An Incredible Weight Loss Story

I met my friend Megan in high school, but it wasn't until freshman year at IU when I moved in across the hall from her and Emily that they then became 2 of my best friends.  I was the annoying across the hall neighbor who woke up far too early in the morning without an alarm.  Years later they told me they would lock the door and pretend to still be sleeping so I couldn't bother them.



I remember the day many years ago when Megan called me and said "Erica I need to get healthier." It was this day I noticed a change in her attitude about her health, and this day I believe is the beginning of an incredible journey in her life that brought her to this point.  At this point she was a new navy wife which brings on all sorts of stress and trials.  She was also at her heaviest non pregnant weight. Shortly after this phone call she found out she was pregnant.  While she couldn't start to make extreme changes at this point, her view on health started to change here.

Shortly after Meg found out she was pregnant, her incredible husband Steven left for deployment.  The strength and courage Megan has amazes me.  They had their sweet little girl Mady.



After Mady was born Meg started again to focus on losing weight and being healthier... then came pregnancy number 2 and sweet Brynn!

As you can see, Megan's weight loss story was exactly a straight and narrow path but had many detours... 2 pregnancies, deployments, and 2 children at one point under the age of 2.  You could understand why after the 2nd pregnancy Megan could have easily given up, but she didn't.

With the support of her husband, Megan started to make an effort every day to be active and to eat healthier as a family.  It started out with just walking, but she kept working up her stamina and now has even completed P90x.  When I asked her how she does it Megan said:

Don't get me wrong though, every morning when my alarm goes off at 5:10am I think of excuses. I am tired. I am sore from yesterday. I just need a little extra sleep. And some days I give into those excuses. Those are usually the days I struggle with having energy. I tend to be shorter with the girls, and I eat crappy.

For the most part, Megan kept her efforts quiet until one day on facebook she posted this incredible before and after shot:

Such an INCREDIBLE change!  I am SO incredibly proud of her for so many reasons.  Her strength and courage amazes me.  For those of you looking at making lifestyle changes here are the words of advice Megan has for you:

My best piece of advice would be to get out of your own way and just do it.  You can keep making excuses for as long as you want as to why you can't do this, why you can't make the changes needed, but in the end you just need to take the first step.  Just start doing 1 thing different toward making yourself healthier and you will see changes.   And figure out what works for you.  Just because everyone you know is doing one thing and it works from them, does not mean it will work for you.  Each person is different, so each diet and exercise regimen has to be different. 

As this incredible family faces another deployment, lets join together in encouraging them in their strength and courage all around.  I am so blessed to have this family in my life and am daily encouraged by them! Thank you Whitsitt family for letting me be a part of your journey!

Want to read more about Megan's story and new exciting news? Visit her blog here The Long road to Cake