DebbieH
Cathlete
Well, Donna & HB, here it is!
Whew, were do I start? My story is a bit different from the other inspiring success stories here. Mine, mainly centers around beating the odds of genetics & a life style I was accustomed too, growing up. As a matter of fact, I have never had a MAJOR weight problem, other then about 20 pounds over. I, constantly, since my two children were born, struggled with that excess. I come from a family where death by obesity, heart disease and cancer run rampant. I lost my mother at the young age of 43 to a tragic car accident. My kids were only 6 months old and 6 years old. My Mom's weight did not contribute to her death of course, but she was overweight. I have lost ALL relatives on my Mom's side (her parents, both to heart attacks, one brother to a heart attack and one brother to cancer. She has two siblings still living, one of which has cancer and heart problems.) I have ONLY ONE living relative on my Dad's side. My dad was 350 pounds. He had a heart attack at age 49. They did surgery and came to find out that 5 arteries were blocked. Due to time under anesthetic, they did a quadruple by-pass rather then all five. The heart attack scared him enough to get serious enough about his health. After recovery, he started a fast walking program and a cleaner diet. He got down to 250 lbs.! He was delighted/proud of himself and so was I! Unfortunately, over the next 5 years, he gained it all back! Then, my youngest sis got pregnant with what was supposed to be his last grandchild. (she ended up having one more!) He was determined he wanted to "get healthy" so he could see this last grandchild be born. Again, he started a walking program and had lost 90 pounds when the baby was born. He went to the Dr. for a check-up and the Dr. said, "Keep up the good job!" The day after, he died of a massive heart attack at the young age of 54! He had planned that following week to go see his grandbaby but never got to see her. All 4 of us kids were devastated to say the least, but my sis with the new baby just cried & cried because he would never see her child. I truly think his death was the MAJOR turning point in my life. I decided I HAD to get serious about my health and the odds I was facing. I became a Hi/Lo instructor back in 1981. After about two years, I had lost 10 pounds. I, still to this day, battle 10 pounds, but I try not to concentrate on the scales. I feel VERY healthy and have gone from a size 12 to an 8. I have learned so much thru this forum and from using Cathe tapes that I know it is JUST a number! My main focus now is being the BEST I can be! I truly think that my image of myself has changed drastically since adding Cathe strength tapes into the mix. I saw a pix of me from last Summer & I have to admit, I saw someone in that pix that had some muscles and not ALL fat! It was me!!! I had never seen myself that way before! I finally realized that all this HARD work has paid off. I am still a work in progress and mostly having to work hard at the clean eating aspect as we were raised on tons of carbs and lots of fatty foods. I have the exercise part down real GOOD! For a grandma at 50 I feel pretty darn good! I lost my brother to cancer almost 3 years ago at the young age of 44. Another big eye-opener! I know I have jumped all over the place on this post, but my main point (& I do have one!) I want to stress, is that I decided not to let the odds get the best of me. I am going to be the BEST I can be! I am in the process of trying to persuade both of my sisters who are sedentary to start a healthier lifestyle because I want them to be with me in my OLD age. I have had the JOY of my hubby/best friend join me this past year doing Cathe's strength tapes. It is the FIRST time in his life that he has stayed comitted/consistent to a workout! He looks forward to "seeing" Cathe 3X/week with me!!I know I have rambled on & on here & talked in circles, but I just want to take the time to THANK Cathe, SNM and all my cyber friends here (5 of whom I have had the pleasure of meeting in person! Hi Murph, HB, Erica, Aimee & Lisa! http://www.handykult.de/plaudersmilies.de/happy/xyxwave.gif)I am sooo blessed to have found this place & it has definitely helped me in my journey by kicking my fitness level up a few EXTRA notches! Cathe's tapes deliver & they were just the extra "push" I needed to kick heart disease right out the window! I enjoy life to the fullest, all my loved ones still remaining, my hubby/best friend, my two children, their spouse/fiance, and my granddaughter. There's no stopping me now! A big hug to you ALL!!!!! http://www.handykult.de/plaudersmilies.de/knuddel.gif
Your-Friend-In-Fitness, DebbieH http://www.smilies-world.de/Smilies/Smilies_klein_1/wavey.gif If You Get The Choice To Sit It Out Or Dance...I Hope You DANCE!!!
Whew, were do I start? My story is a bit different from the other inspiring success stories here. Mine, mainly centers around beating the odds of genetics & a life style I was accustomed too, growing up. As a matter of fact, I have never had a MAJOR weight problem, other then about 20 pounds over. I, constantly, since my two children were born, struggled with that excess. I come from a family where death by obesity, heart disease and cancer run rampant. I lost my mother at the young age of 43 to a tragic car accident. My kids were only 6 months old and 6 years old. My Mom's weight did not contribute to her death of course, but she was overweight. I have lost ALL relatives on my Mom's side (her parents, both to heart attacks, one brother to a heart attack and one brother to cancer. She has two siblings still living, one of which has cancer and heart problems.) I have ONLY ONE living relative on my Dad's side. My dad was 350 pounds. He had a heart attack at age 49. They did surgery and came to find out that 5 arteries were blocked. Due to time under anesthetic, they did a quadruple by-pass rather then all five. The heart attack scared him enough to get serious enough about his health. After recovery, he started a fast walking program and a cleaner diet. He got down to 250 lbs.! He was delighted/proud of himself and so was I! Unfortunately, over the next 5 years, he gained it all back! Then, my youngest sis got pregnant with what was supposed to be his last grandchild. (she ended up having one more!) He was determined he wanted to "get healthy" so he could see this last grandchild be born. Again, he started a walking program and had lost 90 pounds when the baby was born. He went to the Dr. for a check-up and the Dr. said, "Keep up the good job!" The day after, he died of a massive heart attack at the young age of 54! He had planned that following week to go see his grandbaby but never got to see her. All 4 of us kids were devastated to say the least, but my sis with the new baby just cried & cried because he would never see her child. I truly think his death was the MAJOR turning point in my life. I decided I HAD to get serious about my health and the odds I was facing. I became a Hi/Lo instructor back in 1981. After about two years, I had lost 10 pounds. I, still to this day, battle 10 pounds, but I try not to concentrate on the scales. I feel VERY healthy and have gone from a size 12 to an 8. I have learned so much thru this forum and from using Cathe tapes that I know it is JUST a number! My main focus now is being the BEST I can be! I truly think that my image of myself has changed drastically since adding Cathe strength tapes into the mix. I saw a pix of me from last Summer & I have to admit, I saw someone in that pix that had some muscles and not ALL fat! It was me!!! I had never seen myself that way before! I finally realized that all this HARD work has paid off. I am still a work in progress and mostly having to work hard at the clean eating aspect as we were raised on tons of carbs and lots of fatty foods. I have the exercise part down real GOOD! For a grandma at 50 I feel pretty darn good! I lost my brother to cancer almost 3 years ago at the young age of 44. Another big eye-opener! I know I have jumped all over the place on this post, but my main point (& I do have one!) I want to stress, is that I decided not to let the odds get the best of me. I am going to be the BEST I can be! I am in the process of trying to persuade both of my sisters who are sedentary to start a healthier lifestyle because I want them to be with me in my OLD age. I have had the JOY of my hubby/best friend join me this past year doing Cathe's strength tapes. It is the FIRST time in his life that he has stayed comitted/consistent to a workout! He looks forward to "seeing" Cathe 3X/week with me!!I know I have rambled on & on here & talked in circles, but I just want to take the time to THANK Cathe, SNM and all my cyber friends here (5 of whom I have had the pleasure of meeting in person! Hi Murph, HB, Erica, Aimee & Lisa! http://www.handykult.de/plaudersmilies.de/happy/xyxwave.gif)I am sooo blessed to have found this place & it has definitely helped me in my journey by kicking my fitness level up a few EXTRA notches! Cathe's tapes deliver & they were just the extra "push" I needed to kick heart disease right out the window! I enjoy life to the fullest, all my loved ones still remaining, my hubby/best friend, my two children, their spouse/fiance, and my granddaughter. There's no stopping me now! A big hug to you ALL!!!!! http://www.handykult.de/plaudersmilies.de/knuddel.gif
Your-Friend-In-Fitness, DebbieH http://www.smilies-world.de/Smilies/Smilies_klein_1/wavey.gif If You Get The Choice To Sit It Out Or Dance...I Hope You DANCE!!!