by Tish MacWebber | Mar 23, 2017 | Trust Your Gut
The names here may or may not reflect the person’s real name. If someone wants to remain unknown, we will choose a different name for that person’s story. The goal is to help people, and anonymity is a valid personal choice for contributors. I will use a person’s name only if they give permission to do so.
This week I am pleased to share the story of another friend. It is written in her own words, and she submitted it earlier this week with her permission to share it as a part of the series.
Here is Trust Your Gut: Bonnie’s Story
My story begins all the way back to when I was five years old. I was always small for my age until then, when my parents got divorced. All of the changes and upheaval that happens with that sort of thing, is what seems to have contributed to me eating more and gaining weight. Still, I was only chubby as a child. I wasn’t truly overweight until my preteens. I believe I was about ten years old when I realized that I was bigger than most of the kids my age but other than some minor teasing from other kids that usually went over my head anyway, I did not feel bad about it. At age twelve, I weighed 180 pounds and that’s the age that I really started noticing how heavy I was and feeling body conscious.
I never did anything about it at that age though, except maybe some walking for exercise. Other than that, I did a lot of wishing and dreaming that I would just wake up skinny one day and everyone would like me because I wasn’t a big girl anymore. I remember feeling bad about being overweight, not being able to wear the types of clothes my friends were wearing, and receiving some teasing or comments here and there.
When I was sixteen, my mom and I joined a women’s gym together. There I learned about exercise and how beneficial, as well as fun, it could be. The first workout left me so sore I could barely move and I didn’t want to go back, it hurt so much. However, I did go back a few days later and started to realize a love for exercise I never knew I could have! The trainers there, one I’m still in touch with to this day, were so kind and really involved. They provided me with so much quality guidance that I really needed. Due to a move across town, making the trip to the gym too far for me to go, I stopped going once our one year was up there and turned to walking more for exercise. Slowly the weight I had lost from exercising at that gym for a year crept back on.
Another few years went by where I tried various things but never stuck with anything consistently, until 2009, when I was twenty. I started a weight loss journey by cutting back my calories significantly, exercising five or six days a week, and drinking Slim-Fast and changing my eating habits to include more vegetables and fruits. Soon I joined the SparkPeople website where I received support, information, and resources I needed to keep losing weight. I lost over 75 pounds during the seven months I was on there and actively working to lose weight. Right around my twenty-first birthday though, I ended up suffering from gallstones and pancreatitis, spending a whole week in the hospital and having my gallbladder removed. After that and some dramatic changes in my life that happened directly afterwards, I pretty much gave up on losing weight. I mean I tried, but my heart wasn’t in it anymore and I wasn’t consistently working on it any longer.
The next few years after that I continued to try to lose weight at different points, but it never lasted and I never stuck with it long enough to make a significant difference. Finally in May 2014, I started my final and last weight loss journey. This was it! I was going to lose the weight and keep it off! I had gained all of the weight I had lost in 2009 and then some, as it often goes. I was a whopping 309 pounds at this point, when I had sworn I would never get over three hundred pounds! I was shocked and appalled, and I knew I had no choice but to make changes so I could lose that weight. By August of 2015, I was in what is often referred to as “onederland,” finally breaking into the 190’s. It took quite a while after that to get into the 180’s, but my lowest weight was 181 in April 2016.
Enter this past summer that brought issues with my grandparents and their health, a big cross country move, having to leave behind my siblings and their kids when my parents and I moved, and so much more, I just let things go. I had just completed my first ever half marathon in May of last year, which was one of the most rewarding and invigorating experiences of my life. It was so much fun that I’m doing the same half marathon again this May. After the half marathon, the summer was full of all of these huge, and very stressful, events that kept the next few months super stressful and overwhelming. I started gaining weight back because I just felt too overwhelmed to devote the attention and dedication to my nutrition that I had before.
Even with the weight gain, I am still 60+ pounds down from my highest weight, but it has been a huge struggle to get back on track and the weight has kept creeping on due to my struggles. I know I can do it, as I proved it to be the case before, but it seems harder. I lost that momentum, I stopped being consistent, and I guess I gave up. However, I still had a huge passion to help others, and had restarted a blog for the purpose of helping other women find a way to not only lose weight, but believe in themselves, find their inner strength, and practice self-love. Still, at some points in the past few months, I have felt like a fraud because I had been struggling so much. It is all a part of my journey, so even though it felt horrible and disappointing all the same, it has been a learning experience and has made me stronger!
A positive thing that has come out of my struggles is that a little over a month ago, I made the decision to join Beachbody as a coach. Using the container system, Shakeology, and workouts they have in their programs is truly making a huge difference for me both physically and mentally. That doesn’t mean that it is easy or that the changes are instantaneous, and I am still slowly getting my nutrition back in check in addition to working out more consistently again. I am also drinking Shakeology everyday and noticing how much it makes a difference in my energy levels. I never realized how beneficial it could be! Besides that, I also have a huge support system with the coaches that are part of the team of the coach I signed up with. As a friend, she is someone I trust, feel comfortable talking to, and know she will help me the best way she can which is a huge deal to me and made the decision that much easier!
I have complete faith that I will lose the weight I’ve regained. I felt so skinny at 180-190 pounds, even though I still wanted to lose 30 more pounds. Now I glance at pictures from that low weight and wish I could be that small again. However, I can’t live in the past and I can’t beat myself up anymore. I am ready to continue moving forward, working on improving my healthy lifestyle, and helping other people do the same thing in their lives. The greatest reward for me is to help others realize how they can really live the life they dream of living, whether it be to lose weight, go after their dream career, or whatever else represents happiness and success in their lives. On SparkPeople, helping others and providing feedback was more than just helping them. It helped me to stay on track too!
Bonnie McConaughy is the owner and founder of Inspire the Best You (www.inspirethebestyou.com), where she writes about healthy living and personal growth, and provides health and wellness coaching. She is also a freelance and ghostwriter (www.bonwriterfreelance.biz).
Thank you to Bonnie for sharing your story. You have inspired me to try harder, because like you, I know I can do this, I just have to stick with it. Although we are travelling on different paths, there are some similarities in our journeys. Keep working on your goals, and you will achieve them, I know it! Something that resonates with me after reading is that you are not alone, you have a support system, and you are building your own skills to help others. This is really a great thing, to take what you have learned to help you guide others in their journies. I wish you all the best, and have faith that you are going to be a success.
by Tish MacWebber | Mar 19, 2017 | Weekend Warrior
Today started with Scotch Lick and grab and go. I had scheduled my morning to help a friend look into setting up her own blog. I am in no way an expert at blogging, and I don’t claim to be. But as a few friends helped me get this Blog up and running, I decided to pay it forward.
It was really neat to see someone else put their own creativity into action! We started with some basic conversation, and she figured things out. She has some work left to do and is capable enough with her own experience and training to move forward on her own. I am only a message away if she needs any more help.
I am fighting to stay awake. Waiting to find out the plans for the evening. If it is a Game night, I will have to start preparing snacks and get done what I can here in the meantime. If it ends up being a guys gaming night, I will work on the cleaning challenge. Either way, I will be busy. I have the kitchen to clean, a grocery list to make, and general cleaning to do.
I have had 2 cups of coffee with breakfast. I am having a sugar free vanilla iced coffee now. I AM STILL TIRED! So I have cranked the tunes and will make 1 more coffee. Soon it will be too late to have any more coffee, but if I am busy enough, I can still tire myself out enough to sleep tonight. I need the help today. I am a night owl with a day job. So I tend to be more active in the evenings. Sometimes a little too late. I struggle with it, but my health is better with the 9-5 schedule, so I try to go to bed early when I need to. Sometimes I even make it to bed early. Not on the weekends, though. That is the problem I am having right now. So I am going to make 1 more coffee. A power snooze might have to happen, though. When my body wants sleep this desperately, I have to consider if it is necessary or not. A power nap may just what I need, followed by that one more cup of coffee. Then I’ll head into the kitchen, and unload that dishwasher, that I ran last night. I need to focus, and that is a good place to start.
Had the nap. Never found any energy. I have spent some time on Linked In today. It was time for an update, and it is another way to share this Blog. I am disappointed that I did not get more accomplished around the house today, but the networking has to be worked on also.
My Linked In Profile
Tomorrow is a new day, filled with possibilities. And a new To Do List! Enjoy your weekend!
by Tish MacWebber | Jan 14, 2017 | Writing
Once upon a time a man was introduced to his granddaughter, Patricia MacLellan. When he met her, he called her Tish. It stuck. Tish MacLellan grew up in Cape Breton, in a house that used to be a church, on the world famous Cabot Trail. She spent her summers at local beaches and at a place she calls The Cabin. She learned to swim, and spent a lot of time rock hopping along the shores and coastlines of Cape Breton Island. She had a wild imagination, and dreamed of owning a horse someday. She still has her walkman with the best mixed tape ever, and it still works, even after putting all of those years and miles on it.
She loved to read, and began writing. Creative writing is one of many hobbies that she spent her spare time on. She kept a diary and when she got older, she called it a journal. She enjoyed cross stitching and embroidery. She learned to knit and to crochet. In high school, she wrote her first song.
Her love for animals made her decide to take a pre-vet program at NSAC. She was ill during her first year, and this delayed her completion of her B.Sc in Agriculture, majoring in Animal Science. While studying at NSAC, she met her future husband, Roy Webber. They dated, fell madly in love, and made it official with a wedding. The same day they got married, there was a hurricane. It was all very memorable, and all who attended the celebration of their marriage had a wonderful time, despite the weather.
Before the wedding happened, Tish was thinking about the name she wanted after she married Roy. She thought it would be a fun thing to create a new last name, and they could both become the first MacWebber Clan. Roy did not agree to this idea, and did not want to make any changes to his last name. Not even when Tish told him that she would create a brand new tartan for the new name. Tish decided to go the traditional route and take his last name, and legally became Patricia Webber. It didn’t take her long to adapt to her new name.
They moved around the Maritimes so much, that Roy’s family joked about them being gypsies. After living all over Nova Scotia, they moved to New Brunswick, shortly after a brief time living in Prince Edward Island. In Fredericton, New Brunswick, they made new friends, had roommates, and eventually bought their own mini home. They had cats constantly as pets for many years. After living in apartments for the majority of the years they were together, Tish decided that it was time, now that they have a home of their own, to get a dog. She looks forward to that. She still has no horse of her own, yet, the baby barn is not quite big enough for a horse.
When Tish decided one day that it was time to take a chance and share her songwriting with the world, she thought about creating a blog. Little did she know that it would build itself into a bigger project than she had imagined. She had also always wanted to write a fantasy trilogy, being a fan of reading them, herself. She asked her friends online what the best options were, and decided to go with a Blog page here, on WordPress. Then another new friend stepped up and made her think beyond the surface of what she was building. She revisited an old idea of hers to write her novels under a pen name, and she remembered wanting to become the first MacWebber. So, there it was. Tish MacWebber became her pen name.
Her beginner attempts at creating a blog page were good, but they weren’t great. So she asked again for help, and her new friends helped her some more. One of them took her page and changed it, and this was her new and improved starting point. Tish absorbed all the information this friend had shared with her, and thought long and hard about the next steps. She is very grateful for all of the help her new friends have given her, and she plans to return the favour, even if it is just by paying it forward. When she asked about her colours, branding and logo, people liked it for different things, but it wasn’t what she needed it to be. She kept thinking. After about three weeks of mulling it over in her mind, things clicked into place, simultaneously.
She searched through hundreds of colour palettes, picking her favourites. She found one that she kept referring back to, and decided that it was the one she would choose. Then she made a tartan design. She got her friends and family to give opinions on her progress as she tried to put the pieces all together. Her father told her that a circle would not be wrong on a tartan, rather that it would be the french connection. Her mother is french, so it fit. The motto for Clan MacLellan is, “Think On.” Her logo was developed with the phrase “Always Thinking…” because she is a dreamer that does think a lot; but also to honour her ancestors. Her cousin helped her pick the final design, and through their online chat the “…” was added to the logo. So that explains the colour, logo, and the circle. But the circle is made up of diamonds. The diamonds symbolize the marriage of all these things together, and connects all of the dots.
Tish does tend to overthink things at times. However, when she does this in terms of being creative, and it works, it makes her feel amazing. Being creative is her passion. She is going to share it with the world, and see how far it will take her.
