It is official. I am the underdog. At 165 pounds I don’t have as much weight to lose as others in the competition but my struggles and desire to lose are just the same.
My struggle with weight began many years ago. As a happy, confident teenager and young adult I was very active, participating competitively in softball, basketball, and soccer. But in my early twenties I gained 60 pounds in a matter of months and always felt “blah” without any change in my eating habits and activity levels. This weight gain and a diagnosis of the hormonal imbalance Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) changed my life profoundly thus leading me to where I am today, struggling to lose weight.
PCOS has been the bane of my existence. The symptoms from infertility, excess hair growth, chronic fatigue, weight gain, and depressive & diabetic tendencies seemed insurmountable. Luckily, with the cooperation of my doctors and modern medicine, I was able to conceive two healthy children. But after the birth of my first child, nothing could have prepared me for what happened next. As a result of PCOS I was overcome by post-partum depression and gained 40 pounds in less than two months.
Fast forward to today…I still suffer from post-partum depression but am learning to deal with it. Exhausted from the demands of marriage, motherhood, and life I’ve become desperate for a change. I am determined to live a more eco-friendly lifestyle, to be fit, strong, and healthy, and to eat foods that are in sync with my body and the planet. The only thing in the way is my lack of self-confidence. Participating in this challenge is forcing me to face my fears of being inf front of the camera and live a healthier lifestyle.
Can the underdog still win the challenge? Absolutely I say!
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[...] is much like an Olympic hurdle race in more ways than the literal one. In my earlier posts The Underdog and On the Edge…of Giving Up I wrote about all of the hurdles I’ve had to jump during [...]