About the Editor

Hi! I’m Christie O., just your plain old regular average mom, a 30-something mom of two little boys, stay at home mom/slash/work at home mom and freelance writer.

I’ve been married to my soulmate for 6 years. We met in a bar in college, of course.

This year I completed my first marathon and my 2nd half-Ironman. I’ve come a long way on my journey through weight-loss and it started from here on the couch:

 

Well not that particular couch, a different one. Either way, I was a large, unhappy, hot mess.

However. I have come to love triathlon and running in tutus and I am proof that people, even really hard-headed ones who can’t get out of a rut, can change.

My Story

I am a writer and freelance journalist who put my career on hold after my first child was born 6 weeks early due to pre-eclampsia. In my former life, I was a writer and producer for The Associated Press, FOX News Channel and various local television stations. I needed to fulfill my need to write and so I began blogging at the Mis-Adventures of Captain Poopy after the first baby and then later, the retired family blog, Baby Tea Leaves.

Today, life’s a little different, and so is my blog. I am a freelance writer, I am a champion for the March of Dimes and an organizer for a local group of preemie moms who support other mothers of preemies, a group called Mommies Little Miracles. I just launched my own company, Christie O. Media and work as a social media consultant, brand ambassador/builder and writer because I JUST LOVE SHARING PEOPLE’S PASSIONS WITH THE WORLD! I write about health, fitness, motherhood, mayhem, product & movie reviews, I still love interviewing people (that journalist part of me will always be there, this year I interviewed Harry Connick, Jr. and Morgan Freeman). Also, I love SOCIAL MEDIA.

 My Weight-Loss Journey

I think I’d still be on the couch if it weren’t for that picture. That was my rock bottom.

The night it landed in my inbox I cried my eyes out and wallowed in my mess-ness, I immediately logged onto the computer because I knew something needed to be done, found Couch to 5k, signed up for a 5k race, and started working out and that’s when my new journey began. I changed my terrible eating habits. It was hard as hell. My body hurt so bad, all jiggly and such and I hated myself (as reflected in this post.) But on June 6th, 2008, I was 17 pounds lighter and I crossed the finish line of my first 5k. I signed up for a 10k in November and crossed that finish line too. In March of 2009, I ran my first half-marathon. And because I was so bored with running, (really I am not a runner at all — it just seems to help me in my weight-loss efforts) I decided to train for a triathlon. Some really important people in my life told me it couldn’t be done. They told me I was crazy.

And yes. Yes I am. But Booyah! I did it. But most of all, you know how everyone says, “This time I’m REALLY GOING TO LOSE WEIGHT!” But they never really do? (That was me.) But this time, this was finally it for me! Unlike the millions of zillions of times that I had said it before, this really was it!

The Journey Changed Me.

But the weight-loss journey for me was more of a soul-searching one. It taught me that perserverance and persistence does indeed pay off. That it’s a long, tedious process where you have to look hard to find small victories to keep you going. That you can find inspiration and motivation almost anywhere if you’re looking and trust me, you have to keep looking because it always runs out. That try as you may to treat the journey as a solo-mission, you really need a support network and team which includeds as many virtual people (Twitter! Facebook!) as it does in real life, to help you get there. That we, as humans, as mommies, are truly capable of anything and everything we want. That it might hurt, that there might be pain, but all of it is fleeting. The payoff is just so valuable. It makes the pain so worth it.

I’ve changed my life. My children come to my races and my husband now does them. My 5 year old just won his age group in his first tiny triathlon. I’m almost 60 pounds lighter now than I was in the days where my tummy touched the steering wheel (when I wasn’t even pregnant.) We eat healthy. Did I ever in a million years think I’d be here?

NEVER.

Making and reaching goals in weight-loss and triathlon has become a symbol of my life in general. The parallels of facing your fears (I was deathly afraid of open water swimming for months) and pushing your own limits gives you the strength and courage to be brave later on. It all goes in the bank for you to draw on later. Not just in triathlon, but in life.

I AM FINALLY LIVING NOW! Unlike all those years of letting weight rule my life! And I wrote this post about finally not waiting anymore to get off the couch. I appreciate and love life so much with all of its twists and turns and highs and lows and tears and heartbreak and joys and miracles that my only regret is not having learned to love and appreciate life sooner. I found my cape. I believe everyone has one. It took 34 years, but I finally love and appreciate me. And believe you me, thatwas no easy feat.

I can also be found as a contributing writer at The Sisterhood of the Shrinking Jeans, a wonderful fitness and weight-loss community, and the popular mom site, 5 Minutes for Mom! You can follow me on Twitter @christieo and @momswearcapes, on www.Facebook.com/AverageMomsWearCapes and www.facebook.com/christieomedia

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