New Year’s Day is a time for a new start… a new beginning. And we all like to think we can change something about ourselves on that day and move forward with optimism… optimism that we can accomplish our goals.
Eden, of New Oxford, Pennsylvania, had that very same thought back on January 1st of 2015. As cheesy as it was, she thought, she was gonna make a resolution to set her sites on getting healthy. And for her, that not only meant physically healthy, but mentally healthy as well.
She was 25 years old and completely fed up with being overweight. All those extra pounds were causing her body to fall apart. She was always sick, she was always tired. And even doing the smallest of tasks zapped all of her energy. Because of that, she found herself constantly aligned with a negative state of mind. She knew she had to change that.
It probably hit Eden the most after getting her wedding pictures back. She could outright see just how big she really was, and that was a big wake up call for her.
She had to change her life immediately if she was going to enjoy any future at all. She had a husband now and she wanted to do it for him. But mostly, she knew she HAD to do it for HER.
She got a MyFitnessPal and started tracking her calories and nutrition. With that, she discovered exactly what she was putting into her body, and she was shocked. She could not believe it was so much.
Eden also started working out. She started out slowly with everything and gradually started working out more and eating less. Her weight began falling off so fast, and she started to think how easy it was. She was thrilled. But things started slowing down after a while and she wasn’t getting the results she believed she should be getting. Those scales started slowing down on her, and she didn’t like it.
But she kept at it, watching what she was eating and staying very active. She let go of pushing herself on things and simply adopted it as her new lifestyle. Now she could enjoy things more. And she enjoyed that lifestyle so much that she started a Facebook page called Getting Healthy with Eden. She wanted to share her story and she wanted others to share theirs.
After 10 months, Eden had lost 135 pounds. She was now down to 170 pounds. It was a very big difference. It wasn’t long after that that she and her husband found out they were expecting.
Says Eden: “Words cannot explain how excited I was. I had waited my entire life to be a mom. I was healthy, happy, and my life was falling into place! I continued my healthy lifestyle as my pregnancy progressed.”
But in late January of 2016, while in for a routine ultrasound, they learned their baby had Anencephaly, which meant their baby boy’s skull and brain had not formed correctly, and that he would not be able to live outside the womb. Eden was crushed. She went from her highest of highs to her lowest of lows. Doctors took the baby a week later. Eden met her son and lost him the same day.
She now had a choice in front of her. She could start eating everything in sight to drown her sorrows or she could push ahead with life. She decided on the latter. She wanted to do it for the son she lost… to enjoy life as much as she possibly could, and to help others who were struggling with their health after losing children. Eden now had more motivation, more determination than before.
In May of 2016, Eden and her husband learned they were expecting once again. And on Feb. 3, 2017, Joseph William, a healthy baby boy, was born. They were very proud parents, but Eden realized she had gained too much weight during the pregnancy, and needed to lose about 60 pounds to get back to where she was.
It took her about 9 months to lose those extra pounds, and she kept going. When she first started her lifestyle change, Eden weighed 305 pounds. At this point, she has now lost 200 of those pounds! The journey has been an amazing, eye-opening experience for her. She says she is living proof that if she can do it, anyone can.
She recently tried on her wedding dress to see how much she has changed. She was shocked, and the photos tell it all. Eden has since donated her dress to Anencephaly Hope, an organization that will turn her dress into angel gowns for babies born with Anencephaly.
Eden’s journey has made her a much different person. She loves how she feels and how happy she is now. Her son now even mimics her exercise routines, and she’s thrilled to be passing on healthy habits to him.
Says Eden: “I know how hard it is to be overweight. I know thinking that you will be that way forever, but it does not have to be that way! I am living proof. I did this by watching what I ate and free workout videos on youtube. I did not do any special diet, no magic pills, no surgery. I promise you that if you find the motivation and you are willing to put in the hard work, you can do this as well! I have learned that I love helping people on their health journey. One day I would love for this to become my career. I have first hand knowledge that this can be done!
She adds: “If you are struggling, find your motivation, put aside all the excuses, and put in the hard work. I promise it will be worth it. I never regret how far I have come. I am so full of joy, pride, and excitement for life now and I want to share that with everyone!”
You can follow her journey on: Facebook and Instagram
