Update....

So, I have been a little busy with getting ready for the move. We leave in 12 days and I still have so much to do!! So I have not been able to take pictures this month yet. I really don't have great results to share at this point either, so I think I will post in August and give myself a break this month. I have only lost about 5 pounds since my last post, so the pictures won't show much difference! I think I've hit the plateau part of the weight loss and now I will have to start exercising! Woo-hoo! Anyway, once my life calms back down again and we are settled in Oregon, I will post new pictures. Until then, just know that I am still working at it and I have lost about 40.1 pounds all together! Thanks for reading friends and the next time you hear from me, I will be writing from Forest Grove, OR! Yay for change and new adventures!! :)

Before and After Pictures Side by Side

A little easier to see the difference. 

Pretty crazy..... 

4 months down!!!!

June 10, 2012

Weight: 209.2 lbs

Total Weight Lost: 35.8 lbs.

(My husband told me that I needed to wear something different in the pictures because the black pants and red tee-shirt were starting to hang off of me and no one would be able to see the weight difference. So, new outfit!!) 

I am completely stoked about the results this month! I didn't lose much in actual pounds, but my clothes no longer fit and I finally had to go shopping! Yay for shopping and actually not wanting to vomit when I look in the mirror while trying things on!! 

Some interesting tidbits from the past 4 months:

Went from a size 22 to a size 16 jeans! WOO-HOO!!!

When I wear my seatbelt in the car, I no longer have rolls popping out between the straps!

IT IS SO MUCH EASIER TO SHAVE MY LEGS!!!!! :)

I find myself feeling cold more often.....

I AM NOT scared to be in pictures anymore.

Can finally cross my legs again without feeling like my hip is going to pop out of it's socket!

I don't crave as much junk food.

My new favorite fast food joint is SUBWAY!!!

I am sleeping much better (without my back hurting).

My chest is smaller..... and I'm OK with it!!

I still look at some pictures of myself and think, "Wow, I still have a long way to go...." and then realize how far I've come and feel very grateful!! 

I.MIGHT.ACTUALLY.WEAR.A.SWIMSUIT.THIS.YEAR.FOR.
THE.FIRST.TIME.IN.12 YEARS!!!! 
(of course, being sinfully modest, I will still wear shorts or a little skirt over it).

I am starting to love myself again.

It is interesting what being overweight can do to a person. I didn't realize how down I was until I discovered how high I have felt during this process. Granted, I still have about 40 more pounds to go, and then the process of maintaining will be my constant struggle, but throughout it all I have learned so much about myself. It's sad how depressed and withdrawn I was when I look back to 5 months ago. 

AND I AM HERE TO TELL EACH OF YOU THAT:

IF I CAN DO IT, EVERYONE CAN!!!!!

I will always be grateful for my journey. I will always battle with weight. It's who I am. I have learned so much about control and will power. But most of all, I have learned about myself and that I CAN love myself. I will never be skinny. I will never be a model. I will never be what society deems is beautiful. And I'm ok with that. But I will be grateful for every step I take in bettering myself and for becoming that person that I always knew was inside of me yearning to be released. 

Thank you all for your continued support and encouragement. I could not have done it without you! You are my cheerleaders. You will never know how you have touched me. 

THANK YOU ALL!!!! 

Listing for our House

Anyone interested?? Here is the link to the photo tour and info on our house! Take a look! :)


5303 N Whitehouse St,Spokane, WA,99205

Three months in... and other news

May 6, 2012

Weight: 216.2

Total Weight Lost: 28.8 lbs.

Sorry about the hair and makeup... I haven't felt well today. :( 

And sorry about this last picture. My eyes were shut and it makes me look stoned. :) I promise I'm not!!! 

So, I'm trying to get back on track with updating the blog at the beginning of the month, so the weight loss isn't as impressive since it has only been a couple of weeks. But I am feeling great and I'm able to fit into clothes that I've hid in the closet because it made me depressed to look at them and not be able to fit into them!! :) Yay!! It's still been pretty easy to stick to the plan, which I am grateful for. GO TEAM WEIGHT WATCHERS!!! :)

I have also gotten a haircut, as is evident in the pictures. I like my hair shorter, but I have a wedding I'm in at the beginning of June, so I didn't want to go too short. I think it turned out well! You just can't see how cute it is in these pictures because of my laziness today. :)

I also have work news. I will no longer be working at the Northtown branch of U.S. Bank as of tomorrow. I have been transferred to the Garland branch for the remainder of my time I'm here in Spokane. It has been a hard thing to swallow, but I am trying to stay positive and I guess I am excited for this new adventure. The hardest part for me is having to say goodbye to most of my co-workers and customers. Needless to say, I was a little weepy on Friday when I left that branch for the last time. I have really enjoyed working there and learning with all the girls! I will miss them terribly, but I also look forward to meeting and becoming close with new co-workers and customers. I just wish that they would have done this earlier or waited till I was gone so that I could feel like I'm doing some good. With only barely three months to work there, I feel like I may not be able to affect any kind of change. And for that, I am a little sad. But, again, I am aware that there is a reason for everything and I hope I am around long enough to find out what that reason is. :)

We are staying busy getting the house ready to sell. We worked out in the yard the last few weeks and have made SOME progress, but we still have a LOT to do! I hope the weather stays good, so we can spend our evenings out in the yard. Here are some updated pictures of our home as of Saturday. 

And for anyone interested, this house will soon be up for sale at a GREAT price! It's a small, starter home, but it has a HUGE yard on a corner lot and it is across the street from Franklin Park! Which is pretty neat! Full, unfinished basement, 2 bed/ 1 bath. Fenced back yard, plum and apple trees. Cute little house and it has served me well for the past three years. I will miss it, but we know that we are doing what we need to do. It will be listed on MLS around June 4, but if you want to see interior pictures now, you can look up the address (5303 N Whitehouse, Spokane, WA 99205) on zillow.com and there are pictures there you can view! Go ahead and look! :)

And Shon received a HALF TUITION SCHOLARSHIP!!!! We are very blessed. Now we just need to find me a job (hopefully transferring with the bank) and an apartment (we have one kind of in mind...). We are getting quite excited about everything and you can bet that I am already packing things up! HAHA! I will not be one of those people who wait until the last week to frantically pack everything in the house. We will be ready to go whenever the house sells. 

Well, that is all for now.... I think. Lots of change and lots of emotions coursing through me for the last few weeks. But I hope that it will get easier. I'm not a huge fan of change, but I look forward to the changes that are coming up. They will not be easy, but hopefully they will all be worth it! 

Thanks for reading!!

We're Moving On!!

For those of you who don't follow Shon and me on Facebook, I wanted to announce that we are moving to Forest Grove, OR in August!!!!! Shon was accepted at Pacific University, so we will be moving down to Oregon. We are super excited about it! We love Oregon and we are totally ready for a new adventure. Of course, I am a bundle of nerves and I will probably be a basket case the last couple of weeks, but you know.... I am going to try to transfer with the bank and hopefully be able to support us, as Shon will be focusing 100% on school. And we have to sell our house. Not fun! So, anyone out there want a cheap, LITTLE house? We'll give you a great deal! ;) Anyway, thanks for listening! 

Two and a half months....

April 15, 2012

Weight: 222.0 lbs

Total Weight Lost: 23.0 lbs.

Sorry it took me so long to post this! We were on vacation last week and I just didn't get around to it. So this last month has been a little harder. I've pretty much gotten to the plateau part of the weight loss, as I only lost 11 lbs in about 6 weeks. That's still ok, but not as impressive as the first month!! But I am still losing, and that's all that matters. I now have to start exercising more to keep losing. I'm hoping the weather will start to get nice, so I can walk to work and back. 

I am still VERY excited about this whole thing and I know that I will continue to be successful as long as I don't get discouraged. :) Easy peasy, right? My goal weight is 160 lbs, so I still have quite a ways to go, but I will continue to do everything I can to make sure I get there!

This is a fun time in that people are noticing that I am losing weight and it feels good to have someone ask me. :) I'm starting to be able to fit back into some clothes that I missed wearing. It's the best! 

So anyway, this is my update. I know you can't really tell in the pictures that I have lost anything, but hopefully next month will be more drastic! Thanks for reading! :)

Stand by.....

So I didn't get around to taking pictures this last week, and we are going to be out of town for a few days, so my monthly update will be a little late this month. So please stand by for more news and pictures! Thank you! :)

One Month Down!

March 4, 2012

Weight: 232.2 lbs.

Weight Lost: 12.8 lbs.

I'm pretty excited at this point to see the progress I have made. It has been a lot easier than I thought it would be! My clothes are fitting looser and I'm feeling a difference in my attitude! I'M LOVING THIS!!! See you all next month! :)

First Day of Weight Watchers

February 5, 2012

Disclaimer:

I really had to swallow my pride when it came to posting these pictures and admitting to the weight that is posted.

Beginning weight :

245 lbs

Here's the story:

Since I was married almost two years ago, I have been VERY opposed to having any kind of pictures taken of me. Against my better judgment, I was talked into being in family pictures which were taken around Thanksgiving of 2011. To say I was disgusted and appalled at the outcome would be a understatement. I did not know how much I had let myself go until I saw it on the photographs. 

I told myself that I HAD TO DO SOMETHING!! 

I couldn't live like this anymore. 

I wanted to like myself again. 

So, starting in December, I started eating better. My starting weight at that time was 250 lbs. I began seeing small results, but I couldn't stick with it. That is the story of my life. I will start something and then get discouraged or distracted and not be able to continue. I started talking to Shon and my friends about Weight Watchers and came to the decision that I should try it. So I signed up on February 2, 2012. 

I have to admit that I was somewhat skeptical about being successful on this program because of my previous failures, but at the same time, I was excited to begin something new! I have been on the program now for just about 4 weeks now and I have dropped to 235 lbs. It's not a ton, but it is exciting to see the results. It hasn't been as difficult as I thought it would be, which is very motivating!

I plan on taking new pictures around the 2nd of March and I will try to post new pictures monthly until I am at my goal weight! Which I hope will be but the end of the year!! 

So, I was wondering if anyone else has tried the Weight Watchers program and who might have had success stories or any words of wisdom for me. It's been a long road and I have finally found something that will help me get my life in order and perhaps help my self-esteem be reinstated. 

I know I still have a ways to go, but as I continue to see results and receive support from friends and family, I know I will be more and more successful. 

Thank you all for listening and I hope to be able to post more success stories on this blog in the following months! :)