A month before starting CrossFit I went on a family trip to Disneyland. I realized how heavy I really was on this trip when on the last night of our 3 day Disney trip, I was in tears of pain from walking around all day. The week before going to Infernal, I went to an HCG Doctor. During that that visit I found out I was 54% body fat, and morbidly obese at 204 pounds. As a pack a day smoker with horrible eating habits, I knew I was in bad shape – I just didn’t realize just how bad it really was. All of this could be handled with the HCG plan and a few thousand dollars, which I didn’t have… I felt hopeless.
That evening I went to dinner with my brother, sister-in-law and our Mom. My brother, for as long as I can remember was very active in sports, from football to body building to triathlons – he’s done it. When he suggested I try crossfit, I thought he was referring to another extreme sport of his. I had recently gone to support my sister-in-law at an CrossFit event she was in, and it was her experience that gave me that final push to just try it. All of my siblings were doing CrossFit at the time, I was the only one who hadn’t tried it yet. They challenged me to try it for a week, if I didn’t like it, then at least I knew I tried. The following Monday I walked into Infernal, scared out of my mind. I knew I wasn’t going to be able to do the things I saw the other people do, heck, I was pretty sure I was going to die in that first work out! Much to my surprise; I didn’t die, I didn’t throw up, I didn’t pass out, I survived my first workout of 100 Wall Balls and a burpee on the minute every minute! Although I knew I hated wall balls and was pretty sure burpees were the work of the devil himself, I knew I would be back on Wednesday for the next work out. It didn’t take the week for me to decide, because I knew that even though every single part of my body ached, I had finally found a workout regimen that I could get use to, and for the first time, I had a little hope that I might actually be able to lose the weight and be proud of myself again.
That night, my sister took my before pictures and I started my journey. Now, 5 months later….. I weigh 178 pounds, 28% body fat (when I checked last month) and I look forward to every workout (so long as Burpees aren’t in the WOD). I recently quit smoking and I am watching my impossible become my reality. I still have a ways to go to reach my goal, but today I know that it is possible. Just like when I thought a pull-up, or even a box jump were impossible for me, after reaching those milestones, the words “I can’t do that” are no longer in my vocabulary. Now I say “I’m not there yet, but I will be soon!” I came into Crossfit ashamed of how far I had let myself go, now I walk with my head held high, confident in the woman I am and eager to see what tomorrow will bring!