A year from now, you will wish you started today!

Well where do I even begin to start. I am so happy to be posting here today, and to tell my story so that those who do and have ever feel discouraged, can see that there is light at the end of the tunnel

I, like many of you, was sick of being unhealthy and feeling helpless to food. I was fat, lazy and extremely unhealthy. My mother and grandmother were both diagnosed with type 2 diabetes in their 50's and 60's and I was terrified of this happening to me. I had crappy eating habits, and I was scared that it was going to rub of on my 2 young children. Something had to give, I knew, just knew that I HAD to make this change. My first step was not thinking about it as a DIET! That has to be one of the worst words ever. Diet, it means to me, deprivation and misery. I did not want to be deprived because I knew that in the long run, i would fail. Like I had so many times in the past. i wanted to succeed and I wanted it to seem as if nothing had changed. That is when I told myself that this was a lifestyle change, not a quick fix at all. I did not put on the weight overnight, and I knew it was not going to come off overnight,

My target date was Aug 1, 2011. that was it. I was making this change. I had an all or nothing attitude. I recruited my best friend and together we made this change. this was me in June 2011. Probably the picture that changed my life.



I was 184lbs. The heaviest I have ever been. At 5'4", 184 lbs is a lot. I was the fat cousin, the fat sister, the fat daughter and I was tired of it. I was tired of having the 'good personality' and the one who looked good with make-up but that is the only time (true words from my own grandmother).

August 1st, 2011 came alone, and StaceyP76 and I trucked off to the gym. Could barely even be on the treadmill for more than 5 minutes without wanting to die. That first day was the hardest thing I have ever done. And that day was also the day that I knew it was going to get easier.

At first, I watched what I ate but did not log my food. i noticed changes in my body, but nothing to write home about. From Aug 2011 to Feb 2012, I had lost 21 lbs. So at 163 lbs, this is what I looked like. And let me tell you, never again will I look like this. These pictures are so disgusting to me, but I feel I need to post them so people know how the body can change.





Looking at these pictures really upsets me. And it's really hard to explain. A feeling of embarrassment for letting myself get so big and also a feeling of accomplishment, because I know that never again will I look like that.

This was taken in Feb 2012 - day 1 of my Visalus 90 day challenge. And yes, I know, there is quite a bit of debate over Visalus, but I enjoyed it and it worked for me. I lost 13 lbs on it, and it helped really learn how to fuel my body. I did the 2 shakes a day, with small snacks in between and wow, I can not even tell you how good I started feeling. By the end of the program, I weighed in at 150 lbs! Now I did not get to take the pics for after my 90 day challenge as I had a death in the family and had to fly to England, so it was hectic to say the least. So end of May 2012 was when this all took place.

From there, we did the gym, a combo of lifting and cardio. It worked well. the weight came off slowly but we were losing inches and that really is what mattered to StaceyP76 and I. And we continued with the gym right up until Nov 2012, I had hit my goal weight of 145 but was still not quite happy with how I was looking. This is when we decided that we needed an extra kick. Something that would really help change us. This is when Insanity was introduced into our daily lives. And let me tell you, what a challenge that workout truly is. 63 days, 1 rest day a week.... it was tough, but I managed to do it all! I was amazing, I had pushed myself to limits I never knew I could. By day 63, I was down 1 lb, 11 inches all over and 5% body fat. I felt amazing!

Here are my Day 15 to day 63 of Insanity comparisons









i never in a thousand years believed that I would be this fit, active woman. I can tell you I feel incredible and all my little NSV's is what really kept me going. I have gone from a 12/13 in size and a L/XL to a 4/5 and a XS/S. I have gone from 184 to 143! I have energy, I feel amazing and sexy and mostly, I feel proud. Proud that I stuck with it when I was feeling so discouraged so many times. Proud that I have shown my kids that it is important to eat healthy and to take care of your body, and proud because I know that this story will help others stick with it.

And finally, this picture taken yesterday:



The pictures are all from 1 year! If you stick with it, you can do this!

There are a few saying that I just love, and have to remind myself of when I am feeling like I need to quit.

1. You don't have to be great to start, but you have to start to be great

and

2. When you realize that working out stopped being work and became your lifestyle

I do know it's easy to want to give up because you are not getting results as quickly as you want them, but keep at it. You will see them! It really is not a quick, overnight fix. If I can, you can!

Keep healthy my MFP friends!