More tales from the beginning

So, I just got back from my morning walk and had my breakfast. I am in training to walk a half marathon in October. It's not something I ever thought I would be doing, but I am part of a weight loss competition through my church and my team (namely Crystal and Chrisy), decided we should train for this, so I am. It has really been a lot of fun, but when I started my weight loss journey, I didn't do much excercise.

Ok, so when I started my faithful journey on Valentine's Day 2011, I didn't really tell anyone other than my husband that I was trying to lose weight. I felt that if I ended up failing, at least no one would know and (gasp) judge me. So, the first 20 lbs came off and I was waiting. Waiting for somebody to say something about this change in me. But, nothing came. I faced the harsh reality that 20lbs just wasn't that noticable. Which hurt. But I didn't let it stop me. I knew that I just had to keep plugging along.

When I started, I wasn't as hard core as I am now. I started pretty simple.

I cut out all other beverages and drank as much water as I could get in. This really helped with the hunger (which wasn't that bad).

I found some healthy recipes for me and my family on the WW website and cooked them for my family. My husband was very skeptical at first because he doesn't like "diet" food, but he loved the recipes so much, that he was insisting we add them to our normal meal rotations. I cooked things like pork loin, tilapia, salmon, and of course, chicken.

I added lots of fruits and veggies. I know this is an expense, but I told myself that this expense was worth it. Money has been tight for us several different times through this, but I decided this was one place I was not going to let that be a problem. There are so many times and so many different reasons to say that I can't do this right now, it's too hard, I have a good reason to cheat or put it on hold and I wasn't going to let that be my future. I sucked it up and bought all those healthy expensive foods. And made sure I ate them. I mean really, when you spend $11 on a bag of cherries, you're gonna eat those suckers.

That was pretty much it, along with following the WW points plus program and not going over my allowances. I did have days which didn't include the most healthy of foods, but I don't consider it cheating. With WW, I was able to make it fit into my day and my week and maybe make some sacrifices to help make up for it.

One more thing I must mention is that if you are looking to start losing weight, keep some records. Take your measurements, record a starting weight and maybe even take a picture. The measurements will be a good motivator later if the scale isn't cooperating like you think it should. I did not get a picture of myself at the start, mostly because I avoided cameras like the plague and wanted no part of that, but looking back I really wish I had it, so do it. Hide it somewhere if you need to, but take it, you will never be at that place again.

The beginning

Ok, so I've never thought about blogging before, but a good friend suggested it to me today and that's all I can think about, so I guess I should go for it. I mean what's the worst that could happen? I could fail and never write anything again or no one would ever read this, but how bad is that really? When compared to world hunger or something like that, not bad at all. So anyway, here it goes, my very first blog post! Wow!

I'm starting this to hopefully inspire others with my journey of weight loss. It's been a long road and I'm not finished yet, but one day, I hope to have accomplished my ultimate goal of losing 100lbs. There's a lot going through my mind about what I want to write and advice that I have for others who are looking to lose weight, so I guess I will start by telling the begining of my weight loss journey.

February 14, 2011, I weighed in at a whopping 250lbs and I was tired of it. I had been one of those people sitting on my couch eating ice cream and watching The Biggest Loser. I knew that I could lose weight like those people on the show, but I just wasn't ready to put in the hard work that I knew it would take. I had seen so many commercials for programs to help you lose weight and I picked one. I started Weight Watchers online. My husband was getting ready to start a new job as an OTR (Over the Road) truck driver and I knew that with my three little children, making it to weekly WW meetings would be next to impossible. So, I signed up, used some money that I had recieved for Christmas that I was saving for some new clothes and took the plunge.

You might be thinking, "Why make this decision on Valentine's Day?" or "What made you decide to start losing weight?". Well, my friends, I was tired. I was tired of being fat, I was tired of the size of my clothes, I was tired of seeing other people lose weight and look great. But the biggest reason of all was the excuses that other people were giving me for being so fat. I know, they were just being nice and trying to help, but it wasn't, or maybe it was. If that's what got me here. 70lbs lighter and on my way to my ultimate goal.