(this post was originally published, this morning, at mamavation.com)
If you were anywhere near Houston last night, I’m sure you heard the shrieks that erupted from my lips when I saw Leah’s (@bookieboo) announcement on Twitter:
I (along with Kim, from Mentally Inked) was one of the new Mamavation Moms.Me? Really? A week of cajoling and begging people to vote paid off? The pleas and videos I posted on my blog (of, gulp, me singing) actually worked? Well, maybe it wasn’t my mangled versions of “I Fall To Pieces” and “Hey, Jude” that brought about this honor . . .maybe.
After I posted the announcement on Facebook, I realized the reason why I am a Mamavation Mom. Within a minute of posting my update, there were over 50 comments — all from excited people, screaming out their congratulations and support.
Support from others is the reason why I am a Mamavation Mom — support from family and friends who, for the past week, have been cheering for me, believing in me, and doing everything they could to get others to vote for me.
It’s their support — along with the support of the entire Mamavation community — that will be the reason I succeed on this journey toward weight-loss and healthy living.
Yes, I am definitely going to need your support!
I’m a big girl — weighing in at 215 pounds, my all-time high. I suppose I could try to lay blame solely on the little boy I gave birth to seven months ago, but the truth is that I’ve been packing on the pounds for the past ten years. When I entered into my mid-twenties, a decreasing activity level (along with good ol’ PCOS — poly-cystic ovarian syndrome) allowed my body to slowly change from a lanky, skinny one . . . to one with rolls and curves.
Ultimately, I suppose I’ve been lazy — letting everything else become an excuse for why I couldn’t exercise or concentrate on being healthy: I changed careers, became a busy teacher, started a family, moved . . . I focused on everything else. My health wasn’t even a blip on the radar.
That cannot happen any longer. The past ten years, and my 90 pound weight gain, have flown by. I cannot let another year and another ten pounds go by without changing something, without making my health a priority.
I am so excited for the opportunity to have my butt kicked in the Mamavation program — to have the support (and, yes, scrutiny) of everyone as I sweat and cry my way through the next seven weeks.
(Threw that word “cry” in there because Leah assures me I’m going to hate her, and everything associated with Mamavation, in the next few weeks as I start going through the grueling exercise regiment. . . kinda scared!!!!)
Thank you Mamavation, Earth Footwear, EA Sportsactive, Gaiam, and Smooth Fitness for what is about to happen — for the emergence of the new me.
~~Rachel~~
Following In My Shoes
Twitter: @Rachel_L
