myself and to remember that I need to own my choices. No one else is living in your body. YOU get to decide.
I love sharing my story now with others- not because I like to talk about myself (it's actually kind of embarrassing that I got as unhealthy as I was), but because I want to give back to a community that gave me so much. I want to give hope to other women who are struggling and don't think its possible to find joy and happiness. It's been almost 2 years since I've started my clean eating and the proof of my progress stares back at me every morning. I haven't fully arrived to where I am headed- I have some goals that I still want to accomplish, but I have never been as hopeful as I am now. My dad would be proud.
About Robin: Robin is a 31 year old newlywed from Denver, CO. She enjoys hiking, spending time outdoors, and walking with her husband and dogs.
Connect with Robin:
Thanks so much to Robin for sharing her story and for being so inspirational! You truly live the message of how taking care of your body with exercise and clean eating can change your life. I really enjoyed reading and sharing your story as I know you will inspire someone to get up and get moving!
