In the Beginning

I was thinking of just how far I have come since starting out on my journey of living a lighter (healthy) life.  So I thought I would tell you about when I first started out. I remember it was November and I had a friend getting married that coming August and I was going to be a bridesmaid. I knew I needed to do something because I hated having my picture taken at that point, I just hated how I looked (because the truth was I looked fat). In hindsight I really wished I had of taken an actual before picture. I do look back on the above picture and just feel like I was drowning in my own body.  I didn't really know what to do or where to start. I liked watching transformation shows on TV and had been watching Extreme Makeover: Weight Loss Edition and the Biggest Loser. I was crying my eyes out at how amazing people looked and I thought, man if these people who are so much heavier then me can do this surely I can manage to lose some weight. 

So I was ready to start out but afraid that like so many other things I would fail at this too. A friend of mine was selling a weight loss shake at the time so I decided to try it out.  If it helped me get going and start seeing results why not? When it came in it had a chart (BMI) to figure out where you are and where you should be by checking your current weight and height. I was stunned to see that I was considered Obese! Yes I was plus size but I didn't think I was that far gone. I guess it doesn't help that I'm also only 4'11" but good things come in small packages! To bring myself to what was considered a healthy weight I would have to lose a minimum of 50 pounds. That seemed to huge of an undertaking so I decided that since I was turning 30 that year that I would set out to lose 30 pounds by my 30th birthday which also was good for the wedding I was in as it was around the same time. 

Me at my Friends Wedding.
I didn't hit my goal but lost 25 lbs.

I knew I would have to workout but I was uncomfortable going to a gym, I didn't want people to see me jiggle all over the place! I had a Wii and I thought they should have a fitness program for it and sure enough I found one! It was EA Sports Active I started doing it and drinking my shakes and I did start seeing results! 5 pounds in the first week! I was thrilled and motivated. When I got tired of the one program I bought a few more Wii fitness programs. They even had one from The Biggest Loser! I really enjoyed that one there is nothing like having avatars of Jillian Michaels and Bob Harper guiding you through a fitness challenge. You literally are a Biggest Loser contestant which made its fun and competitive! I wanted to be the Biggest Loser! Which by the way I was!  I soon got addicted to doing these "games" thus working out longer, it was an average sat to spend most of my morning working out. I am actually happy that I did start out this way because it was me pushing myself to do. It gave me confidence and added motivation to workout.

During this time I started eating better and logging my food in the MyFitnessPal app on my phone. Boy was that an eye opener! I thought I was eating "healthy" but man was I way off lol. Being accountable for what I ate and seeing the calories in what I was eating was huge for me! For the first week I just recorded what I was eating. I could not believe how many calories I consumed in a day. You can eat a little but it can add up to A LOT! So I started making more healthy choices and giving myself a calorie budget for the day. The App had recommended 1200 and i tried that for a couple days and was starving! I realized that it was to much of a change to fast so I modified so one week I went with 1800, then the next i did 1500 and then i went with 1200.  It's funny now because since I used that App for so long and was a custom to eating only 1200 calories a day that it just kind of stuck with me.  Before I got a new phone I was unable to use the App anymore and was surprised when I was able to that I ate 1200 or less in a day. I do highly recommend the app and just keeping a food journal in general it will help you tremendously, I  I have learned sooo much since starting out and plan to keep learning too! I may even take a course or 2 on Nutrition. There is one thing that I did learn along the way and it it so true...