Get Fit! Sheila’s Story

By Sheila Arkee

All I really have to say right now is that I really wish my “after” pictures would look like Kate’s “before” photos.

Ahem.

My journey to this point has been a long time coming.

Like so many individuals, my weight story is one of ups and downs, losses and gains, and disordered eating patterns.

Five years ago, when I was single and had a lot more leisure time on my hands, I got fit, BIG TIME. I was able to devote the time and mental energy into working out 2 hours per day and was very strict with my food intake. All I’m going to tell you now is that I weigh more than the day I gave birth to my son. And that’s my weight right before I gave birth to him.

I’ve had this extra weight on me for nearly four years, and I am READY to make it disappear, permanently.

My main motivation all boils down to one overriding factor…

This guy.

He’s a three year old.

He’s a three year old BOY.

He’s a three year old boy who is Autistic, and therefore is more physically challenging for me to raise than a typical child. Read: tantrums at random occasions.  

I am his only parent, his mother and father, and if anything happened to me … scratch that, NOTHING can happen to me. I MUST be healthy for him, I need to have the energy that I currently lack, I need to feel GOOD, as opposed to feeling crappy the majority of the time, which is my status quo at the moment.

This is what I look like now. Full confession – these photos were taken early this year, but I haven’t changed at all.

This version of myself? My most fit self (and coincidentally 2 months pregnant in this photo)?  I miss her. I want her back. Even the blonde highlights!

So, here’s the challenge – I don’t have a lot of free time, and my eating is way, way, way out of control and is fueled by emotional reasons, not by a need to nourish or sustain myself in any way. Over my lifetime of trying different ways of eating, I’ve learned that low-carb eating is the best way for my body.

Here’s my goal: to lose at least at the 60 pounds, and to go from a size 18 to a size 12 that I will maintain for life. At some point I’d like to get back to my all-time best size 8, but small steps for now.  Right now, I need to get my eating under control, and to carve out time for working out.

Like any good proposal, here’s how I’m going to accomplish said weight loss – I’m going to track my eating, and carve out at least 30 minutes per day for at least some kind of physical activity.

Sorry, Kate, any exposure of measurements on the World Wide Web will cause me to go into hiding. All you’re gonna get outta me is the following.

I will set up a separate page, which you can see at the toolbar, which you can use to track the progress of all of the participating Painted Ladies. We’ll update once a week and you’ll get the down and dirty on our ups and downs.

I’m looking forward to this, and thankful that Kate suggested it!

Short term goal: Start a food journal, be mindful of portion sizes, work-out 30 minutes a day.

Long term goal: Lose 60 pounds and maintain the loss in the long-term.