100 I Did It!

So as many of you know I have successfully been loosing weight and though a lot of it has finally shown in the last 8-10 months I really have been actively working on it for a little over two years. It has been a long slow road but 100% worth it!

So how much have I lost? You guessed it 100lbs! What a great way to celebrate my 100th post.

Let me start off by saying I am very happy and excited about where I am but in all honesty very sad about the fact that I ever had to do it. No seriously, I was looking at an old skirt I used to wear a few years ago and almost cried, and they were not tears of joy, they were sadness for who I was before. If there is anything I would encourage anyone to do it would be to learn who you are, what your body is and make it that.

I have written pages of thoughts about what I have been through in case anyone wants to really know, but I am going to try to summarize with just a few points some of the things that made me successful. But as I tend to be long winded I am sure it will be long anyway.

-When I first started I prayed for the desire to change, overcoming something as big as this starts by making the choice to do it and if you are having trouble with that then first pray for the desire to do it so when you make the choice it is easier.

-That leads me to say that it isn’t about how I look physically so much as knowing my body is a temple and if I understand spiritually how it makes a difference I can make better choices to take care of my body. This also means I can pray for help which also holds me to a different level of accountability.

The choices, the work, the effort required...

-I exercise a lot because it really makes a difference and because I am at a point in my life where I can. That is all I will say about exercise.

-Be aware of nutritional values of food. I don’t think I knew how bad some of the stuff I ate was for me before I started educating myself on it. I learned for example that one brownie is about as bad for you as two and a half cookies so when I am going treat myself to something I go for the cookie because it isn’t as bad so I can enjoy it more.

-I have accomplished it all through small obtainable goals...one step at a time is what got me here. Now really I did start with a 100 lb goal in mind, but it took me about a year longer than I originally planned. I am totally ok with this though because I have lost steadily over the past couple of years so I know the change is for good. I still love food and splurge sometimes (what girl doesn’t go crazy once a month?) but, generally speaking, my habits are changed and even when I do go crazy I stop before I have hit total out of control mode. Plus now that I have hit 100 I am going to keep going just a little further. :)

-One of the main things I tell people who ask how I did it is that I haven’t given up any food I love, I just control when and how much I eat. I have lots of little things I do to make this happen. For example I make the yummy lasagna that I love and then put it in small portions in the freezer then take it to work for lunch. I still get my lasagna but now it is total portion control.

-I often speak of my problem as an addiction. Whatever it is called it is a matter of bridling my passions. There are certain things in life that aren't in and of themselves wrong, they just have to be kept within certain bounds so control and bridling passions is a good description of what I have learned to do.

-I have also set many small goals along the way and looked for accountability with someone I trusted. For example I decided at one point I could only have ice cream on dates. That made it easy for me because I didn’t have it in my house but I didn’t deprive myself on special occasions. Then I committed to reporting to my sister anytime I had it so she would know if it was within the guidelines I had set for myself.

-It isn't always easy and I still struggle sometimes. One weekend I was having a particularly hard time and wondering if I really could continue to exercise so hard and not eat whatever whenever. At about that time I pulled into the temple parking lot and realized what I was thinking. Right then and there I repented of the temptation and recommitted to stick to it.


I know that sometimes the spirit is willing but the flesh is week but I love how I feel now and I never want to feel the way I did before again! I will never go there again! Really the journey has been one of body, mind and spirit. The whole picture is needed to be realized to make it a success.