What an awesome testimony from Katie Hartman! I asked her if she would be willing to share her journey with others, in hopes it would inspire more busy moms to get healthy and make fitness a priority again and she said YES! This is her story :D
Hot momma! She is confident and strong now! Show her some love on her Facebook page
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| Jan - March 2015 |
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| Sept 2015 Progess |
Katie's Success Story
"5 a.m. That’s what
time I get up on weekdays. To exercise.
On purpose! And it’s not because I love to work out, but one quote that
really got me thinking… “I don’t always love the workout, but I always love the
results.” That one simple thought (shared in a post from my Beachbody Coach,
Jennifer Wood!) in the early days of my first challenge group made an impact on
my mindset for actually TRYING something new. I figured, “hey, what can it
hurt?”
I’m a busy mom of a toddler and I work a full time job in a
busy rehabilitation hospital. My
evenings and weekends are dedicated to everything else in my life—family,
friends, hobbies, housework… lots of great things, and things that are easily
used as scapegoats for excuses why I didn't have time to take care of
myself. I did not exercise during my
pregnancy. I didn't diet after giving birth, as I was misled by well-meaning
breastfeeding coaches that losing weight too quickly would affect my milk
supply. And so I remained 45lb
overweight, calling it “baby weight.”
Around Thanksgiving 2014, I decided that enough was enough!
I was not shopping for BIGGER clothes once again! I started researching
healthier things to eat for a quick breakfast as I drove to work, since there
was no time for cooking breakfast in the mornings and found Shakeology. I researched every ingredient and what I
found was that in just 1 little shake, I was gaining myself a HUGE health
advantage! I figured it was worth a try, after all the price for 1 bag of
Shakeology was less than replacing my whole winter wardrobe with bigger
pants.
In January, my Coach invited me to join a challenge
group. “Sure,” I thought. “I’ll be the only one who has a family, a
career, size 16 jeans… but I’ll play along.
At least through the challenge group, I’ll be anonymous, and if I don’t
lose any weight, nobody will know.” I was very wrong! As the members of the
group began to introduce themselves, I found myself fitting in with at least
half of them on the busy mom with a career aspect, if nothing else. It was like
going to a Weight Watchers meeting, but since it’s all done online, I did not
have to have the embarrassing moment of standing on the scale, blushing as the
lady at the counter says quietly, “you’re up a little this week, dear.” Sinking
to my chair and hoping I can get out of there without anyone talking to me so I
could go binge on a mocha on the way home.
Feeling guilty for not doing all I could have done to work
the program was my usual emotion after such meetings. Not so for the Challenge
group! Never once did I feel embarrassed, ashamed, guilty, or as if I had been
rebuked for eating the foods I love.
Never once was I the ONLY person who had a gain for a week, skipped a
workout to sleep in when my toddler was up 3 times overnight wanting a hug
(ugh!), and I can’t possibly count the times I had positive feedback from the
group members about sharing the challenges I faced.
I started looking at
5 a.m. as another challenge. And I found support in the challenge group—other
people got up at 5 a.m. too! They also worked out at 9 p.m., or in little
spurts throughout the day as their babies napped. And the whole time, I reminded myself that I
only signed up for the one month challenge, and I could quit anytime. I never
wanted to quit, though. Nobody was forcing me to log in and share
anything. I posted anyway. Nobody snubbed me for missing a day of
posting my meals, exercise, or water. I felt that there were people I connected
with and I hope people felt that from my posts and comments toward their posts
too. This was a safe place, with
encouragement and celebrations, challenges and rewards. The biggest reward was in my closet! I did
not buy any new “fat” clothes… I gained a closet full of clothes as a huge
reward for the work. I dropped back into
my pre-pregnancy clothes and finally put away the last items of maternity gear
I had been clinging to as a security blanket.
I have not lost monumental weight (only about 10lb), but I have barely
gone a day without someone commenting that I look great, energetic, happy, and
YOUNGER!
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