How Did You Get Started?

:D I started exercising at the age of 19 after the birth of my first son! Being young and naive after giving birth, I thought the weight would just come right off after birth! Boy, was I wrong! I found Cathe in 1992 and have been doing her videos for 12 years now also! I was very active as a child being a tomboy and playing with my brothers friends, football, baseball etc. In my teen years, I played softball, basketball and tennis!
 
Laurie- great topic!

As a kid, I was average as far as weight. Sometime between 11 and 13, I became very body-conscious and began stepping and doing weights on and off. I also began dieting, which I obviously didn't know much about. I grew up around dieters in my mom's family, all of whom continuously talk about weight at every family function.

At 15, my friend taught me how to throw up, and my binging and purging began. Although I didn't eat well, and sometimes did weird things like eat only every other day, I maintained a healthy weight. I didn't feel good about myself, though. My first signs of major depression began to appear.

At 17, my purging decreased, and I used laxatives instead. I also started doing Pilates and really enjoyed it but wasn't consistent. My diet consisted mostly of junk food.

During my first year of college, I gained about 30 pounds, and I didn't even live at school! I continued to binge but didn't "get rid of anything" as much and consequently gained a lot of weight. My depression got really bad, and I was just stuck in a horrible cycle. I stopped socializing, couldn't concentrate, and basically just ate & slept.

I lost the 30 pounds later that year by dieting, exercising, and taking Stacker pills, which I think is quite possibly one of the worst things you can do to your body. I felt great for a while but quickly spiraled down into as deep depression. I also experienced a lot of anxiety and ended up leaving school, which was very out of character for me. I had tried anti-depressants in the past without any luck and tried them again around this time. I gained 30 pounds once again and resumed my horrendous eating habits. That summer, I landed myself in the Psychiatric Ward of the hospital because my depression and anxiety were out of control. It was the scariest thing I'd ever experienced. Luckily, I started taking Wellbutrin & Lexapro, which seem to be the key for me.

I had many emotional ups & downs in the next few months, but once I got the right dosage of medication, I began to feel better. I still wasn't taking classes or socializing, which by the way, I hadn't done in a very long time because of all of this craziness. I couldn't go to campus without having a panic attack, which was horribly embarrassing because I'd shake and sweat and probably looked pretty strange!

My focus for a long time was getting well enough to go back to school, and in December, it finally occurred to me that I should want to get better for myself, not for school. I hated putting pressure on myself to get back in the game.

I officially left school in January and enrolled at an online college. It is one of the best decisions I've ever made! I completed two courses as of yesterday and feel like I learned more than I would have at my previous school.

In the meantime, without the pressure of school, I was able to focus on feeling good. I began eating really well, exercising, and getting out of the house. I discovered Cathe about a month ago, and she has just completely upped my motivation. I've lost twenty pounds in two months, which I am very happy about. It's not my main concern, though. I feel like I lost a few years of my life, so I want to be as healthy as possible so I can enjoy many more days on this earth! Also, I think about how lucky I am just to be able to move and walk, etc. The other day at the eye doctor, I found out that I have a scar on my eye from when I was in a car accident 10 years ago. It didn't affect my vision, thank god. Things like this just make you want to take better care of yourself.

There was a time when I thought things would never get better. I still don't feel 100% like myself, but I'm slowly getting there. Sometimes, I fear that something will happen and I'll revert to bad habits. I truly hope that never happens!

I'll be 22 in July, but I think I'm old at heart. Most of my friends don't care about the things I do- eating well, wearing sunscreen, exercising, taking care of the environment, politics lol... I am so glad to be able to post on this board and share my thoughts with others who seem to care about similar things. Thank god for Cathe Friedrich and the rest of you!!!

That was a mouthful lol!

Gina
 
I think your story is really inspiring! It kind of my reminds me that a journey starts with just one step. How awesome that you went from jogging to do all of these other amazing activities!

Gina
 
Hi Carole, I have so much respect for runners. I've never been good at it, and maybe I never will. I can't imagine what it must be like to run a marathon.

Gina
 
Shonie,

Thanks for sharing your story. I really liked your message about beginners sticking with it through the ups and downs.

Gina
 
Dear Gina --

Thank you so much for sharing your story. It takes courage to tell such an intimate tale. Please keep up the good work of taking care of yourself! Also know that many women share in the same struggles you describe -- at least to some degree.

Stay Strong,
Shonie
 
Oh my good gracious!! I just got home from work, kissed the kids and sat down to check messages and the like. I am so glad I asked all y'all about this, I am touched, inspired and humbled by the group of people I have been fortunate enough to 'meet' through this forum. My first clue that working out was more than just physical occurred on a rowing machine, with each pull I realized that the word 'Rage' was seething from my mouth. You have all reminded me how incredibly powerful working out can be.
Our motivations and goals vary greatly but the common 'thread' is our beloved Cathe. I thank my lucky stars for her and all of you. Thanks for your honesty and generosity and never forget that, WE ROCK A LOT!!!!!!:) }( :7
Take Care and please, feel free to tell us more!!
Laurie:)
 
Hi Laurie!

For me it was like a light switch came on one day. It was when
I was 22 and realized I was getting very much out of shape by being lazy and eating nothing but crap.

One day I came home from work and made and ate two fried chicken
sandwiches with cheese and mayo. Plus I probably had chips
and candy and all other kinds of nutritious food. HA! And
then I'm sure I topped it off by lying on the couch and
watching TV the rest of the day.

Anyways, for some reason after I ate those two chicken sandwiches
something just clicked with me and I felt disgusted with
myself. The next day I started a walking regimen and I have
been exercising since then--1993.

I've taken a month or two off here and there but I would say
I've been working out now probably 85% of the time since 93.

I started with a walking regimen and then started to add in weight
work at a gym. Then, I bought my first ever video, which was
Jane Fonda's Lower Body Solution. And it sorta just evolved from
there.

My first Cathe was Step Jam in '96 and I haven't looked back!

I remember when I was teen I liked to try and pick heavy things up to make my biceps bulge!LOL! I always liked feeling strong, but I wasn't
very athletic in school. I hated gym, I hated running, I hated pretty
much everything when I HAD to do it.

How times have changed!

I guess I'm (as well as everybody here) just one of those people
who've discovered the joys of exercise and who LOVE to work out and feel strong!!

Melanie :)
 
Thank you, I have come a long way, this time last year I couldn't even get off the couch because of the pain in my hip. I had to use wheelchairs for stores and a cane for around the house.
If I had only known back then what I know now I would have taken better care of my self and I don't think I would have gotten so bad, The sad part is I will never be all well, the working out has gotten me to where I can get around pretty good, and yes I look a lot better also :)
But I owe Cathe all the credit, she makes her workouts so fun and the way she talks keeps me so motivated and smiling!! If I can get a message to the young kids I would tell them to take care of them selves, get proper sleep and eat properly and yes exercise!! Don't wait like I did when I got sick.
 
Hi Gina,

Thanks.

No, I actually stopped the walking regimen back in '95 I think. I did it for about two years if I remember correctly. I stopped because I moved. I had this walking route I did EVERY DAY rain or shine and then I moved and never found another route I liked and just kind of stopped.

But then I had started doing videos anyway and after I bought my first Cathe, videos dominated my workouts. Cathe videos mostly.

For other exercise I play ice hockey and go ice skating
now and then.

Melanie :)
 
I always "tried" to workout but never stuck to it until 2002. I tore my patella tendon in my left knee. I realized at 104 lbs. over-weight and physically out-of-shape that I had to do something. Everything seemed over-whelming and I had been told no stairs, no high impact, no fast walking on my knee. So I decided to take yoga.

That one small step I credit with changing my life. Not just about fitness but in general. Yoga taught me to accept myself and respect myself and honor my body. Last year I joined WW online and I've now lost a total of 53 lbs., 20 before WW and 33 more since joining. I still have a long way to go but if you look at my life now where it was 2 years ago, you wouldn't believe it. I now workout intensely 5-6 days per week most days 2-3 hours. Swimming, weight lifting, kickboxing, yoga, biking (when warm) and elliptical (notice nothing high impact or even repetitive low impact you can be really fit even if you can't do high impact!).

For me the fitness came before the weightloss and the weightloss was a decision I made after seeing how the weight held back my ability to progress physically. It's a daily lifetime journey that I couldn't be happier about. :)
 
Congratulations on all of your success so far! The first step is the hardest to take. Isn't it amazing how exercise can affect and change so many things?

Gina
 
I was never particularly active, and almost always the "last one chosen" in gym class. I first began exercising (unless you count a very brief foray into cardio a couple of friends and I did for a couple of weeks in High School) when I was an undergrad. I began to walk/run 4 miles a day in bad shoes, up and down hill until I wrecked my knee (this was the'no-pain-no-gain' era!), and I tried a bit of weight work and yoga, but nothing consistant.

Then I didn't exercise at all until I got to grad school. In addition to biking everywhere (Madison, Wisconsin is a great place to bike) and even doing a century ride, I took a weight training course my second year of grad school. When I found out the instructor didn't know what he was doing (a one-day substitute, a women, corrected all the form errors she could in a brief hour), I began to read up a lot on weight training in particular.

Towards the end of writing my dissertation, I ended up doing distance walking, but no longer much weight training.

When I got a job and moved, I didn't do much but walk "a bit" for two years, then weighed myself and found that I had gained 10 pounds by just being less physically active. Not wanting to gain 5 pounds a year, I began to workout more consistently,and for the first time with videos. My first video was one of Cher's (the non-step video). Then I bought a soft foam step and a Denise Austin video (thinking the soft foam would be better for my knee, but it was worse.).

Since then, 12 years ago, I've been pretty consistant about exercising, and have added more and more videos (about 200 right now, though if I had kept them all, I'm sure I'd have at least 400) and equipment, and adding different types of workouts. I've hit some slumps (like an almost 1-year break about 3 years ago), but I'm on track now.
 
Hi Kathryn:
Thanks for the input. I was interested in what you wrote about biking. Once spring comes I don't put many miles on my car as I would rather pedal around town and one less car on the road can only be a good thing. I feel like I've had a good ride if I put in 60 kilometres, I think that's about 38 miles, I never did figure out all of the metric/imperial conversions (1 mile=1.6k??). Am I right in assuming that a century ride is 100 miles or am I way off?
I had to chuckle at the number of videos you quoted as I have about 150 at home and have sold many at yard sales and passed others along to friends. Ever hopeful, I bought another today, a Pilates Infused Yoga tape, looks good on the preview, I'll try it tomorrow after some cardio.
Thanks again to all for sharing your stories.

Take Care
Laurie
 
This IS a great thread. I read a post here very close to my own story. I too was an only child - very thin actually. My mom was worried about me so every day after school she would load me up with junk food -- potato chips, pretzels, you name it, I ate it! By age 10 I was very overweight and very much teased by my classmates. It was a very sad time in my life. In high school I just naturally lost the weight although I was never active in any sports. When I got married at age 25, I struggled a bit with weight as I loved to cook for my husband and was always trying new recipes! Little by little, the weight creeped up and then got pregnant hiding my weight behind my pregancy. Eventually, years later I found walking as my only enjoyable means of exercising and used to walk 3-4 miles outside every day keeping the pounds at bay. I also used Weight Watchers. It wasn't until 2 years ago, at age 46 with 40 pounds to lose that I discovered exercise videos and how fun and effective they could be. Starting off with Walk Away the Pounds, moving on to the Firm and now to Cathe, I never thought at age 48 I could be this fit. I am into a size I have never been in my entire life and I feel fit, healthy and full of energy. Exercise videos will always be a part of my life, and I thank goodness for my recently found new fitness guru, Cathe!
 
Rhiannon,

Was the guy that called you Flat-Ass the same guy that called me Fat-ass? Not walking to class but walking into high school homeroom one morning. I was mortified!!! But now I secretly thank him for the insult because it got me off my ass. I lost 45 lbs after that horrid experience which I pretty much maintained into adulthood (by watching my food intake only).

I started exercising regularly finally finding time when my daughter was in high school. Pretty much just aerobics three days a week. Then the three days a week turned into six days a week as I got older.

My girlfriend introduced me to the FIRM in 1996 and I found I loved the results I got with adding weights. About three years ago I found Cathe and I love what her exercise programs do for me. I wake up to Cathe six days a week. What a way to start the day!
 
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