This week we are featuring Emily Blejwas Meyers. I met Emily on facebook and was very inspired by her story. She has lost over 100lbs, beat cancer and learned to believe in herself along the way.
Let's meet her as she tells her story in her own words.
· After getting married, experiencing problems with my thyroid, and becoming
more sedentary, I found that I had gained a good amount of weight. When my
husband and I wanted to have children, we were unsuccessful. One of the tests
that I went through as part of the infertility treatment showed that I had
early stages of endometrial cancer. My doctor suggested that we treat the
cancer through medication and in addition wanted me to lose 100lbs. As I was
26, these two options were the least invasive and would insure that my husband
and I were able to have children naturally. If the cancer spread I would need a
complete hysterectomy. She suggested that I join Weight Watchers. I decided to
start my weight loss journey that day. I had lost 10lbs prior to walking into
my first Weight Watcher meeting about a month later. About 5 months into my
journey, I was told that the cancer had spread and I needed to have a complete
hysterectomy. Losing weight, working out and getting healthy was a great
distraction from everything else that was going on in my life. At age 27, I had
a complete hysterectomy. I had also lost about 60lbs and was feeling the best I
could ever remember. There were plenty of days that made me wonder “why me?”,
but the hopeless optimist in me believed that there had to be a purpose, a
lesson in the bad. I felt I had no other option, but to learn from my
experiences, to continue my weight loss journey and my journey to becoming
fitter and healthier. It was up to me to garner the strength, find the good and
make a difference. So I persevered on with my journey. I continued to maintain
a healthy lifestyle, try new workouts and work on finding myself. So here I am
almost four years later, I have lost a total of 105lbs, found out that I am
both emotionally and physically stronger than I ever imagined.
Starting this weight loss journey not only changed my life, it gave me
life. Weight Watchers helped change the way I look at food. I now try to eat to
live, rather than live to eat. I still enjoy the foods I love, but I do it in
moderation. Exercise now plays a huge role in my life. Despite always being overweight,
I always played sports and was athletic. But I never imagined all that I was capable of physically. I am stronger and faster and more capable than I ever imagined. In 2011, I started running. I used to cringe at the thought of going for a run, now I can’t imagine my life without it. I ran my first half marathon in October of 2013. I already have two more half marathons scheduled for 2014 and I plan to sign up for a full marathon. Exercise not only makes me feel better physically, but also emotionally. There is no better feeling than challenging your body… and surviving!
But perhaps the biggest change is that I now believe in myself. I believe that I can do anything I put my mind towards. I want to use my story, my experiences and my journey to inspire others to change their life!
Facebook: My Journey 2 The Fit Life (www.facebook.com/myjourney2thefitlife)
Twitter: @EmsJourney2Fit (www.twitter.com/emsjourney2fit)
Instagram: @Emilysjourney (www.instagram.com/emilysjourney)
Until next time,
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