Well…. I guess this is the story of me.  I think that sometimes a thing can happen that splits your life into two timelines, your life before the incident and your life after….. this is the case with my life. 

In February 2008, I was 8 months pregnant with our second daughter, Abby.  My husband and I were so thrilled and life was humming along just beautifully.  On Feb. 17th as we were coming home from the grocery store, we were struck head on by a car that veered into our lane.   That afternoon, I lost both my husband and my precious baby girl…. our 3 year old daughter and I survived.   I thank God every day that Emma was completely uninjured save a bump and a couple of bruises.  I sustained a good many injuries including a chemical burn across my face, 3 broken ribs, my left hand was crushed, the ligaments in both feet and ankles were severely pulled and strained and the entire left side of my body looked like I had been beaten mercilessly…. and all of that seems minor when considering the extent of our accident. 

When I left the hospital, I was barely able to walk and used a wheel chair for a while untill my feet and ankles grew stronger.  I needed assistance doing everything, including going to the restroom and bathing…. it was an incredibly humbling experience.  I was absolutely blessed to have an amazing support system of friends and family who took such good care of me as I healed and grieved.  Despite my unbareable loss, I knew how very blessed I was to be alive and to have my daughter Emma safe and sound!  And I knew immediately that I had to get strong again for her.

This is where the split in my life occurred. Before the accident, I was extremely overweight.  I was insulin resistant and was not consistant in watching my blood sugar levels.  I cooked good ‘ol southern foods with lots and lots of starchy carbs.  Our portions were too large and our nutrients too low, and I rarely drank water… mostly coffee and sweet tea.   After the accident, I had absolutely no appetite for a couple of weeks, when my appetite did return I found I no longer wanted fatty, starchy foods. I no longer craved sweets the way I had before…. I craved fresh food, real food.   I had bought Tosca Reno’s book The Eat Clean Diet before the accident in one of my many attempts to lose weight, but never actually put it into practice, but suddenly it was exactly what I was looking for.  I lost 30lbs within the first couple of months after the accident, but was still very overweight. 

In May, I joined my local gym and hired a trainer because I was so weak and had no idea how to workout with weights around the limitations of my injured left hand.  My trainer, Meghan, was amazing and so incredibly encouraging, and amazingly enough was studying Occupational Therapy in school and knew exactly how to help me with the issues of my hand. 

From that point until now I have worked very hard in the gym and have made great strides in strength, but not much in the way of weight loss.   In total though I have gone from 212 in Feb. to 167 on what I consider my Official Start Date 9/11/08.  My diet has been hit or miss, fresh healthy foods, but lots and lots of skipped meals and too much coffee.   I have now adopted a clean diet consisting of 6 meals a day and lots of pure water.  I am determined to be as strong and healthy as I can possibly be, so that I can be here for my daughter and can provide her with a strong, positive role model.   I now have 105 days to complete The Eat Clean Diet Challenge, and I am so excited to see what kind of results I can get by committing myself fully.  Wish me luck!