COLLEEN WILSON--EARTH, TX

For me being fit should be fun, and if you can do it while doing something you like that is even better.
Here is my journey…

Jimmy and I met in Waco and have moved a few times with his job as a coach. Once Katy was born, I would take her to daycare every morning. I would grab breakfast each morning at a convenient location nearby. Plus, since I don’t like to cook and the planning that it takes, we ate out a lot. With this lifestlye, I was gaining weight.

---

Jimmy and I met in Waco and have moved a few times with his job as a coach. Once Katy was born, I would take her to daycare every morning. I would grab breakfast each morning at a convenient location nearby. Plus, since I don’t like to cook and the planning that it takes, we ate out a lot. With this lifestlye, I was gaining weight.

When we moved to Muleshoe, we found an amazing church family and it was the first time I made an effort to lose weight.  That was my goal at first--just to lose weight. With little to do there, I would walk to places, and I found support on a website that helped me count calories. One of my friends from church joined me, and we would walk and run the track almost every evening. I went from 160 pounds to 130 pounds that year.

Then we moved…again. In Lubbock, all the temptations to eat out came back. I gained all the weight back. I joined a gym and tried going, but it didn’t work for me. It felt more like a chore to me than something fun.

When we moved to Earth, I thought living in a small town with little to do would help motivate me to walk/run again. But it really didn’t. I couldn’t make myself do it on my own. I was blessed to talk with Deanna Mendoza who told me about a workout group, FOUNDATIONS 6:19, that would meet after school. I went a few times but didn’t make it a priority and then summer hit. We often vacation in the Smokey Mountains in Tennessee. There’s a hike that I have wanted to do since high school that I couldn’t do because I was sick. I wanted to be in shape (not just skinny, I knew that would be an added bonus to being fit) to be able to do an uphill hike. That helped me set my first goal.  More motivation was that we want another child and I didn’t want to be overweight when I got pregnant. I also wanted to be an example to my family about being healthy, because we have a history of diabetes.

After summer, I made up my mind to go to the workouts.  In time, they got easier, but I noticed I wasn’t losing weight. I knew I had to start watching what I ate. Once I started doing that, I had more energy and the weight started coming off.  I found that while I may not always enjoy the workouts, it’s the group and support that make it fun. I have gotten to know more people in the community than just working at the school and that is a blessing. It’s been a year, and I still have more pounds to lose. I have accomplished so much on my journey with God, the support of Foundations 6:19 and everyone who has encouraged me to keep going, such as:  Run/jog 1.11 miles for the first time in my life; I feel good about myself again and I’m ready to go hike Mt. Laconte in Gatlinburg, TN.  Thank you to everyone who has supported me in my journey to a healthier lifestyle.
Here’s the link to one of the trails up to Mt. Laconte: http://www.hikinginthesmokys.com/leconterainbow.html.