Haley Hurst

Since the birth of my first child (almost six years ago) I told myself every time I looked in the mirror that I needed to lose a few pounds.  Now back then I really thought that those extra pounds gained in pregnancy would still magically disappear and it wasn’t until my next two children came which just compounded those extra pounds that I truly realized it would take some effort on my part.  But I never really believed in myself.  I thought that I could never turn down those tempting chips and cookies that had become a daily routine and I told myself that I didn’t have time to exercise.  Ever heard those excuses before???  Well, I am here to tell you that it comes down to making a decision and then just do it.  Admittedly, it is this competition that finally gave me that final boost to get serious but I even had my doubts going into this.  Thankfully my competitive nature really helps drive me to do this right and just today I saw a number come up on the bathroom scale that I have not seen since before the birth of my first child.  HOORAY!!  So if anyone out there has told themselves a hundred times that they want to lose a few pounds then choose today to begin and just do it!

I think I can…I think I can…I think I can.  I feel like the little engine that hopefully can!  I am sore all over and never felt better.  It’s really amazing what you can do when you set your mind to it.  For instance, getting out of bed while it is still dark outside is something I would never believed myself doing willingly just a little over a month ago and yet here I am getting up in the wee hours and going off to spin class at 6 am.  And now with that darn daylight savings it’s still dark when I come back home!

At times I get a little discouraged though and it gets tough when I get on the scale and I want to see immediate results for all of my hard work.  I know they say that muscle weighs more that fat and with all of my working out I have to be building some muscle to replace my plentiful fat cells but come on!   I want to be shedding the pounds like crazy!  Well, to date I have lost weight and if I can keep it up I just might reach my goal and that will be my true reward whether I win the competition or not.