Today is a really big anniversary for me! I met up with my Doctor one year ago today to go over all my test results and to do an ultrasound. I was given the news that I was insulin resistant and that I have what is called PCOS (polycystic ovarian syndrome). A year ago today is the day I got my life back.
I'll take you back in time a little to give you some background on my story so that you understand a little more of why I do what I do everyday to get my life back. This is a really long post so hopefully I don't bore everyone to death!
My husband and I really wanted to start a family when we got married 14 years ago. Little did we know our journey to have kids would be a rocky road. In 7 years I was pregnant 6 times and out of those 6 pregnancies we have 2 beautiful daughters who I am very thankful that I have in my life. In 2007 when my youngest miracle was 18 months old I decided it was time to get "Jena" back. Pregnancy really took a toll on my body and I found myself at 280+ pounds and unable to do things I wanted to do with my family because of my size.
Growing up I was always athletic, I loved sports and was born to run. When I got married and tried starting a family this part of me got packed up in a box somewhere and collected dust. Well, in 2007 I went and found that part of me, dusted it off and started working my butt off. My husband bought me a jogging stroller and I put my 5 year old and my 18 month old in it everyday and ran to the school to drop my oldest off, and then would turn around and head home. It was 1 mile each way and I would do this twice a day. I also decided that I would start running half marathons and other races to keep myself motivated. I ran the Riverton half 2 times, the St. George half and the Bear lake half along with a lot of other races, 5k's 10k's, 15ks and relays. I joined a running group at Salt Lake Running Company and ran with them every Saturday morning in Sugar House. To this day I am happy to say that these runners are some of my dearest friends and biggest supporters.
Next I started walking with friends in the evening and working with a friend who is a personal trainer. I would slowly lose, but it would just creep back on but I kept on going. After that friend moved I started working with another friend who is a personal trainer and the same thing would happen. I would lose weight, dropping big numbers from eating right and working my tail off, but then it would just creep back on again. I was determined to keep going and so 2 times a week I would plan workouts for friends and I to do in the park and at the church. Also at this time I had a friend tell me about a program called "Boot Camp" run by an awesome personal trainer named Marcus. I signed up and for 9 months and I attended his class 5 times a week at 5:30 am. He worked with me on my training and my eating and I was still going up and down with my weight for no apparent reason. Then I hit a huge road block, my feet felt like they were broken. It hurt to do anything so I went to the foot doctor to find out what was going on. I had what is called Plantar Fasciitis which is very painful but I did everything the doctor asked me to fix it. The things he suggested worked a little but not enough for me to be able to do what I wanted to do so I switched to my funky toe shoes and now have no problems with my feet.
So now bootcamp was over and I needed something else to keep me going so my husband and I signed us up for the new gym that was going to open in a few months. At this point though I was beginning to become very frustrated with not being able to succeed in weight-loss. I felt like I was doing everything above and beyond to be able to reach my goals but nothing was working. I was also using a body media fit armband to help keep me in check but still, my body would not let go of the pounds. I decided that my last course of action was to go see my OBGYN, the man who had helped figure out why I couldn't carry babies to full term and is the reason why I have my two girls. I thought that since he was so good at finding answers that maybe he could help me.
I went in to him in February of 2011 and told him my whole story, everything that you just read, and he just looked at me and told me that something must be off if I had really been doing all this work and seeing no results. The lowest weight I ever got down to was around 225 and when I went in to the Doctor I was already back over 270 pounds. I was so frustrated! My doctor was determined to help me get answers and answers I got! After several trips to see him in Layton and a final Ultrasound he was able to tell me what I call good news because I was starting to think I was crazy and that I was going to be overweight my whole life. He told me that I have PCOS and Insulin Resistance and these two forces of nature were fighting against my efforts, and that the good thing was that there was a medicine that could help and keep these problems in check. He started me on Metformin Feb. 28th 2011 and it was amazing how quick I started to feel better. The only side effect I had from this medicine was some stomach issues but I will take stomach issues any day, rather than being overweight. Then, at the end of March after being on my meds for almost a month and getting my self re-motivated I started going to the new gym, JL Rec Center in Herriman and doing as many classes as I could handle. I am so grateful for this gym, for the trainers that teach the classes and for all the supportive people there and all the friends I have made there. I feel like I have such a huge group of people cheering me on and that is what keeps me going. People come up to me everyday and tell me that I look amazing and that I inspire them and cheer me on to keep going. I am very thankful for the kindness of others, it helps more than I can explain.
So here I am, 1 year later and 2 days away from weighing in to see how much I have lost. I am so close to being 100 pounds lighter from when I first started my journey. I am going off my 280 pounds as my original weight. I wish I would have kept track of how much weight I had lost only to gain back over the last five years, it is probably and insane number, in the 100's! I am glad to put that all behind me and I look forward to the future. My pictures freak me out because in my head, I was not that overweight person. I have a really good self esteem and so to see myself so big really boggles my mind because I don't know how I did this for so long being so big. I am so grateful that I am close to being down to a healthy weight. Things are so much easier for me now and I have been able to push myself to amazing limits.
Before I end this post I need to say thank you to my wonderful husband who has been my biggest fan, my biggest supporter and has always done everything he can to support me in my efforts. He has worked so hard for our family and he has made it possible for me to be able to go to the gym and do my thing, sometimes 7 hours a day and I love him and I am so glad I have him. I also want to thank my girls, they have been going along on this crazy ride and I couldn't do it without them, they are why I do this! Finally, thanks to all my friends and family who support me every step of the way. I love you all!
Here is to another great year of health and wellness!
Thanks for reading,
Jena
I'll take you back in time a little to give you some background on my story so that you understand a little more of why I do what I do everyday to get my life back. This is a really long post so hopefully I don't bore everyone to death!
My husband and I really wanted to start a family when we got married 14 years ago. Little did we know our journey to have kids would be a rocky road. In 7 years I was pregnant 6 times and out of those 6 pregnancies we have 2 beautiful daughters who I am very thankful that I have in my life. In 2007 when my youngest miracle was 18 months old I decided it was time to get "Jena" back. Pregnancy really took a toll on my body and I found myself at 280+ pounds and unable to do things I wanted to do with my family because of my size.
Growing up I was always athletic, I loved sports and was born to run. When I got married and tried starting a family this part of me got packed up in a box somewhere and collected dust. Well, in 2007 I went and found that part of me, dusted it off and started working my butt off. My husband bought me a jogging stroller and I put my 5 year old and my 18 month old in it everyday and ran to the school to drop my oldest off, and then would turn around and head home. It was 1 mile each way and I would do this twice a day. I also decided that I would start running half marathons and other races to keep myself motivated. I ran the Riverton half 2 times, the St. George half and the Bear lake half along with a lot of other races, 5k's 10k's, 15ks and relays. I joined a running group at Salt Lake Running Company and ran with them every Saturday morning in Sugar House. To this day I am happy to say that these runners are some of my dearest friends and biggest supporters.
Next I started walking with friends in the evening and working with a friend who is a personal trainer. I would slowly lose, but it would just creep back on but I kept on going. After that friend moved I started working with another friend who is a personal trainer and the same thing would happen. I would lose weight, dropping big numbers from eating right and working my tail off, but then it would just creep back on again. I was determined to keep going and so 2 times a week I would plan workouts for friends and I to do in the park and at the church. Also at this time I had a friend tell me about a program called "Boot Camp" run by an awesome personal trainer named Marcus. I signed up and for 9 months and I attended his class 5 times a week at 5:30 am. He worked with me on my training and my eating and I was still going up and down with my weight for no apparent reason. Then I hit a huge road block, my feet felt like they were broken. It hurt to do anything so I went to the foot doctor to find out what was going on. I had what is called Plantar Fasciitis which is very painful but I did everything the doctor asked me to fix it. The things he suggested worked a little but not enough for me to be able to do what I wanted to do so I switched to my funky toe shoes and now have no problems with my feet.
So now bootcamp was over and I needed something else to keep me going so my husband and I signed us up for the new gym that was going to open in a few months. At this point though I was beginning to become very frustrated with not being able to succeed in weight-loss. I felt like I was doing everything above and beyond to be able to reach my goals but nothing was working. I was also using a body media fit armband to help keep me in check but still, my body would not let go of the pounds. I decided that my last course of action was to go see my OBGYN, the man who had helped figure out why I couldn't carry babies to full term and is the reason why I have my two girls. I thought that since he was so good at finding answers that maybe he could help me.
I went in to him in February of 2011 and told him my whole story, everything that you just read, and he just looked at me and told me that something must be off if I had really been doing all this work and seeing no results. The lowest weight I ever got down to was around 225 and when I went in to the Doctor I was already back over 270 pounds. I was so frustrated! My doctor was determined to help me get answers and answers I got! After several trips to see him in Layton and a final Ultrasound he was able to tell me what I call good news because I was starting to think I was crazy and that I was going to be overweight my whole life. He told me that I have PCOS and Insulin Resistance and these two forces of nature were fighting against my efforts, and that the good thing was that there was a medicine that could help and keep these problems in check. He started me on Metformin Feb. 28th 2011 and it was amazing how quick I started to feel better. The only side effect I had from this medicine was some stomach issues but I will take stomach issues any day, rather than being overweight. Then, at the end of March after being on my meds for almost a month and getting my self re-motivated I started going to the new gym, JL Rec Center in Herriman and doing as many classes as I could handle. I am so grateful for this gym, for the trainers that teach the classes and for all the supportive people there and all the friends I have made there. I feel like I have such a huge group of people cheering me on and that is what keeps me going. People come up to me everyday and tell me that I look amazing and that I inspire them and cheer me on to keep going. I am very thankful for the kindness of others, it helps more than I can explain.
So here I am, 1 year later and 2 days away from weighing in to see how much I have lost. I am so close to being 100 pounds lighter from when I first started my journey. I am going off my 280 pounds as my original weight. I wish I would have kept track of how much weight I had lost only to gain back over the last five years, it is probably and insane number, in the 100's! I am glad to put that all behind me and I look forward to the future. My pictures freak me out because in my head, I was not that overweight person. I have a really good self esteem and so to see myself so big really boggles my mind because I don't know how I did this for so long being so big. I am so grateful that I am close to being down to a healthy weight. Things are so much easier for me now and I have been able to push myself to amazing limits.
Before I end this post I need to say thank you to my wonderful husband who has been my biggest fan, my biggest supporter and has always done everything he can to support me in my efforts. He has worked so hard for our family and he has made it possible for me to be able to go to the gym and do my thing, sometimes 7 hours a day and I love him and I am so glad I have him. I also want to thank my girls, they have been going along on this crazy ride and I couldn't do it without them, they are why I do this! Finally, thanks to all my friends and family who support me every step of the way. I love you all!
Here is to another great year of health and wellness!
Thanks for reading,
Jena
Congrats at the weight loss. I don't have PCOS, but many of the symptoms of it. (I have been tested multiple times). I know the frustration with doing everything to lose weight and then not being able to. I'm glad that your PCOS is being controlled and that all of your hard work is finally paying off. It is fun to see you at the pool.
ReplyDeleteThanks Erin! I hope you can get answers, I have a few friends who don't have PCOS but have the symptoms and just have Insulin resistance and were put on Metformin ER like me and it has done wonders for them. Love seeing you at the pool too!
Deleteyou're so amazing Jena! I love ya!
ReplyDeleteThanks Randi! Love you too!
DeleteYes!! You are amazing!!!
ReplyDeleteThanks Jenny! I think you are pretty amazing yourself!
DeleteSalt Lake Running Group, Woot Woot! You're my Jena Bena and you're AMAZEBALLS!!! :D
ReplyDeleteAng! I love you! I love that you invented the word AMAZEBALLS just for me :) Love it!
DeleteWell if it matters at all I thought you were totally awesome before all of this...but after all you have been through (and that is a lot) its amazing to see that your "outsides" look as good as your insides have always been! Not to get too cheesy on you here but I am so honored to call you my friend and hope you are up for the task at getting me back into running shape after this kido comes in a few months. I'm glad your back too....I've missed my bloggin' Jena! Here's to another great year!
ReplyDeleteAmy, I just love you so dang much! You are such a great friend! Thank you for all the kind comments and support. I would love to kick your booty back into shape once you pop that baby out of the oven! Just do me a favor since it is "that time of year", if you get another case of lil' cadbury eggs, share a few with me okay? :D And baby, bloggin' Jena is back! :)
Delete