My journey through loosing 102lbs and finding happiness

cynthials

What a beautiful story. You really are a very strong woman despite all of the sadness you have encountered.

madd4luke

What an inspiration you are! So sorry for your losses!! Kudos to you for sharing your story and bringing hope to so many! You are beautiful!!

christinedlg50

After so much loss, you triumphed! And what an inspiration you are! Thank you so much for sharing your story and giving me/us all a reason to stay on track and keep the faith!

Jenepher1202

A 3.5yr update
Wow reading these comments encouraged me so much and I hope each one of you are doing well. I wanted to give an update to my story..

1/31/2019
Here I am almost 4 years later.
I have a big family and because of that we end up experiencing a lot of death. Since 2015 I have lost another brother(4 total), my stepmom of 25yrs, and my mother in law. It’s been rough y’all! But bc of the support of family & friends and the unending love and grace from God I’m still standing.. Here’s an update with my weight...

My weight dropped as low as 128 but that felt impossible to maintain. So I 130-138 seemed to be a good range for me. I had set a couple safety rules in place to help keep myself in check. 1. I set 145 as my a caution weight. The first two times I reached 145 I immediately went back into full calories counting mode and was able to drop it fairly quick. 2. My “red zone” weight was 155. This was reached twice since 2015. The first scared the crap outta me and like the two other attempts I was able to drop the weight fairly quick with calorie counting and working out. The 2nd time, being currently. I not only hit my “red zone” I also had promised myself I would never buy up a size in jeans. This helping me keep my self in check. Well, I reached 155+(I didn’t weigh myself until after a week of dieting) and was down to only wearing jeans that had stretch fabric.
I knew this was coming. I’ve hovered in the area for the past 2 months but for whatever reason I couldn’t just get it “to click”. I couldn’t bring myself to making the commitment.
In the last 4years ive noticed a habit.. I start avoiding the scale. Because if I ignore it, I can plead ignorance, right?!? Wrong! I start reaching for the yoga pants, legging/dresses vs my jeans. So I knew it was coming. I knew it needed to be done. So seeing 155 show up on scale last week after a week of dieting was enough for me! I just finished two weeks of calorie counting and 1 week of work out videos everyday, and I’m already seeing progress! This week I’m down 5lbs. still have ab 15 more lbs to go but I’m determined. A few random things I’ve learned to help stay in shape but obviously I have not perfected.

-dont ignore the scale. It’s not that you have to “live” by the number but you need to be aware of it as it’s a great guideline
-once at goal weight.. working out is a great way to stay in shape w/o having to restrict diet as much. *this is perhaps where I fail the most. I have to say I’m just not somebody who naturally enjoys working out. I work out bc I love food. So finding unique fun ways to get a work out in is key for me.
-moderation is key. To everything.
-Sharing my plan with somebody or even better- starting with a friend makes me more likely to achieve my goals(and faster too). something about the accountability.

****If I mess up with a meal that doesn’t cancel the entire day. If I have an unplanned cheat day the rest of the week is not a “lost cause”. If I make bad choices for a week, that doesn’t give me the excuse to just give up on the month. Life happens. Life and food is meant to be enjoyed. So enjoy it! If u fall behind then pick yourself up and start again. Don’t make excuses. Don’t allow food to control you. But MOST importantly- DO NOT allow the scale nor the size you wear control your self worth. You are special, unique, and your body is an amazing thing- LOVE YOURSELF AT ALL TIMES!!

You have got this!

Jenepher1202

Photos from vow renewal in 2015. One with my husband and the other with the “baby” of the family. The brother I quoted in original post. And the most recent full body photo taken in 12/2018.

Jenepher1202