"Hello, my name is Erin. I am a Turbo Addict."

To understand how my Turbo addiction came about, I must first take you back a few years...

2004


This was me in late 2003/early 2004. I look happy, do I not? Oh, how looks may be deceiving. Angel, my dog, is just over one years old in this picture. At the time, she was the only thing that brought any joy to my life. She would comfort me in moments of despair--even licking tears off my cheek as I mourned my grandmother, Jean.

Sparing the gruesome details, I was in a romantic relationship that was--for lack of a better word--sub-healthy on all fronts (mental, emotional, physical, spiritual). The only things I remember doing during that time in my life were eating and sleeping. I was clinically depressed. I found joy in nothing. I felt rather hopeless. And my weight was the perfect barometer.

Of course, there were bursts of beautiful things from time to time. This included the occasional visit to see my family, who lives hundreds of miles away. I was car-less at the time. When in the city, I relied solely on public transportation. For jaunts out of the city, my boyfriend had to drive me with his car. To make it worse, his car was a standard--which I did not know how to drive. So, getting anywhere with him at the wheel, was a chore. So, often, I opted not to go anywhere.

At my heaviest, I weighed over 210 pounds. That doesn't seem like a lot, given my height of 5' 11". Regardless, I was not well. Something...desperately...had to change.

2005

Mentally, I had had enough at this point. I was home in New Jersey at one point and found a DVD that my mom had in her library, but wasn't using. It was Kathy Smith's Timesaver Cardio Fat Burner. It was 20 minutes--with the option to go another 20 minutes. I could handle 20 minutes.

It was also from 1998--so this could be interesting...

But I gave it a go. Why? Because I didn't know what else to do. I actually was really stoked to find that not only did I enjoy it, but I became really good at it. I had found something that I could do. Finally.

I worked out when I could--which, wasn't consistently. However, exercise wasn't completely absent, either. I began to hunger for variety...so I turned to Kathy once again. I purchased her Functionally Fit Peak Fat Burning DVD. This was my first taste of interval training. I really, really got into it. It was a little less dated than the first DVD, and I was able to really master the moves and constantly increase the intensity.

Did I begin to lose weight? Yes. I was about 190 pounds by spring of 2005.

That summer, (again--to spare details), the man in my life had left me and taken the dog with him. For some reason, I thought this breakup was the end of my world. I've realize now that the only thing worth sparing in that relationship was Angel and losing her was the true source of my utter despair.

Stay tuned for more on my life as a Turbo addict............