Meet Heather Lopez-Caolo...
When I was younger I was very thin I never needed to work out or eat right, because of that, I formed very bad habits. When I became pregnant with my daughter I gained a lot of weight and had many medical issues (preeclampsia and gestational diabetes.) Charli was born with a lot of health problems as well and stayed in the NICU for a few months and once she was healthy enough to leave the hospital we moved to Maryland. Once living here for a while, I became very depressed because here it is almost a year later and I have gained even more weight. I was banking on being like my friends and the weight just coming off; it didn't. A few years passed and I developed pains in my back, hips, and feet, not to mention a feeling of helplessness and low self esteem. So one day I was talking to my friend whining about my weight and pains, my girlfriend said "you should start walking," Charli over heard this and walked up and said "if you want I'll walk with you Mommy."
So for a few months, Charli and I would walk on nice days; then one day while at a party in Annapolis there was a fitness equipment store with a clearance sign in the window. We walked in and they had a very nice gently used treadmill for $ 150.00 (which I still use almost daily) and my husband bought it right then and there. I started using the treadmill on all the rainy, snowy, cold days I could not walk with Charli on, and then after a while found I could go faster and faster, next thing you know I was running.
The first 50 just fell off with the running alone, the last 25 I had to incorporate a diet, and now with another 20 (ish I would like to lose) I am running, diet, and doing insanity. It has been 2.5 years since I was 220 and I am never going back!
Charli was my inspiration she made me see that working out can be as easy as just walking with someone you love and spending quality time together. My husband eventually joined in and we take jogs together as a family.
I put Charli in the GOTR program because, running made me feel better, running gave me my life back, running made me feel like a better me. I implement (now) a healthy life style at home with minimal junk food, physical activity (playing outside when weather permits), and self confidence. Charli becoming a part of this (even though she is not to keen on running for fun) has allowed her to really take in that you have to take care of your body; even if you are thin and being healthy is more than just outside looks. Making family time just doesn't have to be gathered around a TV, and time with friends doesn't always have to involve sitting in a room playing with Barbie's. I do hope she keeps all the things she has learned with GOTR so when she is older she will take care of her body and mind without letting herself become unhealthy and depressed.
When I was younger I was very thin I never needed to work out or eat right, because of that, I formed very bad habits. When I became pregnant with my daughter I gained a lot of weight and had many medical issues (preeclampsia and gestational diabetes.) Charli was born with a lot of health problems as well and stayed in the NICU for a few months and once she was healthy enough to leave the hospital we moved to Maryland. Once living here for a while, I became very depressed because here it is almost a year later and I have gained even more weight. I was banking on being like my friends and the weight just coming off; it didn't. A few years passed and I developed pains in my back, hips, and feet, not to mention a feeling of helplessness and low self esteem. So one day I was talking to my friend whining about my weight and pains, my girlfriend said "you should start walking," Charli over heard this and walked up and said "if you want I'll walk with you Mommy."So for a few months, Charli and I would walk on nice days; then one day while at a party in Annapolis there was a fitness equipment store with a clearance sign in the window. We walked in and they had a very nice gently used treadmill for $ 150.00 (which I still use almost daily) and my husband bought it right then and there. I started using the treadmill on all the rainy, snowy, cold days I could not walk with Charli on, and then after a while found I could go faster and faster, next thing you know I was running.The first 50 just fell off with the running alone, the last 25 I had to incorporate a diet, and now with another 20 (ish I would like to lose) I am running, diet, and doing insanity. It has been 2.5 years since I was 220 and I am never going back!Charli was my inspiration she made me see that working out can be as easy as just walking with someone you love and spending quality time together. My husband eventually joined in and we take jogs together as a family.I put Charli in the GOTR program because, running made me feel better, running gave me my life back, running made me feel like a better me. I implement (now) a healthy life style at home with minimal junk food, physical activity (playing outside when weather permits), and self confidence. Charli becoming a part of this (even though she is not to keen on running for fun) has allowed her to really take in that you have to take care of your body; even if you are thin and being healthy is more than just outside looks. Making family time just doesn't have to be gathered around a TV, and time with friends doesn't always have to involve sitting in a room playing with Barbie's. I do hope she keeps all the things she has learned with GOTR so when she is older she will take care of her body and mind without letting herself become unhealthy and depressed.
