About Me

Hey!  My name is Heather, and welcome to My Inner Butterfly.  This blog is mainly about my journey to lose weight, but I’m hoping to add more and more of my life as time goes on. 

The basics: I’m 27, and I live in a suburb of Minneapolis, MN.  I currently have a boyfriend, and live with my 2 year old grey Tabby cat, Ricky.  I have a brother who is much older than me (11 years), and he gave me the best niece and nephew a girl could ask for!  My parents are both retired (fairly early, they both retired recently, and are in their mid-50s), and still live in the house that I grew up in.  I went to school and got my Bachelor of Arts degree in HR Management, and am now working at a global, mid-size manufacturing company in Northeast Minneapolis as a Benefits Coordinator. 

I love writing and reading, and this blog is a great outlet for me.  It’s been great to have the accountability of a blog, and I’m looking forward to see what it will bring me.

My Weight Loss Story (In Progress)

I was never really overweight.  All through high school, I was very active in dance.  I was on the dance team, and we practiced 4 hours every day.  I also went to a local studio, where I practiced for 2 hours, 2 nights a week.  Needless to say, I never had to watch what I ate, and it never crossed my mind that I ever needed to lose weight.  I am lucky in that respect. 

Enter college.  Oh college.  I did NOT gain weight for the same reasons many people gain weight when they go away to college (drinking).  No…I am an introvert by nature, and I found it pretty hard to make friends.  I was alone a lot, and spent many weekends sitting alone in my apartment (I rented in a student housing apartment complex my first year with 3 other girls).  I didn’t click with any of my roommates – they seemed to be loners too, but they usually went home on the weekends. 

And what did I do when I was alone?  I ate.  And ate.  And ate some more.  I did not know how to cook, so a lot of my meals were bought from local fast food places.  When I studied, I liked to go to the local Barnes & Noble.  Then I could get a large iced drink, plus a sandwich, or one of those big pretzels or brownies.  YUM. 

I tried out for the dance team at college, but didn’t make it.  I did not have that collegiate “look.”  What the hell??  I didn’t know we were judged by our looks…I thought it was our dancing that mattered!!  My confidence took a nose-dive. 

Throughout my 5 years of college (I transferred after my 2^nd year to a private school, where I had to take Liberal Arts courses, so it took longer), I gained around 35 pounds.  Not a TON by any means, but on a 5’1” frame, that is a LOT.  And it put me in the “overweight” category, nearly pushing “obese.” 

I attempted to lose weight many times, losing and gaining the same 10-15 pounds throughout the last 8-10 years.  I’m still pretty much where I started, but this blog has been a big help in forcing me to keep going.  To keep going when I just don’t feel like it.  I really don’t want to have to tell everyone that I messed up, or stop blogging altogether.  Talk about embarrassing! 

I’m currently using Cathe Friedrich’s Xtrain series (started January 12, 2013), and practicing Intuitive Eating.  We’ll see where this intuitive eating thing takes me.  I’ve tried counting calories, but it just makes me obsessed with food.  When I count calories, I can’t stop thinking about what my next meal will be, or how many calories I still have left, or how many calories I need to burn off if I go XXX amount over my goal.  How exhausting!  This journey is all about balance, and I plan on finding that balance.

Along with balance, I plan on finding “my inner butterfly.”  Operation Butterfly is something I started this year (2013)…it’s basically Project: ME.  I’ve found that as I have gained weight over the last several years, I have really lost myself.  I have no confidence, I’m quiet, and just feel like I don’t know myself.  Slowly but surely, I will get there.  Losing weight is only one piece of the puzzle.  I have a long way to go, but the future is looking exciting!  Thanks for coming along with me on this journey!