Welcome to our blog! Enjoy!: Inspiration

Do you know what it's like to be an "inspiration" to someone? Or many, many people for that matter? I really don't either.... Every single day I have people either tell me face to face, on FB, private messaging or text messages, telling me that I am "such an inspiration" or that they have decided to get healthy and lose weight because they've seen the success I've had. This is so incredibly amazing to me. Never in my life did I think that I, being the ordinary girl that I consider myself, could have such an impact on so many different people. I can't tell you how good it makes me feel. How much it makes my heart feel so, so blessed. I feel like I haven't done anything any more impressive than anyone else, or that anyone SHOULD think that I am so impressive. lol I've just lost weight! Anyone can do this!! :) It's all about being ready, and doing whatever it takes to get there. That's it. That's really all that it takes.

I guess it's just hard for me to grasp and fathom that I have had SUCH a huge impact on so many people. It makes me feel really, really good, not only that people feel that way, but that they take the time to tell me that I've made a difference in their lives, in their way of thinking. I'm telling you. If I can do this? ANYONE can do this! Seriously. I have struggled with my weight for my.entire.life. I've always had this issue. I was anorexic in Middle School, though I'm sure most couldn't tell that. I would pass out all the time because I wasn't eating anything. Nothing. Then in HS, I quit doing that, but I was always super self conscious about my weight. In college I gained weight, but then started losing it again. It was always up and down. I never stuck with any weight loss regimen for very long, MAYBE a month or two. When Justin and I got together, I probably weighed around 170, I'm guessing, because I'm not sure, at all. While my mom was sick, and then after she passed away, I gained a lot. And a lot, QUICK. When I went to try on my wedding dress when it came in from ordering it, about 5 months after my mom died, it had to be let out. Now this could be just because I had huge boobs, all my life. lol but either way. That was in Aug. We got married in Oct. and I had serious doubts that my dress was going to fit that day because I knew I had gained even more weight. I just prayed and prayed and prayed that it did. And it did, but barely. It was DEFINITELY a lot tighter than it had been in only Aug. The day I got married, I weighed 211 lbs. After we were married for a little while, I lost my job & had 2 miscarriages. All of these things made me eat my feelings even more than I already was from losing my mom. My highest weight that I got to before I got pregnant was 249. In July of 2010, I had had enough. I was going to Zumba classes and riding my bike about 10 miles on average, a day. By the time I got pregnant in Sept, I was down 25 lbs. At my first doc appt, I weighed 225 lbs. The day that I delivered G, I weighed 271 lbs. TWO HUNDRED SEVENTY ONE POUNDS. Never ever in my whole entire life could I have even IMAGINED weighing that much, yet I did. But, I had 9 months to think about exactly how much I wanted this, how much I wanted to do anything and everything I could to get this weight off. I had 9 months to feel awful about my body and to dread going to the doctor because I knew I was going to weigh even more (even though it was for a good cause, obviously) So yes. I gained 46 lbs while pregnant, and I vowed to do everything I had to do to get it off. And I have. I haven't looked back. Do I have bad days or even weeks?? Of course I do. Even currently, I ran a race this past Saturday, it was only 2 miles, but I hadn't run in about 3 weeks. Before that I had only run about twice before having not run in about 2 weeks because I had a leg injury. So yeah, it's probably been close to a month since I've ran regularly. But, I still get out and walk, I still do things at home, anything to stay active. And I am still losing!! I am currently down about 104 lbs (I didn't check today). I'm telling you, if I can do this, ANYONE can. I get asked some of the same questions by people who message me, what am I doing to lose weight, what do I eat, what do I recommend others do. The answers are simple. I eat well, I stick to about 1200 calories a day, I do SOMETHING to be active every day, even if it's just going on a walk, I write down everything that I eat and keep track in an app on my phone. I recommend taking pictures of yourself, even once a month, or once every 10-15 lbs lost, anything to keep you motivated. I guarantee when you see yourself actually changing, you'll be even more motivated to keep going. Sometimes since we look at ourselves every day, it can be hard to see changes. That's why I recommend taking pics like I have shared in previous posts. I also definitely recommend taking your measurements. I wish I would've done this last May, but I started in Feb of this year. I've already lost over 30 inches off my body just since then. It's SUPER motivating especially when you don't see much change (or ANY) on the scale, to see that you have shrunk your waist or your hips or your belly. Anything to keep you motivated!!! It's hard. I won't pretend it's been a walk in the park for me either. There's been many days I've sat and cried with my husband because I hit a plateau, or because my body wasn't toning up or getting smaller in certain places. Patience is really key. I promise that if you keep at it, you WILL see results. You WILL achieve all of your goals. You just have to keep going, even when it's hard. And it will be!!! I'm always here for anyone who wants to talk, wants to have someone keep them accountable, or even if you just want to share your victories with me! Whether you made it to the gym that day, or went for a walk, or a run, or you've lost 1, 3 or 5 lbs etc! I'd LOVE to hear about it!!! Keep on keepin' on ya'll. You'll get there!!! I promise that if I can do it, anyone can.
I feel so much better about myself, I feel sooooo much happier in all aspects of my life. It's amazing what this kind of transformation can do you for you. I am currently hoping to lose about 20-30 more lbs and then I'll see where I'm at and how I feel about that. I'm working more on toning now. That's definitely been a lot harder than losing the weight. I wish I would've started doing weights a long time ago!!! You will be amazed at how you feel physically and emotionally, about yourself once you start achieving your goals. How much stronger you will feel!! You can do it. I believe in you! Now get out there and succeed!!!!!

Not much else going on in our little lives lately. Griffyn had a WONDERFUL birthday and birthday party. We had so many people come it was fantastic. I'll share some pictures later! :) Nothing else new happening with the AD stuff. We're still just waiting. :) Fun fun!!

Here's a few of my recent compare pics. Just so I can keep track on my blog, and for the people who don't have FB that read this. :) Hope you all have had a wonderful Memorial weekend! Remember the real reason why we celebrate it.