Movin' with The Mouse - Danielle's Inspirational Journey

Today in a Movin' with the Mouse feature, I wanted to have you all meet my friend, Danielle, and learn about her fitness journey. I've been reading her trip reports for a few years now, and I was lucky enough to be able to meet her in person in January.

Danielle recently completed the Princess 1/2 Marathon at Walt Disney World, and I wanted to have her share her story with all of us.

So without further ado, here's Danielle!

* Was the Princess 1/2 Marathon your first runDisney event? Do you plan on running in more runDisney events?

Yes, that whole weekend was my first runDisney event! I did the Frozen 5K and then did the Princess 1/2 Marathon. I didn't want to try the Glass Slipper challenge [this is where you run the 10K and the Princess 1/2 on the same weekend], because doing a 10K the day before the half would have felt like a lot for me. I figured that using the 5K to warm up would be good, and then taking a day off in between would help. I've done 5Ks and 10Ks before, but nothing like a runDisney event. Nothing I've done up to this point has really compared to this. It's insane, huge, fun, and thrilling! So many people and so many runners. I'm planning on running the Donald 1/2 Marathon in January 2016 and who knows after that! I want a Coast to Coast medal, though, that's for sure.

* Tell us about your personal fitness and wellness journey.

Two years ago, I found myself at the heaviest weight I've ever been. I'm a tall girl and pretty evenly distributed in weight, which is both a blessing and a curse. A blessing because I disguise weight well and no one thinks you're "that" heavy, but a curse because it comes on gradually and before you know it, you've gained weight everywhere. I ended up having to be in a size that I'd never been in before in my life, and I started to make the excuses. "Oh, it's because they're not all made the same", "All brands are different", I thought of everything. Except for just admitting that I had gained weight and I needed to do something. A lot of it was attributed to the fact that I have a sit down job and a sit down lifestyle. I wasn't doing anything to burn off that food I was eating.

The very first thing I did was start to track my food and sting with Myfitnesspal. I reduced my calorie intake to 1,200 calories a day. In retrospect, now that I look back on that, that is way too small an amount of calories to consume daily. Knowing more about fitness and health now than I did before, I would ever recommend that small of a daily intake.

I knew, though, that diet is only a piece of the puzzle. You have to get off your butt. You have to start working out. You can adjust your diet all you want, but at some point, your body will get used to it. So I joined a gym, thankfully because my company had a corporate discount. I also started talking to my sister in law Jeni about how she started running. She said she simply enjoyed it because it's time for her to just get out there and be free.

In my wildest dreams, I never thought that I would like running, but I thought, "Why not?" The other forms of cardio just seemed boring to me. Elliptical and stair climber just didn't seem like something I wanted to do. But running  could get better at. And I'm a super competitive person. I always want to win and I want to be the best, so if you give me something that I can get better at, well that's a win.

So I downloaded a Couch to 5K app that said it would get you from not running to running a 5K in 8 weeks. I started at the gym. C25K programs work on the idea of intervals, which is exactly how Jeff Galloway, the official runDisney trainer, suggests to do it also. You start by running a minute at a time, and then walking for a minute and a half, and so forth. The first time you get up there to run your first minute, you're thinking "this is gonna be so easy, it's a minute." You couldn't be more wrong, especially if you're not a runner. This was one of the hardest things for me to start doing.  That minute felt like an hour, and I couldn't catch my breath.  I thought I was the worst runner in history, and after that first attempt at the C25K program, I was defeated. However, I told myself that I was going to keep going, because it has to get easier.

It does get easier, but it takes time. I got into the gym, and I was doing it regularly, three days a week. It just didn't feel like it was getting easier for me, but I kept on going. I did about three weeks of the program, and then got to week four. And I stunk at it. I couldn't do it. I had to try to repeat it. I still couldn't do it.

The weather was starting to get warmer, so Jeni gently said to me, "Let's run outside instead. We'll just run until you can't go anymore, and we'll just do what we can." To say she was a supportive partner would be an understatement. When we first started running outside, she stuck with me the whole way, even though I couldn't run for long stretches at a time, and was still walking a lot. She got out there and did it all with me. She never left me behind. Soon, I was running for five minutes straight. Then six minutes. Before I knew it, I had run a mile without stopping. The accomplishment that you feel from running a mile straight through with stopping, was unlike anything I had experienced before. I was so proud of myself. I had a fire in me! I wanted to do more. So Jeni registered me for my first 5K that we would do together. She told me not to worry, that she would stay with me the entire time. The only rule is, while walking is okay throughout, we always run across the finish line.

My first 5K came and it wasn't perfect. I didn't run the whole time, not even close. But I did it, and at that point I knew I could do it. After that, I just started running a little further,  little at a time. I am a go hard kind of person, and I learned some lessons along the way.  I struggled with calf strain, which I still fight against at times. I did my strain my calf the first time I tried to run a 10K virtual run and it set me back weeks. I tried to double my distance without experience, which you never want to do.

The result is that over time, I've lost 40 pounds. One of the things that happens, though, is you start to hit other speed bumps along the way. Your body starts to get used to your eating habits, it gets used to your fitness level, so the weight stops coming off. You hit a plateau. Those are frustrating and difficult to deal with at times. I'm currently at once and have been there for a while. I know what I have to do to fix it, I just need to put in the extra effort to do so.

* What advice or tips would you give someone who's looking to make some healthier choices in their life?

The first suggestion I have is to stop drinking soda. I cannot even begin to say what this did for me overall. And when you think about exactly what soda is and what it does to your body, you will understand why you don't want to drink it. I currently drink water, coffee, hot tea and chocolate milk (which by the way is an amazing running recovery drink. Google it!) I also drink alcohol in limited quantities and soda only for that rare mixer with alcohol. I stopped drinking soda of any kind, regular or diet. Regular soda has the sugar component that you want to avoid, but diet soda with artificial sweeteners can also hinder weight loss, as studies have shown.

After I did that, I counted calories. I made smart choices for myself but I didn't deprive myself. If I could fit it into my calories, I would eat it. So yes, I would have little cheats every once in a while. Because I was using Myfitnesspal and tracking all food and exercise, every time I would exercise, guess what? It would add calories back into my day because I burned them. Which meant I COULD EAT MORE! That was a motivator to exercise. The thought that if I did this work, I could eat more was power for me.

Don't eat diet food. Don't buy into it. It doesn't work. Eat real, whole food. Fruits, vegetables, grains, you name it, I ate it. But 100 calorie packs, low calorie, low fat? Avoid it like the plague. Because when you look at what's in it? Junk, preservatives, and extra things you don't need. And your body needs fat! I can't drive that point home enough. Buy as little pre-packaged food as possible and shop around the outside of the store. You can eat more of that kind of food, and we all know, more is good.

If you can't find someone to exercise with you or you don't have a run buddy like I did, that's okay. Try some things that are class oriented, or even try running alone if that's what interests you. But don't be scared to do it alone. Because the reality is, no one is paying attention to you like you think they are.

* How do you make exercise / wellness more enjoyable for yourself? What helps you get out there and "pound the pavement", as they say?

The running makes it easier because I'm competitive. I like to get better at something, so I can always run a faster mile, or run a faster 5K. But I have struggles just like everyone else. I work a normal job, 50+ hours a week sometimes, and its difficult for me to get out there. But I ask myself what's the alternative? Sitting down on my butt in front of the TV? Or spending 45 minutes of that working out, and then rewarding myself by sitting down on my butt? I would go with the latter.

If weight loss is your goal, weigh yourself weekly and you'll start to see progress. But also realize that you'll hit plateaus and walls. This is a lifetime journey, this isn't a temporary fix. It took me years to gain this weight, I'm not going to lose it overnight.

Build a healthy relationship with food. Don't beat yourself up with you "cheat". I schedule cheats! I eat one cheat meal a week. Anywhere we want to go for one meal a week. I look forward to it! But, if you do cheat, do not under any circumstances beat yourself up for it. Just accept it and move on.

To put things in perspective as a final though about this country and food, the "recommended caloric intake" is 2,500 calories a day. On the day of the Frozen 5K, I walked/ran 28,612 steps, which totaled 13.61 miles. That was running a 5K, and also walking around Disney World for the rest of the day. What to harbor a guess at my calorie burn? 3,980 calories. It took THAT MUCH EFFORT to burn that many calories. So now think about our sedentary lifestyle and eating habits. Think most of us even come close to burning 2,500 calories a day? Nope.

Awareness. That's what keeps me motivated. Awareness. Am I perfect? No way no how. Do I eat things that aren't great? Sure. I love chocolate. Absolutely love it. But if I choose to eat it at any point, I get up, dust myself off, and get out there and run it off.

THANK YOU so much, Danielle! Isn't she inspiring!? I'm so glad she was willing to share her story with all of us. We're rooting for you!

If you want to be a part of the Movin' with the Mouse series on the blog, please send me an email to katie@mouseworldtravel.com.

In the meantime - have a magical day!