Hitch Fit Living Magazine Volume 2 - September/October 2015 | Page 37

"Hi, I am Karen. I am a 52 year old wife & mother of 3 adult sons, 2 of them twins. This is my
transformation story. 10 years ago, I was at my (then) heaviest weight. I lost a good amount on a
popular diet plan with a little bit of fitness work but when I reached that goal, that was the end of it. I
didn’t maintain the loss because my weight had changed but nothing else had. My mindset, fitness
habits, food choices & my spirit were still the same. I slipped back into old habits. Over the next years
the weight crept back on & I dug myself a deeper hole than before.I have been blessed to be a stay at
home wife & mom for most of our married life and have loved being able to take care of our family
from home. I have given birth to 5 children (2 sets of twins, one set living).

As happens to many moms, my weight increased slowly after having kids. Busy with raising them, it
wasn’t too bad for a number of years. However the weight crept up through the years. I didn’t see it
then but now I understand that I was taking care of everyone else as they grew, putting myself in the
back of the line & then floundering as they left for college & moved on with their lives. In the past 10
years the lack of being needed to do this & that for everyone else left me with time on my hands that I
didn’t fill with activity. (No, let’s be honest here… it left me lazy). I could have filled that time
positively but didn’t. I ate poorly, didn’t move much .
My life was good, though. It was comfortable. I have a family & friends that I love & that love me no
matter what. No drama, no stress. Something was missing though. It was direction. What
happens when you don’t have direction? You stay where you are or meander aimlessly. Worst case,
you get lost. It’s strange thinking of being lost and not even knowing that you are. I was lost.