It's crazy how much of an emotional journey loosing weight has been for me, I've had to dig out my demons, face them straight on and get rid of them. I realized how much I have let fear rule my life in the past and the way I deal with emotional stressers, which was food, SURPRISE ... don't we see that on EVERY season of the biggest looser? ha ha I have watched that show for years and never fully grasped that I do the same thing as the contestants on there do, which is finding comfort in food. I craved the emotional release that comes with eating, in my case over eating. I started gaining weight a year after being married, after miscarrying twins at 11 weeks along, I had some hormonal issues from the pregnancy,depression from the loss as well as some post partum depression. Frankly, I was depressed for months where I didn't feel much of anything... I felt pretty empty, so I "filled" up. Luckily for me I have an amazing husband who was completely there for me emotionally and helped me through that rough time, but I still turned to food as well and gained around 50 pounds in a year. I replaced my normally healthy eating habits with poor ones and eating became an emotional release instead of just to nourish my body.
That is just a glimpse into the emotional journey that I've gone through while loosing weight. I feel like I could write a book on the things I learned about myself. I'm learning to love and respect myself. I've since changed my relationship with food and how I deal with stress is different. I take it out in a workout or get out of the house and do something active, I love it! I've changed my diet, I don't drink dairy milk, but drink Almond milk instead, I've cut sugars with the exception of an occasional treat (usually chocolate or ice cream). I have cut down my carbohydrate intake and I eat 5-6 small meals a day to deal with my blood sugar issues, (which are SO SO much better now!) I try to eat a salad a day, lean proteins, healthy fats and lots of fruits and veggies. I track my food intake (to keep me accountable) on Livestrong.com each day and try to workout 30-60 minutes a day, usually I get 3-6 good workouts in a week and try to stay active on days I can't squeeze in the time. I did the whole insanity workout program (9 weeks) and loved it, I finished 3 weeks ago and since then have continued to do the workouts every day or every other day.
I have lost 46 pounds since last September, 31 of those pounds have been in the last 12 weeks. I still have more weight to loose before I get to my goal weight but I'm feeling great and am loving the changes that are taking place. I feel confident that I'll reach my goal weight and maintain it through the futures ups and downs that are bound to come.
I hope I can be an inspiration for someone else who is ready to make a change for the better. I have to say that my family has been an absolutely AMAZING support! I can't thank everyone enough for all of the love and support.
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| Me before, I don't have any full body pictures of myself unfortunately so you can't see the total transformation. However, I have lost about 11 inches from around my waist at the belly button level alone, with many many more inches lost on all parts of my body. went down 6 pants sizes. :) |
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| My camera broke so this is a cell phone picture that Amara randomly took of me last night. I need to get a new camera and then I'll post a little clearer picture, but you can see the difference. |
