Tuesday, October 29, 2013

weightloss is a rewarding struggle


It's basically like I'm writing this post "for the future" since it's Sunday afternoon and I decided to chill at Starbucks and get some writing done vs. waiting until the last possible minute and rushing something that would come out half-assed (how's that for a run-on sentence? ha). I haven't even written Monday's weekend recap post yet, but I wanted to write something a little more meaningful than what I spent my weekend doing. Anyway, I'm going to take things to a more 'serious' level today.

I haven't done any kind of health or fitness related post lately and I've had a few people mention to me that these kinds of posts are their favorite... So here I am. I'm not ready to talk about numbers with y'all... yet. But, I promise that I will do an actual post with numbers (meaning pounds lost, and possibly inches lost too) very soon. I am almost at a pretty huge milestone and as a celebratory post, y'all will get that kind of update.


It's crazy how much the shape of your face can change. I made this comparison for my dad this weekend.


So back in September, Amanda and I committed to doing a pretty intense 90-day challenge of cleaning eating, ramping up our workouts, and cutting out alcohol. I'm pleased to say that we have stuck with is, and we are almost 2/3 of the way finished. I'm not going to lie, we have splurged a few times and had a few "cheat meals" and an alcoholic beverage or two - but I am convincing myself not to feel bad about these choices.

I have learned a lot during this challenge, and I have learned what my body can handle and what it can't handle. Speaking of which, there isn't much that it can't handle. It's just the mentality that I "can't" do things. I'm doing things that I never thought I could do - physically and mentally - and trying to learn to try new things instead of convincing myself that I can't do them.


This picture totally stretched when I uploaded it... boo. But you still get the point.


Accountability, finding motivation, and dealing with the mental battle/struggles are the hardest parts of this journey for me. It's easy to get "down" on yourself and feel like you're not making good progress, or that one of your friends is losing weight faster (and seemingly easier) than you are. It's easy to tell yourself that you're not good enough and that you won't reach your goals. It's easy to hit snooze on the alarm and not get up and workout because "it's only one day, and one day doesn't count". It's easy to come home from work and not want to workout because you're tired and it was a long day at the office. It's easy to look in the mirror and see the same 'fat girl' staring back at you. The truth is that this whole journey and transformation isn't easy. It's hard. This is hands down the hardest thing I've ever done, but it is also the most amazing thing I've ever done for myself.

I have so much support behind me from family, friends, and even this blog, and I am so grateful for all of you every single day. However, most people don't see the struggles that I go through on a daily basis, or the amount of work I put into losing weight and exercising. I will get comments, texts, etc. from friends telling me that it must be nice to finally be "small" (which is not the truth, I'm only half way there). Telling me that they could never do it. Making comments about how easily I dropped the weight. Giving me excuses or reasons why I could lose weight, but they can't. Dealing with these kinds of comments and remarks is downright hard. This isn't a walk in the park for me.
I struggle. A lot.



I promised myself that I would be 100% open and honest about this entire journey, and I do my best to show that through my blog, Facebook, and instagram. I'm trying to be as real and honest with y'all as I possibly can. So let me reiterate all of this for you: this is hard.

Now don't get me wrong, I am not complaining or whining about the process. As hard as it is, and even though I have days where I want to quit, this is the best thing I've ever done and I'm loving every minute of it. If you are trying to lose weight, please don't compare yourself to me, or anyone else. If you're just starting out or if you have been doing it for a while - do not compare yourself to anyone except yourself. I find it easy to scroll through fitness accounts on instagram and give myself a hard time for not looking like those people. My way to avoid this is to remember how far I have come and how far I will have gone when I reach my goal weight. I compare myself to the 'old' me. Not anyone else.
But most importantly, I try and remember this quote:



I think I have rambled long enough, so I will leave you with this. Whether you are wanting to lose weight, just getting started, or have been doing this for a while: remember to believe in yourself and don't be so harsh on your progress. We all have to start somewhere. If you have any questions, or if you want help with ways to eat clean, exercise, or just to talk about wanting to lose weight or where you are in your journey right now - please feel free to reach out to me. I'd love to help in any way that I can.

17 comments:

Kathy@MoreCoffeeLessTalky said...

LOVE LOVE LOVE. you are so right in that we should NOT compare. in my opinion, the ONLY PERSON you should compete with is yourself.

it took me 18 months to get to where i am - EIGHTEEN MONTHS!! - and when i compare myself when i was younger and kidless, it was WAY easier for me to lose weight back then. heck, back then, if i had done even half the stuff i'm doing now i'd give jillian michaels a run for her money. but, being close to 40 (omg say it ain't so) and with that, age is a cruel bitch, i just can't lose weight or tone up as fast as i used to. does that stop me? HELL NO. our bodies are DESIGNED TO DO ANYTHING - it's just our brains that we have to convince!!

congrats on this amazing progress -- keep it up!!

-kathy
Vodka and Soda

shannon said...

GIRL. YOU GO.
love this! you look amazing and you're doing amazing and you're certainly amazing to me and my pesky questions all the time.

Jen @ That's What She Read said...

i love this, you look amazing and exude happiness! Such an inspiration to me, no lie!

Morgan Sparks said...

You are such an inspiration to us all! You look amazing! Thank you for sharing your journey!

Unknown said...

Great job! Keep it up!
x Hannah
http://theadventurouslifestylelab.blogspot.be/

Sami said...

You are my favorite.. and also you're amazing and I will keep telling you that whenever I can. You have worked so hard and I am so impressed with your progress and how far you've come. I also know that it can't be easy for you.. heck I lost 30 lbs and then I basically said I'm done now. I know that I can accomplish so much more and I want to, but for me it's mental. I had gained weight and then I lost it so now I'm where I have been most of my life since high school. I've never been smaller than I am now and I think something about that is holding me back. Who knows.

Jay T said...

You do such a wonderful job of being honest in your journey and sharing the hard parts which are definitely outweighed by the incredible progress you've made. I will never stop telling you how inspirational you are and how glad I am that I know you. SO very proud of you!!!

Anonymous said...

I love this post. You're so motivated and dedicated! I can barely get my ass to the gym in the morning. I really appreciate you being so honest and sharing your story. It helps keep me motivated too.

Congrats on all your accomplishments so far.

Tiffany said...

Amazing, AMAZING. The motivation? It just disappears sometimes and my couch just needs me with a beer in my hand. This is GREAT inspiration, lady :)

Amanda - Voyage of the MeeMee said...

Good for you! And there's nothing wrong with cheat days. If I didn't have them I'd never be able to keep up with healthy eating as a whole.

Voyage of the MeeMee

The Pink Growl said...

I'm a fairly new follower of yours so I knew you were on a weight loss journey, but I hadn't seen your whole story and your before pics. You look amazing! Whatever # your at, you should be soooo proud! I'm dealing with starting a weight loss journey (for the 2nd time inmy life) right now and I'm just battling myself mentally day in and day out. Such a damn mental game. But BIG congrats to you girl!!!

Stephanie said...

Gosh you look so fantastic. How inspiring!

Amy @ Living n Learning said...

You really hit the nail on the head about not comparing yourself to others. I know I'm guilty of doing that quite a bit. I'm definitely going to work on only comparing myself to my old self from now on. It may have to be small comparisons for now since I'm only just beginning (for the millionth time it seems) but one day I will have lots to compare. I can't wait to one day have before, during, and after pictures to see my progress.

Definitely keep being honest and real with your weight loss posts. They are so inspiring and remind me that I am not alone in this struggle. You're amazing and have come so far. I cannot wait to see where you end up!

Unknown said...

This is so true, I read this going, yes, yes, yes. I struggle with comparing myself to others arouns me, looking at them and thinking I want to be like that, I want to run like that, I want to workout without looking like a sweaty mess inside five minutes. But then I remember how far I have come. I know I still have a LONG way to go, but I am definately on the right path. Keep going. You are doing brilliantly. And you know what, time passes anyway, so you may as well workout while it is passing!! xXx

Unknown said...

You look incredible!!!! Keep it up, girl! I love what you had to say about comparing yourself to others. I struggle with that on a daily basis. Thank you for your inspiration!! :)

-Chelsea

heavenwithawildside.blogspot.com

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