Blog - Weight Loss Journey: From Obese to Marathoner
Weight Loss Journey: From Obese to Marathoner
My weight loss journey began after a routine visit to the doctor’s office. My 
certified Nurse Practitioner said that I was obese!! This was very unsettling for me, and I knew I needed to make some drastic changes in my life. Needless to say, I was not going to take this laying down. Instead, I decided to do something about my visit to the doctor’s office. I was tired of coming up with excuses of why I looked the way I did, so I got motivated!! I wanted to be able to fit into my old clothes, and I definitely wanted to look like I did before child birth. Most importantly I wanted to overcome my insecure feelings of previously failed attempts at weight loss.
“I was tired of coming up with excuses of why I looked the way I did, so I got motivated!!”
The Lows and Highs of My Journey
Lows
Some of the “lows” of my weight loss were pretty much the same, I suspect, as anyone else who tries to lose weight. To start with, it just seemed like I had absolutely no energy. The harder I tried, the more tired I also became. As if that wasn’t enough to deal with, my self-esteem seemed to match my energy level, LOW!! In the beginning, I would get up at 5 AM and walk five miles in the morning, and then barely make it home in time to make school lunches for my kids. I worked all day, and then I would come home at night and walk another five miles. It was a lot to take in at first.
Other lows included giving up my favorite foods, and believe me, this was not an easy thing to do. The more I thought about the things I liked to eat that I couldn’t have anymore, the more depressed it made me. Lastly, the weight loss just seemed like it wasn’t happening fast enough. It didn’t matter how much or how little I worked out, the weight scale hated me for sure. My husband is my biggest supporter, and he told me “Honey, don’t look at the scale, just keep doing what you’re doing, and you WILL lose the weight!”
Highs
The “highs” of my weight loss were definitely better than the lows, needless to say. After a few months of working out, I physically felt better than I did when I started. Also, I had much more energy. The workouts were becoming easier, and I still had more energy at the end of my workout sessions. At this point, I began to see my weight start to go down, and I also started to look thinner. I mentally started to feel good about what I was trying to accomplish, and that it wasn’t all for nothing. These were just a few things that inspired me to keep going onward.
“I mentally started to feel good about what I was trying to accomplish, and that it wasn’t all for nothing.”
My First Realization of Weight Loss
After about six months or so, the actual “realization” of my weight loss started to happen. I could fit into smaller size clothes that I otherwise “wouldn’t even look at”. I could also eat smaller sized portions of healthy food, and it was quite filling. Astonishingly enough, I was losing about 7 lbs a month, which was more than my 5 lbs per month goal. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing! Finally, I could enter a 5K run, and actually finish strong instead of just walking it. These realizations made me even more motivated, and for the first time in a long while, I knew that I could reach my pre-twin pregnancy weight at 145 lbs.
What Keeps Me Motivated
I like to stay motivated, and it is very important to me. My children are my world, and I want to set a good example for them not only by staying healthy, but by also showing them that goals can be achieved if you set your mind to it. Since my transformation, I can do 5k runs much easier now, and that makes me happy. I like what I see in myself, so I don’t want to lose everything that I have worked so hard for. My happiness also helps to keep me motivated. They say that the better you look, the better you feel about yourself. It looks like they were right. Selfishly speaking though, the main thing that keeps me motivated might sound silly, but I want to be able to fit into my dress that I bought back in 1999!! I looked at it everyday since I started my journey and I finally fit into it!
“I like what I see in myself, so I don’t want to lose everything that I have worked so hard for.”
*From Nov 2016, I completed over 50+ 5Ks, two 10Ks, two major 10M (Broad Street and Army 10M), one full marathon and five half marathons.
AFM is on Konnie’s bucket list. She was signed up this year, but when the event went virtual, Konnie decided to do the FFW Challenge. She ran her 5K on 9/1, 10K on 9/3, and her Half Marathon on 9/6. Her neighbors even created a chalk art start and finish line for her! Konnie hopes to complete the Air Force Marathon in person next year! (So do we, Konnie!)
Written by: Konnie Christensen
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