Pre Season Task 1: Introduce Yourself

So I think my introduction to myself was quite lengthy, but it was a bit of a journey I went through to get to where I am today, completing the 12 week body transformation.  It was honest and heartfelt:

Hi Everyone! My name is Amanda, and as mentioned in the topic I am from Adelaide.

I am 28 years old (turning 29 late May). I used to be a healthy Size 10 weighing 68kg. I was happy with the way I looked, and this was back in 2006/2007. Unfortunately, I was in a terrible marriage where I was abused and controlled for many years, I had stopped going to the gym after reaching my goal weight. Life in general was not very pleasant at all and I believe the constant stress and anxiety is what prevented me from gaining weight. At the time, I just thought I had a lucky metabolism!

I finally left my husband and abandonded that terrible part of my life. Since then, I fell in love with my current partner who is absolutely wonderful to me. I truly do get royal treatment :o) I am so relaxed with him and we are the absolute best of friends. I am completely confortable with him, and unfortunetely because I was so controlled and never had fun in my previous relationship, I was eating like a kid had full access to a candy store! I went crazy on chips, chocolate, soft drink etc! I had so much fun doing it, because I was never allowed to do anything! The weight started to stack on.

In 2009, my cousin was tragically murdered, This turned my life upside down. This was the first family death I have experienced at an age where I actually understand what it means. I fell into an emotional heap. Not only was the death hard to comprehend, but the way it had happened. He was only 25. I was eating chocolate to feel the smallest bit of happiness, and again, the weight piled on.

Not long after that, my partner was diagnosed with Vestibular Disorder which put him out of action for 3 months. He still deals with this every day but has now been able to manage it in every day life. His father was also diagnosed with Stage 4 Lymphoma. He went through months of treatment and it was obviously very emotionally draining on the family. And you guessed it, I was eating and eating and the weight piled on even more! Just when we were coming to terms with the fact that his father may not get through it, final tests confirmed he was in remission. It was the best news!

Life started to turn around and look more positive. My partner and I went on our first holiday interstate together, a nice 2 weeks on the Gold Coast. We got engaged in August 2010, it was by far the happiest day of my life! We spent the next 2 months announcing the news, planning a date for our engagement party, everything became so exciting!

In November 2010, we learned that his dad had Lymphoma in the brain. This shook us a bit, given he was in remission after beating Stage 4 the year before. He became very unwell, and was in hospital for a solid 2 months. It was Christmas Eve he came home, we were told that the treatment wasnt helping, and there was nothing more they could do. He had a hospital bed setup at home, and nurses coming to the house twice daily. My partners mum is the most amazing and caring woman I have ever met in my entire life. She had been his carer for so long, so she did a fantastic job of caring for him when he finally came home just in time for Christmas.

Even though things were not good, my partner and I still hosted our engagement party in January 2011. A great time was had by all, and it was nice to put the sad stuff on hold for a night. Unfortunately, just days later, we lost his father to the Lymphoma. This has been an incredibly sad time for us and the family.

Having gone through such tragic events, I have come to understand that I am very much an emotional eater. Eating and drinking has eased the pain, well so I thought. After the death of my partners father, I realised what I had become. Being almost 20kg heavier than when we started dating, I knew I was heading down a path of no return. I joined Fernwood Gym at the end of January so I could start improvivng my lifestyle, and instead of dealing with grief by eating, I was hitting the gym to workout.

I discovered Zumba which I love doing so much. It gives my mind an escape, I have so much fun with it and it makes me feel great at the end of it. I am now doing it 3 times a week and feel great for it, but my eating habits need a revamp! I have only lost 2-3 kilos since January, which is not good enough!

Just over a week ago, I bought the Crunchtime Cookbook and have been using the recipes in that since Monday last week. I kept my normal gym routine and cut out coffee, chocolate etc. Didn't touch the bad stuff! I was pleasantly suprised when I weighed in yesterday morning. 1.3kg's GONE! If I was able to do this following the cookbook, I can only imagine what I can do by participating in this challenge!

I have been looking into it for some time now, and I just couldnt wait to sign up! Hence the cookbook purchase :o) I am doing this challenge because I have finally realised, I need to turn my life around before I get myself into such a state where it all feels too hard. I am overweight, but I can do this! It is also a positive change to make, and I am all about the positivity! This is something to give me to focus on, I love setting goals, and I love achieving them!

Time to put the emotional eating aside, and time to revamp my life! I am climbing out of my hiding place, and facing the music. No more feeling sad and sorry, no more excuses. I not only need to do this for myself, but I need to do this for the loved ones around me. It's not just about looks and confidence either, it's about reducing my health risks too such as diabetes and heart desease. I want to be healthy again, and most importantly...STAY HEALTHY! :o) I have already quit smoking, now it's time for the next step!

Thank you for reading my story if you've made it this far, I have a bit of a habit for writing lengthy stuff hehe! I look forward to learning about you all and seeing/hearing about your progress. Let's do this! :o)