Hi. My name is Ann and I'm a stress-aholic......

I have a problem with stress. I stress about stress. I can stress about anything - Nothing to stress about? No problem. I can invent find something. I have extremely patient and supportive friends that laugh at my stress, talk me off a ledge, and help me see how ridiculous I can be. Thanks guys!

Most recently I have seen first hand how stress has been affecting my weight.

I've been told a million times:

Also - STOP looking at what your role models/ "I want to look like her" are eating, doing, posting..... Why? You ARE NOT them. They are pros. I am NOT. I do not need to eat 6 meals of 1 million grams of protein. I did not workout 5 times today. They have no idea what's going on with Rich Kids of Beverly Hills, Real Housewives, Candidly Nicole, Tori and Dean.....I do. I really, really do. 

I have stressed about my weight. Spent hours looking up how _______ eats. I weighed myself daily. I have researched. I have spent money on - well, you name it. I have done online nutrition coaching. I have been to an actual sports nutritionist. Just writing about all this makes me sweat. What does all this equal? Stress. Then I'm upset, crying, emotional, hangry........no one likes it. Then I want to quit and eat the cookie dough tube.

I don't know what changed. I don't know what clicked.....maybe just the stars aligned.....but this last month has been my best, least stressed food/weight/workout month EVER. That's right folks, EVER! Stress levels are DOWN. If they go up they come back to earth MUCH faster. I'm done stressing about my stupid weight!

I am eating when I'm hungry (duh). I'm eating protein. I'm eating green veggies - LOTS. I'm drinking water - All. Day. Long. I've lost 7.6 pounds this month. What!?!?! No stress. I've had fun food days.... Let me tell you about this snowball I had in Baltimore. That's right, upgraded with the marshmellow fluff. Who am I? I've had some wine, some cocktails. Instead of freaking out and wondering "What am I doing wrong?", "What am I going to weight tomorrow?" - I have decided to not think about it. One meal did not get me chubby. It was years of neglect.

Now I'm waking up with a smile. It's so nice. Just ask my husband.

Stress. Get rid of it. Smile. Live life. Have fun. 

I do still like to check on what the greats are doing......like Lauren:

The difference now is that when I watch it I'm in awe. I'm not taking notes, I'm not thinking how I can incorporate their life into mine.......These are pros. They are not me. They do not have my life. 

Long Road

I caught the running bug in my first 5K in April 2009. It was amazing! Everything I read about......goosebumps, teary eyes, totally hooked! I finished the race and instantly talked about the next one I was going to do. It helped that I won one of the raffle prizes (a pair of cool socks!) my family was there and the weather was perfect.

It was a long road to get that point though. I played sports all my life, but loathed running. I ran so that I could pass the timed mile/2 mile to get on the team and that was it. I played field hockey and lacrosse. Lots of running in lacrosse, but if there wasn't a lacrosse stick in my hand - fat chance I was going to run. I played lacrosse in college. Loved it. Made lots of friends. Still hated to run. My roommate was on the soccer team. We were both captains our senior year - had lots of responsibilities......still hated to run.

After I graduated I spent 2 years in graduate school, got a job, got married. Gained alot of weight. A LOT. It was not pretty. I went to weight watchers, which worked great, and just kept on going. After I had my first son (went up to 200 pounds) I used Shaklee Cinch and walking to loose the weight. 6 months gone, back to pre-baby weight and BAM! Pregnant again! UGH! So, had son #2 and weighed in at 210 pounds. I got back onto the Shaklee shakes and went to the gym. I ended up loosing a ton of weight and started to get attention for it. I entered a contest with Shaklee and won! $500!!!!!! The write up and story is in this link: http://www.cinchclub.com/success_story.html?storyName=ann.xml

So that gave me the confidence to sign up for a 5K and I got to work. I caught the bug during that race and I've been going ever since. I like the longer runs, 10K and 1/2 marathons are my favorite. I just can't get going fast enough in a 5K to post the times I want. One day, they say it takes 7 years to get to peak running condition.....I have a LONG way to go!

How did you get started? Was there an exact moment? A bunch of things that led up to it?