My First Blog!

Ok so after some encouragement from others, I decided to start my own blog about my weight loss journey and its only fitting to start off by telling my story. I've been overweight all my life. I've always been surrounded by lots of friends growing up, mostly because of my quick wit... or smart mouth.... but that didn't mean I came out of childhood unscathed by my weight. I took 20 pills a day, ani-inflammatory, arthritis medication, pre diabetes pills, blood pressure medication and medication for Lupus all at the ripe age of 21. I didn't think my weight was an issue, not even in college. It had gone up and down, from year to year 10 lbs up, 15 down, 20 up and so on until I moved to Hawaii after graduation in Aug. 07. I had lost 25lbs in a matter of months without really trying. In feb. I went on a 6 month long campaign tour for the Presidential campaign that was stressful to say the least. I slept little and ate alot and smoked like a hay stack! I gained back the 25lbs I had lost real quickly and it was about to get worse. At the end of the campaign, I was in a really bad car accident. For once in my life my size worked to my advantage because I was too fat to be thrown through the window! I suffered a bang on the head, two broken ribs, a broken foot, glass all over my body and 18 staples and 13 stitches in my left arm. I was luck to be alive but in pretty bad shape. I spent months in bed at home in PA, at first because I really did need to recover and then because I had become so depressed, I didn't want to get out of bed. In a matter of 4 months I packed on 35lbs. None of my already big clothing fit me, I spent my days in sweat pants and pajama shirts. Now I'm always been a fan of the Biggest Loser and most importantly, of Bob Harper and like many other years, I gathered every BL night with my chips and soda and mounds full of dinner on my plate to watch other people work out. I had always wished I could do what they did but I had never seen any woman close to my size on the show. Then came Kristin Steede (check out her blog, its my favorite! www.kristinsteede.com). A remarkable and inspiring woman who made me think, if she can do it, maybe I can too! I went to a boarders and bought Bob Harper's book 'Are you ready" Sat in a park and started reading. I did everything he had asked, I knew I was ready to change my life. I changed everything I ate. Only fresh fruits veggies, grains and proteins . And counted calories like it was a religion. I food journaled on mytrainerbob.com and started walking 3 times a week. Weight started coming off, each day another lb, then a few more. As I become comfortable in my new lifestyle, I started walking more and more, doing every daily challenge from Bob's website and weight started to fly off. I knew I wanted to move back to Hawaii so I packed up and moved back a month ago and have really kicked up my workouts. the work has paid off because I've lost over 100 lbs in 6 months! I work out as a way to reward myself, eat to fuel myself and love every healthy choice I make. I'm doing so well in my weight loss, I wanted to start blogging to share my new found healthy life with other people. I love to cook so I'll be posting some of my best recipes and encourage everyone to share their story, ideas and questions. Ok the next blog will be alot shorter, I promise!