This blog is me being so real... so keep that in mind... LOTS OF FEAR IN SHARING.

I have put off writing this for a while now. I was SUPER insecure and not sure how to be real without sounding pathetic or even braggy.

So here it goes...

I have lost 100 pounds.

That number seems numbing to me. I can't believe this body had 100 more pounds to carry. That is the weight of my 2 kids plus some!

This is my Senior year of High School 2001.

I would be lying if I told you my weight hasn't always been an issue for me. 

Somewhere between 4th and 5th grade EVERYTHING changed and since then it has been a battle. 

In 2004, I had lost a little weight for my wedding. I was still a 16/18 and was over 200 pounds. 

After the wedding I lost control. I was diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis and I let that consume me. 

There was a point when I stopped going to the doctor because I knew they would want to weigh me and the insecure little girl inside could not stand to be told 1 more time that I was obese. I stopped weighing myself at 280 pounds. For months/years I wouldn't let anyone take my picture. This is one of the very few pictures from that stage. I was ashamed of myself but frankly was so overwhelmed it didn't seem possible to ever lose weight.

2007 I had a baby and knew I was going to be in a friends wedding so that motivated me a little. I was wearing a 22/24 in this picture. 

                                                                       2009-11

                                          I was wearing an 18 and weighing in at 240-50ish

In 2012 EVERYTHING changed. I am not even sure where we were but I remember being struck by the truth that anything we put before God in our lives is an idol. I remember feeling so sick because I knew I took more comfort in food than I did my Savior.
I knew that I was addicted and I knew things would have to dramatically change. So the journey started. It was so slow!

2014 I was fitting comfortably in a 16 and weighing about 220-230

I hit a plateau and hung out there until January of 2016 when I realized that my RA was flaring again and I was starting to put weight back on. I knew I needed something to jump start things again.

I started using Shakeology. I won't go into a HUGE explanation on that but if you want more info just message me about it. 

All I can say is it made a HUGE difference. Since Jan 2016 until Dec 2016 I have lost  35 pounds!!!

This puts me in a 12 and weighing in at 175ish pounds!!! I haven't been that size since I was in 6th grade!!!!!!

175!!!

These were taken in November 2015 and 2016

So when people ask ... How did you do it? My answer is Jesus and Shakeology! 

Jesus changed my heart and my attitude. Shakeology changed my perspective on healthy eating. 

So now here I am down 100 pounds and I could not be more thrilled!

My current plan is to attempt a little bit more.  Because of the RA, the more I lose the less I carry and the better my joints feel. All you will hear from this girl is Praises to Jesus and thanks for leading me to shakeology!