Over the Past 14 months I have developed a serious passion for health and fitness. Through out this last year I have learned so much and there have been numerous occasions where I wanted to share things I've learned with others but didn't have an outlet to do it. So I decided it was time to start my own blog. I'll start with a little bit about me and my "journey" (hate that word!)
Growing up I played soccer since I was 4 years old. Which meant I was practicing 3 days/week plus weekend games (sometimes 5 in one weekend!) so needless to say I NEVER was concerned about my weight/fitness when I was growing up because I was kept fit through soccer.
Freshman year of college hit and I would say I definitely gained the dreaded freshman 15. Throughout college I would work out here and there, play intramural sports and keep fit by walking up the OUTRAGEOUS hills at Texas State (eat em' up cats!)
After college, in about the 2nd year of the relationship with my (now) husband is when I really started to feel self conscious and notice my weight. It kind of was one of those things always in the back of my mind but I wasn't ready to really do anything about it. I tried P90x for awhile, it was an intense work out, but I didn't adjust my eating habits and therefore no difference was really made. I would "run" here and there, but I would be huffing and puffing by a mile and give up, just telling myself "I'm not a runner".
10/10/10- I got engaged! YAY! Wedding planning commence! For the next year Matt and my lives were CONSUMED with wedding planning!! Most girls get engaged and immediately think about getting in "wedding shape". This NEVER crossed my mind. I know crazy right? Now let me stop right here and say that "technically" I was never "overweight" I am a tall girl, 5'9", so I was weighing in the "normal weight class" for my height. And thats how i justified it. I thought this was just how my adult body would be.
So Matt and I got married 12/4/11 (BEST day of my life BY FAR!!) and we immediately honeymooned in Punta Cana Dominican Republic. The resort we stayed at was AMAZING. And the food was even BETTER! We both ate to our little hearts desires and spent the rest of the time laying on the beach, and well, you know ;) (sorry dad!) so we get back and we've both gained at LEAST 5 lbs. And then the holidays hit. By the time January 1st came around I was at the heaviest weight i have ever been..... 160lbs. (this is the first time I've admitted this publicly... deeeeeep breath katie) I knew i needed to get into shape. And I was ready to start.
I did what everyone does in the New Year, I started going to the gym! I would go straight from work, do about an hour of cardio on an Arc Trainer, and then piddle around on the machines for 15-20 minutes and go home and walk my dog. By doing this from January-May I would say I lost about 8-10lbs, which is GREAT! My original goal was to lose 15lbs. I wanted to weigh 145. I plateaued at 150. I wasn't losing ANY weight. Granted, I really hadn't changed my diet thaaaat much, I would say I was just eating less, but not exactly healthy.
I honestly remember the first time I saw 149 on the scale. It was around June 1st. That was the fist time I remember weighing in the 140s in YEARS. I was ECSTATIC!!!
Everything changed (for the better) in July. My husband, Matt, is a fire fighter. One of the stations he works at is really close to where we used to live in Austin and during the summer he started working out there quite a bit (when he was and wasn't on shift) so I occasionally would go up there with him and try to keep up with little things he did here and there. I began lifting and squatting weight more. I would run laps in the field outside the station. Matt had begun running group work out sessions with some of the guys at the station. They were doing fire related activities (pulling fire house, hammering tires, flipping tires, running stairs with bundles of hoses, whipping hose etc.) Up until that point I would just do my own thing while they did that because I thought I COULDN'T do what they did, I thought I wasn't strong enough. Then one day I thought, what the hell, I'll just TRY it. And you guessed it, I COULD do it! Granted, when i first began (and even now with some things) I couldn't flip or pull as much weight as the guys could. I would carry a smaller bundle or flip a smaller tire, I eventually worked my way up to the medium size tire that even some of the guys still use. I was doing everything they were doing with modifications here and there.
By August, with the weight training being a regular thing, (5-6 days per week) I began to see major changes. I believe when Matt and I went to NYC in august i was 146, and thanks to walking 5-10 miles a day there, 144 when we got back! I had hit my first goal. At this point I was becoming more and more conscious about my diet.
Now let me just say, I HATE the word diet how it is used in our society. I am NOT and never WILL be "on a diet". Diets DON'T work, but that will be a whole other blog. Lets just say I started paying attention to nutrition annnnd RUNNING!
Like I said before I had always said "I'm not a runner" (even in soccer!!) I DESPISED running. But my husband, and common sense, has always told me that running is the BEST cardio for your body. The most natural form of cardiovascular work out you can do. Great for your heart, great for your joints, great for your muscles and GREAT for weight loss! Like I said, january 2012 I couldn't run a mile w/out stopping. By october-november I had jumped to 4-5 miles w/out stopping. By January 2013 i believe is ran i my first 6 mile run! My BFF and I had decide to do the Capital 10k this april and I wanted to start training, so one I day I just decided to try to run 6 miles and I did. And now I LOVE running. (more of that later as well)
Over the fall I became real serious about nutrition. I have always been a really picky eater, I didn't eat many veggies and only certain fruit. But I watched tons of documentaries, read blogs and different articles and decided to fuel my body instead of just feeding it. I am PROUD to say that by January 1st 2013 I had lost 30lbs and weighed in at 130!!!! Such an AMAZING feeling y'all. I never EVER thought I would weigh 130. I now typically fluctuate from 130-135 depending on my fitness level and food consumption and I'm happy here. This year my goal is to put on some muscle mass and continue to work on fueling my body with food that is good for it.
Here is what i call a "progress pic" and probably one of the ones i'm most proud of. On the left is me in January 2012 (160lbs) Right is From January 2013(130lbs) I've also dropped from i size 10-12 to a size 4-6. I haven't been a 4 since my freshman year of high school!!
The blog is called living the Fit life with the Fojtik's because I am 100% in this with my husband. He is my ROCK and I would not have made it this far with out him. He is an amazing cook and always comes up with awesome healthy meals for us to eat, and we work out together almost every day, he motivates me to push myself harder, and we even recently have been able to run together since I've quickened my pace, which is something I've always wanted to do. I've had my ups and downs and learned a lot over this last year and cannot wait to share it all with you guys. I plan on posting fitness and nutrition tips, funnies, healthy recipes, work outs and motivation. Thats what this is all about.
So please come back and check out my blog! I PROMISE not every post will be this long and all about me!
Hope to see you soon, until next time.
Live the Fit Life!
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