It was exactly 1 year ago today, May 22, 2008 that I hit my weight loss goal. I had lost a total of 140lbs over a 16 month period. And today, one year later, I am thrilled to say that I have kept that weight off. YAY! Here are the 'before'
and 'after' photos....
The losing of the weight was tough, but thanks to my bucket loads of stubbornness, I plowed through and got to my goal. There was a lot of mental stuff to get through too. And even now with maintaining it, the hard work continues—hour to hour, day to day, week to week I have to really work at making the right food choices. Sometimes I make the wrong decisions and I go up a few pounds, but the difference now, is as soon as that happens, I get right back on the wagon and take them off. I recently read a Self magazine interview with Beyonce’, who I think is brutally hot, where she talked about her weight struggles. She said, “I’m not one of those people who doesn’t have to work at it. I can’t eat what I want and I can’t not go to the gym. There are no quick, easy secrets. The truth is, it’s a lot of sacrifice. It’s more mental strength than physical strength. It doesn’t matter what program you are on, you have to be healthy and make the right choices.” Exactly! It is tough work—even still.
My weight loss transformation affected more than my physical self. On that first day, January 1st, 2007, I asked God for help with my weight loss and He soooo answered my prayers then and continues to do so. I also stopped drinking—one of the best, best, best decisions I ever made. Not only is alcohol unnecessary calories and carbs, but it clouded me, my judgements and was leading me down a path of no-good. The support from my husband strengthened our
relationship even more. Looking back to the person I was then and who I am now—inside and out, it’s quite a transformation and I love the changes. I give all the glory and thanks to God for helping me right my life… in all areas.
You can read about some of my journey here—just read the entries that start with “Sisterhood Of The Shrinking Pants….” There were a couple of books that helped me along the way. Beauty For Ashes by Joyce Meyer and Joining the Thin Club by Judith Lederman. They both helped heal some areas that needed healing and taught me a lot about myself as an overweight person and now as a thin person. Here are a couple of websites that I use now for recipes, inspiration and such: Whole Living, Women's Health Magazine, BeliefNet, Joyce Meyer's Daily Devotional, AllRecipes Healthy Cooking.
If you are losing weight, for the first time or the 101st time, keep goin’. Get that stubborn streak goin’ and don’t let anything, anyone or any comment sway you from your goal. Ask for help—from God, from your bestfriend, from your spouse, from your kids, whomever will give you the strength and support to help get you there. It is tough and it’s not going to happen overnight. There will be people (and you might be shocked as to who it turns out to be!) that will try to sway you, there will always be a brownie around to try to tempt you, but YOU are stronger than that person and YOU are certainly stronger than any brownie. You can do this and you will be soooo proud of yourself as you start and continue to lose. And the more you lose the stronger your resolve will get.
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