Live Vibrant: Becah Ogden

This is me in 2008 5' 2" and weighing in at 245 lbs!  I've struggled with weight my whole life but I never thought I would ever be this big! Name a diet I've probably tried it: Atkins, South Beach, HCG, Weigh Watchers, Sugar Free, Fat Free, Carb free...the list goes on and on. The real problem is I'm always looking for the easy way out. That quick fix that never has the ability to truly change my life. I lack motivation and that ultimate motivation to stick with it. In December 2007 I gave birth to our first child, a little boy we named Riley. In June 2008 Riley was diagnosed with a degenerative Neuromuscular Disease called Spinal Muscular Atrophy. At that time he was given a life expectancy of only 2 years. That's where my downward spiral began. I became angry and severely depressed and I tacked on an additional 25 pounds tipping the scale to that 245. I began to experience the beginning of some serious health problems like high blood pressure and sleep apnea. I started to blame my unhappiness on others, especially my husband. It was easier to push blame on him instead of looking into myself and facing the the reality of what was going on. Then on a particularly bad day when I was feeling sorry for myself my mom told me something that really hit home. She told me that things happen in our life that we have no control over. We want everything to stop while we wallow in our sadness but it doesn't. Life goes on. People go on. I have to find a way to go on with it. Mom, you will never know how much this little piece of advice started me on a path to changing my life. I started to see a councilor and got on some much needed medications to help aid in my recovery. I had to start owning my unhappiness and owning my habits that were contributing to that unhappiness. My weight was a result of those habits and slowly I started to change some habits and I began to shred some of the weight. In 2011 (approximately) I got to under 200 pounds and I just hovered in the 190's for what seemed like forever but I really wasn't doing much to get over the hump. February 2012 I turned 30 and something changed in me. I started to realize what's truly important and I need to get serious about taking care of myself. Slowly but surely I began to etch away at the pounds and was able to get down to 170!
3 weeks ago a miracle happened and I gave birth to our second son.  He's beautiful and perfect and most grateful of all is that he does not have the life threatening disease that his older brother has.  In perfect honesty I did not stick to a very healthy eating regimen during my pregnancy and I packed on quite a bit of weight.  Currently I have 38 pounds to lose to get back to my pre-pregnancy weight.  I did it once I can do it again right!?! We all have a million reasons why we DON'T take care of ourselves the key is to finding that one reason why we DO want to.  All you need is that one reason.  Think about it. Write it down.  Share it with a friend.  That is your motivation. I think the hardest part about weight loss and why so many people fail is that it's not just about eating the right things or jogging 5 miles a day it's about looking at yourself from the inside out and seeing the real reasons why you are the way you are and the willingness to change that. It's very scary and very hard but that's half the battle.  Believe me if I can do it YOU can do it.  And let's do it together!