The photo shoot...

So, my totally wonderful and talented friend Trish Finfer and I had an agreement that when I lost 100 pounds that she would take some professional pictures of me...well, I've reached and passed my first goal and here are some of my favorites that she took.  I felt like a real model...and I liked it! :)  I hope that you enjoy them as much as I enjoyed taking them.  Thanks Trish!  I love you! 

Baby Step 3 - I eat cheat meals...

This is very important - for a sound mind and body.  I know that it seems counter-productive to do this.  Why, if you're trying to lose weight would you allow yourself to eat the very foods that got you that point?  Well, for me, once I stopped eating those uber rich, totally unhealthy fast food and totally full of cheesey goodness foods...and then I went back to eating them my body was like WTF?!  No, seriously, since I wasn't eating like this all of the time my body could actually feel the food in my body.  It could feel that this was not "good for me food" and it would respond...and not in a good way. 

My stomach would get totally bloated and I would feel lethargic and I just didn't feel good at all, and over time I began to hate that feeling and I just kind of stopped eating those foods.  But honestly those cheat meals really did save me from going over the edge.  It was very hard to stop eating those foods, but knowing that I could eat them at least one day at week kept me sane, and that is really what the "cheat meal" is all about. 

So, go ahead and allow yourself to have one once a week...all you want for that one meal.  Since it will not be a forbidden food the luster for it will go away...over time.  I just didn't make eating like that the rule anymore and it somehow helped me to rid myself of them.  I'm very grateful that my trainer actually suggested that and it worked, because it would have been hard for me to accept that I couldn't eat those foods anymore...AWESOME! 

Baby Step 2 - I started eating right...out with the old and in with the new.

You know this was probably the hardest step that I had to take.  I mean, how can one change their eating habits overnight?  One day I was eating an entire large pizza with a vat of ranch dressing and the next day I was eating baked chicken breasts, with broccoli and brown rice!  And honestly I hated it...at first!  How could I give up my FAVORTIE food in the world?! 

Well, it was hard at first, but once I started eating right and then I would go back to eating pizza or any kind of fast food my body just didn't like it...at all! 

This was a slow process for me, but over time I've come to enjoy the healthier food options because of how it makes me feel.  Junk food just doesn't do it for me anymore...it lost its appeal and luster! 

Plus it allowed me to find healthier ways to make my favorite foods.  It is amazing how much better pizza tastes when you use good ingredients.  I will add some of my recipes and daily food diaries soon. 

I would highly recommend The Eat Clean Diet book...it taught me a lot about eating.  If you set your mind, you can make those changes...you just have to really want it! 

Stress...

Ahhhh stress...it can get the best of us...The past 2 weeks I was under a lot of stress which threw me off of my routine.  I do not like being stressed because of that reason!  I need to become better at managing that, but sometimes it because overwhelming.  There were some good things that happened and some not so good things that happened. 

Well, the not so good things first...
1 - my workouts went right out the door.  I worked out 4 times in the past 2 weeks.  I was very tired at night and pretty much if I don't work out in the morning I'm not going to workout. 
2 - I slacked some on my eating. 

Here is the good...
1 - I did manage to workout 4 times in the past weeks, and then today I got back in the gym. 
2 - Even though my eating was not good all of the time, I didn't overeat like I would have in the past such as taking out an entire large pizza, 2 liter of soda and a pint of ice cream.  It was more like eating good and then having some cookies and a few pieces of cake.  Yes, a few pieces.  This past Saturday at a potluck I had a piece of lemon cake and a piece of ice cream cake...I KNOW!!!  They were both good, in taste, but probably not the best thing to eat.  And I waited until the end of my 2 weeks before the "bad eating" came out. 

Now, I'm back to eating well.  The only thing with eating bad is that my body starts to crave the "bad" stuff, so I don't keep it at home. 

The bottom line here is that just because I made some not so healthy choices for myself over the weekend that does not mean that I've lost everything that I've worked for and that I have to "throw in the towel" on what I'm currently working on. It is okay that that happened.  I was probably due for it anyway.  The important thing is that it has been recognized and dealth with! :) 

Baby Step 1 - Asking for help...

I asked for help...Yes, I did.  I know that a lot of people may perceive asking for help as a sign of weakness, but it actually is a sign of strength.  We humans were not meant to live our lives alone, we are naturally social beings; however, things in our lives may cause us to isolate and think that "we can do things on our own."  That is what happened to me.  I always ate my food in isolation because I was ashamed of what I was doing and as long as no one saw me doing it, then it was "okay", only problem was that I hated living that way.  So, I was finally ready to do something about it and I asked for help...

I was a former high school and college athlete and I thought I knew it all...but the reality of it was that I had no direction, so I was just spinning my wheels.  I needed someone to help me figure things out...I needed structure.  I hired a personal trainer who helped me get moving and started me on a better eating track than I had been on.  She gave me a plan and was someone that I was accountable to, and that really helped me out.  If you want to get a personal trainer do some research to find out their style of training and accountablitiy.  Make sure that they know if you have any problems with knees, back, etc., and make sure that they take that into account when putting together your training program.  I have bad knees so my trainer worked around those problems that I have. 

It really is okay to ask people for help...when someone helps you or when you help someone it also helps them and will help you too.  I know it's scary to reach out to people, so start with someone that you trust, someone that has walked the path before you...and you will be amazed at what can come from it. 

Life in the Fast Lane...

So, as I grew up so did fast food joints.  They were popping up everywhere and in a time of needing things right now, families, including mine, were going through the drive-thrus like crazy!  Burgers and fries were on the menu and soon became the "fast-food" item to eat.  YUMMY!  I loved my burgers and fries and anything else that was full of fat and deep-fried!  They were so good and you could have one in your hand in a matter of seconds!  Only problem with that was that after everyone else was done with their burger they went on with their day, and I just wanted another burger...

My obsession for food increased and I wanted to eat more and more.  I LOVED fast food places because I could get all of the food I wanted and fast!  I would eat in the car and all the way home.  Then I would get ready to "feast" on all of the other food that was left in my bags.  This was NOT good for someone who loved to eat food and lots of it. 

Fast food was really my only source of food.  I ate it all the time and it sure did show in how I looked.  I ate burgers and fries, pizza, anything that they offered I ate it.  If it was grilled or had too many veggies, I probably wasn't going to eat it and I didn't.  I drove from fast-food place to fast-food place getting only the things I wanted to eat from there...and let me tell you I was truly ashamed of that...!  Why in the hell was I doing that?  Honestly I didn't know...I was just obsessed with food and with eating it.  I didn't even enjoy it...I would just eat and eat and eat...sometimes I would eat so much that I would get sick, but I felt so bad about all of the food that I ate that I would just eat more.  One time I ate pizza buffet for lunch AND dinner...CRAZY! 

Well, after years of eating like that I was beyond unhealthy.  One would think that if you ate all of that food that you wouldn't be malnorished, but I totally was!  Quanity of food does not equal quality of food.  I really just didn't eat anything good for me.  Well...I take that back.  When I would have my breaks from fast food dining I would eat healthy...well, that was actually just my new diet.  Somehow, thank God, I didn't get diabetes or high blood pressure or any other preventable disease. 

Over time I have lost my "taste" for fast food and rarely eat it.  It's really good, because now if I eat something that is not that healthy my body lets me know...immediately! 

Baby steps...

Since I've lost weight, a lot of people ask me what I did to lose all that weight?  The problem is once I tell them..."working out and eating right"...I get "the look" from them.  Usually making sure that I didn't leave out some magic potion or big "secret" to losing weight.  This is the same look that I, myself, used to give to people who had success losing weight. 

What I discoverd is that it is not easy and that there were a lot of sacrifices that I had to make and ultimately the FULL lifestyle change that I needed to have in order to start achieving my goals.  I also discovered that this is not an overnight thing.  I could not drink some juice and wake up at my ideal weight.  I had to work for it, and what I mean by that is that I HAD to be willing to make a lifestyle change...

I had to change everything that I did when I was overweight and it is not easy, so I've worked to not be so hard on myself if I don't workout or if I eat more of and/or something that I shouldn't have eaten.  I had to tell myself that I have spent the last 30 years eating this way or not exercising all the time, and it was going to take time to change my behavior and my habits.  And trying to change everything at once, especially being as overweight and out of shape as I was WAY to much to do all at once. 

YES...I wanted to lose all of my weight NOW!  In my own experience making smaller changes overtime helped me develop lasting habits that I still do today and that have helped me succeed in my weight-loss journey.  Here are some things that I did to help me lose weight...

Baby Step 1 - I asked for help...it realized that I really needed help. 


Baby Step 2 - I started eating right...out with the old and in with the new. 


Baby Step 3 - I eat cheat meals...this is very important - for a sound mind and body. 


Baby Step 4 - I exercise...moving my body farther than from the couch to the fridge was needed. 

It is simple but not easy...changing my lifestyle was hard and I struggled with it at first and some days I still struggle with it.  But over time it has become easier.  I bounce back faster when I don't workout or don't eat right.  The point is I kept moving forward.  There are ALWAYS going to be bumps in the road, setbacks and road blocks, but it's what you do next that shows your committment to your new lifestyle.  If I would have given up on myself when I first started because I "messed up" then I wouldn't be sitting here today 109 pounds lighter...I just got back up and did "the next right thing...", and so can you.  Just decide how you want to live your life today...