Feeling AMAZING!

I often wonder why I ever stopped living a healthy lifestyle in the first place. I feel absolutely AMAZING! Seriously. I haven’t ever been one to be depressed…but for the last little while I believe I was… I just didn’t feel happy even though I had every reason to be. I wanted to snap out of it, but I felt stuck. I always wanted to sleep. I had no energy for anything. Eating made me happy...well at the moment, but then I’d feel awful for eating whatever it was. I was gaining weight very quickly which also made me feel terrible. I am so glad I made the decision to better myself. Not to be “skinny” or to try to be “perfect”…but to be HEALTHY. I had no idea that being healthier in my food choices and exercising daily would also help me to feel like my old, happy self again…I feel healthy INSIDE and OUT! That’s a result that the scale and measuring tape can’t give you. I have so much energy. I don’t even want to take naps anymore. Haha! I am so happy. I live in the moment and enjoy it. I truly feel so great in every way, life is absolutely amazing. I am so glad I made this decision and have stuck with it. There is no looking back, no going back, no giving up…I WILL see this to the END and I will MAINTAIN it always. Your life is what you make it! 

1 MONTH!

TODAY is 1 MONTH working hard for this! I lost a little over a pound this week if you count those ounces...haha! Not exactly what I was hoping for, but it's still going in the right direction. The scale does not measure my success. I have worked so hard and I know the scale doesn't always reflect that. I'm down 12 pounds total though which makes me happy. But... I CANNOT wait for that 2 in the front to change to a 1 again! UGH! BUT...I know it is coming and it's so close! My photographer and measure-er (haha!) won't be available until later today so I will update that info as soon as I have it, but for now I at least wanted to get my updated weight on here. SO STAY TUNED....MORE TO COME...

The number on the scale today will not steal my moment. I am proud I have stayed consistent all month. I am proud I pushed myself hard everyday. I am proud I chose healthier foods. I am proud of how I am feeling. And I am excited to see what the measurements and pictures show today. There are SO many ways to see results and I choose to notice them all! 
I'm sorry for the delay, we have had a very BUSY and EXCITING week around here, but here are my updated pics and measurements....

 My STARTING pics are above...and 1 month progress below...

So...I can't see a HUGE difference in these pictures, but that's okay. There's some changes though. I have some bikini pics (I'm saving those for a later comparison...haha!) and I can see a lot more changes in those so...I'm still happy. It takes time, it's only been a month so far. I won't list my every measurement as I am sure that will be boring at this point, but...I am happy to say I have lost almost 3 inches from my waist and almost 2 inches from my hips!! My total inches lost overall is 9 3/4 inches! I'm happy with that! Here's to another GREAT month to come and LOTS more changes! 

There's going to be days like this...KEEP GOING!

I'm having one of those days. You know...one of those days when you can't seem to find your motivation and feel like crying over everything. Or am I the only one who has those days?! Haha! The truth is I'm feeling very emotional today. This week will be one month into this journey for me. I FEEL like I should have so much more to show for all my hard work and dedication. I know it's only been a month… But shouldn't there be some kind of reward for all the things I have passed up on just to stay focused on my goals?! ;) I know this journey is never-ending and it's hard. I know life isn't always rainbows and butterflies. Things don't always go according to plan and in all reality they hardly ever do. Haha! My kiddos go back to school tomorrow. I think that is a part of my emotional-ness. I know a lot of parents who joke that they are happy when their kids go back to school but...I'm going to miss them and feel sad that Spring Break is over and I won't get to spend all day everyday with them. We also have some HUGE changes coming up. And quite honestly PMS could definitely be playing a big part in all this too. Haha! I want to be REAL and HONEST. I want to share all my UPS and my DOWNS...the GOOD, the BAD and the UGLY....haha! I REEEEALLLY didn't want to go to the gym today, BUT I made myself go anyway. I didn't push myself as hard as I normally do, but I kept going. We will have these days. We just have to keep pushing. Something is ALWAYS better than NOTHING. Everyday counts. Everything we do matters. A POSITIVE mind can change everything. Here's to crying it out and moving on. Everything is going to be okay. Life is good. God is good. And I am so blessed to have my life to live. Sooo...let's have an AWESOME week! Thursday marks ONE MONTH for me…I plan on sharing my weight, measurements and some new pictures! I really hope my measurements and pictures show lots of changes and results. I can't wait to see the differences. This is a process and it takes time. It's NOT easy... but we can NEVER GIVE UP...we have to KEEP GOING!

Week 3 Weigh-In

 Today is weigh-in day for week 3! The results are in and...I am down 2 more pounds!! This brings my total to 11 pounds so far. I am happy. I know 2 pounds a week is a healthy amount to lose at this point. I am SO ready to be out of the 200's though. Haha! I also know the scale is NOT the only way to see results. Next week will be 4 weeks for me...it will be my one month mark...so I will be doing my measurements and pictures again. I work so hard every single day! I can't wait to see all the changes happening. Besides the physical outside changes I hope to see and am already seeing...the internal changes are much faster and easier to be seen and felt. I know I am feeling absolutely wonderful in every way. I have not only started making healthier choices in my eating and exercising, but in all aspects of my life. I want to live my life to the very fullest...I don't want days to just be slipping past me. Life is good. God is good. I am SO happy and feeling SO good. 3 weeks down...forever to go! 

Now that's a whole different "before and after" picture...haha! But honestly I think if you look cute at the gym after you're done working out you didn't work hard enough (I've heard that before, but it's gotta be true)...haha! But it feels so nice to get cleaned up and dolled up afterwards... Feeling great! Work it! ;)

 

Starting Weight: 216                         Current Weight: 205                            Total Lost: 11

YOU are your ONLY competition!

I’m going to share a past habit of mine... I am guessing I am not the only one who has done this or felt this way though... There have been many times when I tried to lose weight before that I would make it into a competition in one way or another (it’s supposed to be more fun that way, right?!)…it would be between myself and friends, family or sometimes even people who I didn't know very well, but who would share their accomplishments all the time. But things have changed... I do NOT want to be in competition with ANYONE anymore. I will NOT compare myself to anyone else. NOT ANYONE.  I am my ONLY competition.  There were SO many times in comparing I would get discouraged....now when I think back I could have been discouraging to others by having that kind of attitude. I would get very down and even feel defeated…which often led me to giving up or feeling that I was unable to do what I was trying to do. I don’t want to ever feel that way again or ever make anyone else feel that way. I want to only motivate, inspire and encourage others…now and always. So please know in sharing my accomplishments and feelings as I go, I am in no way comparing myself to anyone else and please don’t make it that way for yourself either. Let your competition be YOURSELF. We each have our own stories, our own struggles and our own milestones…and each of us CAN do this. There is no need for us to make it a race or “let’s see who can do it better”…just take it one day, one meal, one workout at a time and always try to do a little better than you were able to do last time…because we ALL can improve. I am so excited to see my story unfold and to see other people’s stories as well. Let’s always remember to build each other up, encourage each other, and always be there for each other. We are not competitors against one another; we are a TEAM and WE CAN ALL DO THIS TOGETHER!  

 

Weigh-In Week 2

YAY! Even though I had some real temptations this week...I made good choices about them, kept to my workouts and GUESS WHAT?! I am down another 4 pounds which brings my grand total to 9 pounds so far! I know I am just beginning...I have a long ways to go, but I am taking it one day at a time. I won't let myself get overwhelmed by focusing on the whole journey ahead, instead I will take it one step at a time. The days that pass turn to weeks and then to months and years...we have to keep going...soon the results will show! Each day is one day closer to us reaching our goals! I know I can do this and I will...and so can you! I'm ready for another great week and hope you each have a fantastic week as well! We got this!

Starting Weight: 216    Current Weight: 207     Total Lost: 9