Today we’d like to introduce you to Rebecca Bailey.
Rebecca, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I found myself eight months pregnant with two years old and a 9-month-old already at home and exhausted. I was unhealthy and overweight. I can remember being not able to catch my breath while simply sitting on the couch much less keep up with my two young children. This was the moment it hit me, my a ha moment, if you will. How on earth would I be able to be the type of energetic and active mom I wanted to be for my soon to be three children under three if I could not even breathe comfortably sitting on the couch. The answer is I couldn’t… something had to change.
I vowed that after giving birth I would change my lifestyle, lose weight and be a healthy example for my family. Two months and two weeks later I began my journey with WW (formerly Weight Watchers). I started by simply following the food pillar of the program and had great success. The weight was coming off and with each pound lost my energy, confidence and enthusiasm for life grew! It was several months later that I realized I did not want to be skinny, but rather I wanted to be healthy and strong.
This revelation led me to start to embrace the activity pillar of the WW program. I started focusing on getting my daily minimum of steps, then began branching out at the gym and trying other forms of activity. Some I hated along the way and some I loved, but the point was I was moving more. Not only did this increase my weight loss results, but it boosted my energy level even more. I was caught in a positivity loop and was thrilled to be there! A year after starting WW I reached my goal weight and seven weeks later Lifetime status of maintaining my goal weight. As someone who has struggled with weight for as long as I can remember and at more than one point in my life threw my hands up and just said “heck, this is as good as my life is gonna get,” it felt amazing to set this goal and finally reach it! It wasn’t until I was at goal weight that I actively started working on the third pillar, mindset.
Maintaining a healthy weight is no easy task for someone who has struggled their whole life with being unhealthy. More so even is reshaping that mindset to be healthy. I still have days where I look in the mirror and see the girl that was a 190 lbs heavier, I still have days where I walk into a restaurant and find myself wondering in the chair will support my weight. It is a hard emotional journey to go through extreme weight loss. I am happy to report now that even though I have those thoughts I am able to recognize them and reshape them to fit who I am now, rather than who I used to be.
It’s been quite the journey the get where I am today. It involved gastric sleeve surgery, losing over 100 pounds, having multiple reconstructive plastic surgeries for excess skin removal, gaining the majority back, getting married, having three babies back to back, and now my journey with WW to help me realize I’m worthy of a healthy life. People often ask what’s stopping me from gaining it back this time as I did with weight loss surgery in the past and the answer is my lifestyle has changed. My lifestyle is centered around healthy choices that I value and appreciate.
Has it been a smooth road?
The road to finding my healthy half has been anything but smooth. I’ve had major setbacks along the way. I get the question often about how long it has taken me to lose the weight… the truth is it’s taken my whole life to get to where I am now. It’s not a quick or easy fix and the journey looks different for each person, but ultimately every step and slip along the way has contributed to getting me to exactly where I am today.
We’d love to hear more about your work.
I do not have a company to promote, rather just an Instagram where I document my journey. I post about workouts, recipes, struggles, and celebrations along the way. I am thrilled to have the opportunity to share my story and blessed by those who reach out the let me know that my journey has in some way positively impacted their journey.
My profile on Instagram is @FindingMyHealthyHalf. I decided on this screen name because I knew I needed to lose at least half of my heaviest weight, but it wasn’t and still isn’t ONLY about the number on the scale… it’s about being healthy physically, mentally, and emotionally.
How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
I hope to see more of the health trends going to whole-body wellness rather than just the scale.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @FindingMyHealthyHalf
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