I am not a big fan of pictures of myself. That is probably why I prefer to be on the opposite side of the camera. But the end of December I started on a journey to better myself physically. I never really struggled with weight until I had my kids. After that I was up and down with my weight, but mostly up. Last year I had a scare for me where I started having chest pains when I worked out. My grandpa died of a heart attack at a young age and my dad was fairly young when he had to have countless stints and in the end triple bypass. So when this started I of course thought the worse that I am going down the path that my grandpa and dad have had to face. I went to see my doctor and he referred me to have a stress test. The doctor that conducted that test was someone who let's just say should not be in the medical field. He gave me comments like "You have no reason to be worried about heart disease.." Clearly this man had not looked at my medical history. I then saw a cardiologist up in WI who said he would check me in a year. Yep this really happened. I also for the past 9 years had been on high cholesterol medicine. So, my mom the wise incredible women that she is asked me if she could call my dad's cardiologist down in IL. I said yes because I too was thinking what if I have some blockage, etc. Dr. Sethi's office was amazing they got me very quickly and when she looked at the records she said I had right to be worried. So, we went through some tests and in the end she ended up doing an angiogram on me which showed that I have a 30% blockage on my back artery. It is what was causing my chest pains when I exercised too hard. There is nothing they do for this except for watching it. I was relieved that it was not worse than it was but also was very down about it and thought why me? I had my own little pity party had no interest in being around people and the introvert that I am came out 100% more. Flash forward to December I put back on weight I had lost and was so mad at myself for doing that. I realized on New Year's Eve that enough is enough. This is my life, my journey and I was going to take it back and be who I want to be and live my life the way my parents have always taught me to. I would now remove myself from situations where there was not positive vibes and where I did not matter. I got back on my exercising schedule and eating mostly clean (I am human so it is not always at the forefront)! As of the end of April I am down over 15 lbs. and I have lost quite a bit of inches all over. I still have a long way to go, but thanks to the support of my husband, parents, children and friends I know this is it. It is probably why I now share exercise photos of me and how I am doing because it was one person who asked me why are you doing this to yourself? So this selfie is one of a person who has struggled, who has scars, who will no longer let negativity influence her. I stand strong and proud that I have reclaimed my life and am doing what is right for me and my family.
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