Time to Finish What I Started

It was in August of 2015 that I started a long journey to try and save my own health. This is a picture of my mom, sister and I when I was “nearly” at my heaviest weight (I don’t remember exactly what my weight was at that point).

At that point in my life I was “morbidly” obese and completely unhealthy.  I had eaten myself into having diabetes and high blood pressure, I was stressed out daily and completely NOT enjoying my life.  I talked about this in my last blog, A Journey to My Better Half.

In the fall of 2015 came the birth of my grandson, and my trip to Florida.  I know that I WOULD NOT have been able to participate in these two events if I hadn’t already started on this journey and been able to take of some serious pounds in a very short time frame.

Those two events sealed the deal for me, and I knew at that point that I COULD AND I WOULD be able to do accomplish this enormous task!

We were headed into the Christmas season and that is a time that in the past I have always FAILED….  Christmas in our house has always been about family and FOOD.

From August 3 – December 21, I had lost a full 67 pounds and I was well on my way to feeling great.  AND I was able to reach 70 pounds lost even through the Christmas season.  I did not allow myself any little Christmas treats that first year.  I was literally scared that if I let myself slip, I wouldn’t get back on track in the New Year.

On March 31 of last year, I had lost a full 100 pounds!!!  I couldn’t believe it at the time. I was so thrilled, happy and amazed.  I felt better than I had in years, and I was pumped up!!!

I lost 100 pounds in 8 months!!!

It was around this time when people started asking me what my goal was.  “How much more weight do you want to lose, Heather?”, was a question I was asked… a lot!

I did have a goal in mind, it was a goal that I hadn’t shared with anyone at that point, not even my mother who is my biggest supporter and the person I trust most in life.  It was a goal that even though it still felt enormous, was starting to feel attainable.  I wasn’t quite ready to share it with anyone yet.

One hundred pounds gone but I still had to keep focused.  The struggle was still real.  I had to keep pushing because  I wasn’t to where I needed or wanted to be yet.

I kept going pound by pound and week by week through the summer of 2016 until by September 5 I had taken of 155 pounds.

155 Pounds!  My niece doesn’t even weight that much!! 😛

I posted this image a few weeks ago, and got some slack that it may NOT have been me because the comparison was only showing my new size 12 jeans because it was the first time I FIT ….

I assure you it is in fact me.

This is when I started to share my secret goal.  I would say it “jokingly” in case my family and friends thought I had gone crazy.  I still joke about it.

The personal goal that I had set in my head was that if I were able to lose a full 167 pounds, I would LITERALLY be HALF the person I was when I started this journey.

HALF!  I would say things like, “Haha if I lose another 13 pounds, I will actually be my BETTER HALF…”

As I am looking back now, I remember going to the doctor around September of last year for my 6 month check-up, just after I had reached the 155 pound weight loss.

I remember the doctor telling me that if I didn’t lose another pound and was just able to maintain my current weight and level of health that he would be more than pleased with that and that I should be to.

My doctor has always been amazingly supportive and proud of me.  In September of 2016, I officially was no longer called a “health risk”.

• I was no longer called diabetic
• I was no longer said to have high blood pressure
• I had been off all of my medications for several months
• I was feeling better than I had since my late 20’s
• I weighed less than I had for 20 plus years
• I had managed to lose 155 in 13 months

BUT….

That’s where I stopped!!

I have literally just been hanging out and maintaining my current weight and level of health since September of last year.  It was like my doctor gave me permission and so I was okay to just maintain.

And, that’s great except that I had a goal set in my head.

Just because my doc says I am okay,  and just because I feel great, and just because everyone who knows me says how much better I look,  does that mean I shouldn’t follow through with that goal?

Quite honestly, lately I have been feeling as though I have let myself down , and I haven’t followed through for my own self worth.

I had a goal that I honestly thought I would have NEVER been able to achieve.  I was even impressed that I lost the first 20 pounds, remember?

So here I am 13 pounds away from a huge goal, and I stop???

On August 3rd, it will be my 2 year anniversary to starting my Low Carb High Fat (LCHF) way of eating.  I have decided that the journey can’t be over.  If I quite now, I will always feel like it is something that I didn’t follow through with for my own self.

Today is July 15th.  I know I will not get to my goal before August 3rd, but I also know that I will not quite until I reach my goal.  Here is an updated full body photo that I snapped yesterday.

Once I get there, THEN

I can decide if I like that weight, and if I feel healthy in my own skin, which there is an abundance of now by the way (but that’s another topic for another day).

At least once I get there, I will be able to say that I finished what I started.

This has become a journey about much more than my physical health.  It has become a journey about getting to a place where my I am also joyous, happy, emotionally fit and enjoying the person that I am here to be.  What I had originally thought was something that I had to do to lose a “few” pounds has quite literally turned into something that is fine tuning my entire life.

That is why I must follow through with my goal…  becoming my Better Half.

Starting today, I will be posting my food macros in MyFitnessPal again as I did when I started the journey.  I will be faithful to my LCHF lifestyle.

One thing I will be doing though is trying a lot more products that are available to keep things interesting.  I think sometimes it was simply a matter of getting bored with everything that I was eating.  I will share with you the things that I enjoy, and the things that I could leave.

So follow along, I hope to inspire you.  Posting about my journey helps me be accountable and my even greater hope is that it will help you!

Talk soon,

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