My Weight Loss Journey thus Far: October 12th through April 5th

Last Day of Youth Conference before

Traveling home.

 This first picture is from Youth Conference, we were on our way home, just finished the last service, had a great time, I didn't know how bad I looked until I got home and looked, really looked, at the picture. This was either my highest weight, or very close to it. I surprisingly did not change my ways of eating and working out then, this picture was taken on August 4th, 2011, my Journey starts October 12th during Ladies Retreat. My highest weight: 235 or 237, I go by 235 because I know for sure I was 235, before this my highest weight was 227 years before and I had told myself that I'd never get back to that weight again, but I had been at a point in my life where I had just stopped caring and I just gained back the weight plus more.

On the way to Clovis NM for Ladies Retreat

This next picture is what started my weight loss journey, that and I was embarrassed by my weight, I had just went to walmart days before to just look around and found some shirts that were on sale for a dollar and I tried on some shirts, the smallest was a 2X because I thought that that would fit me, sad thing was that it did not, I had to get a 3X, that is what woke me up to what I had allowed myself to do to my body. I was embarrassed when eating out with the ladies from church, so much so that I ordered healthy food just to say that I was trying to lose weight, which in doing that it helped me to start that change in myself. I had a great time at ladies retreat and started working out when I got home, I bought a workout DVD from walmart and did that one for 2 weeks, within the first week I had lost 10 pounds or so, then started Tae Bo for another 4 weeks with 2 different dvds. After Taebo I did some Jillian Michaels workout DVDs, in her Ripped in 30 I lost 13 pounds.  I got tired of those DVDs and then I asked for a workout program for my birthday called Insanity! I have loved that program, I've finished Month 1 and I'm currently in the Recovery Week, I start Month 2 on April 9th, then when I'm done with Insanity I'm doing Insanity Asylum.

So far I've lost 40 pounds. I went from 235 to 195. I'm not anywhere near my goal, My ultimate goal is 120, but for now I will be happy to get to 150. When I reach 175 I will have reached a goal I have set time and time again that I never made it to. When I was in 7th grade I weighed 175. That is why that is such a huge goal for me.

 If I can do this I know that others who are struggling with their weight can do this. I'm not someone who is perfect, I haven't arrived, and I never will, no one will ever arrive. Every day I ask God to enable me to lose weight and He is, but I also realize that I have to put in the effort and the work into it as well otherwise I won't change. Yes, God enables, but we have to do something about it too.

Here's to the next 45-75 pounds :)

God bless you, and thank you for reading!!!
Mandy Marie

November 2011 to March 2012

August 2011

October 2011

April 2012

December 2011