Friday, July 29, 2011

Before I was a mom...

I have spent my whole life being thin...thin to the point people thought I had an eating disorder.  But the truth is, I ate like a horse!  I just happened to have a really high metabolism.  I was what I call skinny fat.  I have tiny bone structure, and I had no muscle tone and therefore no bulk.  I wasn't athletic and did not exercise.  I was small but mushy.  When I joined the army I was 5'7" and weighed about 113 lbs.  I couldn't do a single push up and couldn't even run a mile.  People were always afraid to horse around with me because they saw me as fragile.  And frankly, they were right.  The army just about destroyed my body.  In basic training I began having pain in my hips, which eventually spread throughout my body.  But at the same time, I grew stronger.  I began to bulk up a bit and was really happy with the way my body looked but not so much how it felt.  In 2006 I got diagnosed with fibromyalgia and almost was forced out of the army because of it.  In 2007, my roomate talked me into doing a military wide body building competition while we were stationed in Korea.  I really didn't want to do it, because I knew that I just didn't have the bulk to be competitive.  However, I agreed and for a couple of months worked out like I never had before.  Most body builders work out for months gaining bulk and then cut their weight down.  I spent the entire time trying to gain some mass.  At the competition there were 2 or 3 other women in my weight category and I was much taller than them weighed the least.  I didn't even place.  But boy...did I look great.  One month later, my daughter was conceived.  And my body has never been the same.