Why We Do What We Do

Thanks to some great people on Facebook, our page/blog is becoming more and more popular! This is extremely exciting for us, and is exactly what we hoped for when we started this journey.

Some people may wonder why we're putting it all out there for everyone to see.. Well, the answers are simple!

Reason 1: Accountability

Everyone can now keep track of not only our successes, but our failures. Because no one likes to air their own dirty laundry, it pushes us to go above and beyond so we don't have to. Also, should we fail, we have amazing people out there who will pick us up when we fall down.

Reason 2: To Track Our Progress

What girl doesn't love a journal? This is our online journal. Here we place our thoughts, struggles, victories, etc. We want to be able to look back and see how much we have changed.

Reason 3: To Motivate YOU!

I don't know about you, but I absolutely LOVE to see conquer their fat struggle, and I want to hear how they did it. Their stories are motivating. In the same way, we want to motivate you. We want you to see that the average joe can accomplish something phenomenal when they are determined.

Reason 4: To Motivate US!

YOU MOTIVATE US!!! Seriously, we love getting encouraging feedback. We love it when you cheer us on! It really makes a difference! When we feel like we can't, you tell us we can. Knowing that we have people out there that believes in us is so encouraging!

Thank you everyone for following us, commenting, etc, etc. We appreciate each and every one of you!!!

~Courtney

It's Been A While

Hola World! It's been a few weeks since I've been able to post anything, as I currently don't have internet access at mi casa. However, thanks to the local public library, I'm able to update!

So here's a few little milestones I've hit recently:

I went down a couple pant sizes (now at a 20/22 depending)

I've lost a total of 57 lbs!!!!

I currently weigh 2 lbs less than I did when I met my ex-husband. This is HUGE!!!

I'm feeling so great lately, not just physically, but about my life in general. I haven't been this happy since about 2004.. Gosh, that's a long time.

Also, I set a new goal.

As I've stated before, I absolutely LOVE roller coasters, but I haven't been able to ride one in years due to my size. Well, I've decided enough is enough! I'm not going to let another year pass without riding one. I'm NOT going to skip another county fair because there's nothing to do there but eat. Seriously, life is about living, not standing on the sidelines watching everyone else have fun. It's time for me to take back my life!

So, here's my goal:

On March 15, 2013, I will have lost at least 48 more lbs.

At that point, I'm going to go to Silver Dollar City and ride Wildfire!

I can't wait!!

~Courtney

Slow Going....

Well, I weighed in again last Sunday and to my dismay I was only down a little under a lb. I suppose losing almost a lb is better than nothing at all, but still, after not losing anything the week before it's really getting me down.


I may have been a little free with my splurge points last week - I went to a baby shower and out to eat a couple of times. It's so hard to track points when eating out, I did the best I could though.

I'm going to try Weight Watchers for the remainder of this year. If I haven't lost more than 20 lbs though, I'm going to call it quits. I just can't do a diet that I only lose a lb a week. At that rate it would take me years to reach my goal. If this program doesn't work, I'll have to try something more drastic... Gastric Bypass. Yep. I said it. It's my only other option at this point.

I'm tired of letting my fat dictate my feelings, my passions, my life, hell my CLOTHING choices. It's not fair. My weight loss journey has been a pathetic yo yo and it sickens me.

Either this works or I'll get the surgery. Here's to hoping Weight Watchers starts kickin in soon... and kicking some fats ass. One way or another I WILL be thin and reach my goal weight.

~Kelleigh

Weigh Day : Week 2

Last week I was so excited to see that I had a 5 lb weight loss! My hard work had paid off, and I was feeling great about what Weight Watchers could do for me. . .

However, when weigh day rolled around last Sunday, I eagerly jumped on the scale and to my horror, the number staring back at me was the exact same number I looked at the week before. 0 lbs down can be quite the depressing factor. It could be the last straw for some people on a diet. Good thing I'm not some people. It is however, quite depressing, since I religiously tracked my points and didn't cheat one bit!

I keep asking myself what did I do wrong!? What did I do differently than last week? The only thing I could think of is that maybe I didn't eat as many fruits and veggies. Also, Courtney pointed out that I ate mexcian food the day before. While I was under my points for the day, I consumed a lot of salt, so we are hoping that it was just a temporary water weight gain.

We shall see! I'll weigh in again next Sunday.

I am however, proud to announce that Courtney dropped another 4 lbs! WOO HOO way to go girlfriend, so proud of you. Her total weight loss to date is 51lbs. That's a freaking small child! Way to go girl!

KEEP IT UP!

~Kelleigh

Things I've Learned Lately

A while back, my mom gave me a book that she had purchased called, "Never Say Diet" by Chantel Hobbs. Let me tell you, it's amazing!

The author, Chantel Hobbs, was a 300+ lb woman and a mother of 4 who got absolutely tired of being obese and living the life she was leading. At that point, she cried out to God. After that night she turned her life around with God's help. Now, years later, she has lost 200+ lbs and she's a spinner instructor at her gym.

In this book, she tells about her personal struggle with weight and all the feelings that come with it. She also gives practical advice on how to change. While she does stress eating right and exercising, she goes beyond that and talks about how to change the way you think. If you don't change the way you think about things, you're never going to change for good. In order to tackle our problem we must first deal with the source of the problem, which in this case is your brain.

Anyways, there were several things that she said in the book that really stuck out and made me think. I decided that I would share them:

When pouring her heart out to God the night she decided to change, God told her this:

You are not being the best you can be.

Wow. How true is that? When you're overweight, or not even healthy, you're not living as God intended you to live. Being overweight has affected me in every area of my life, and mostly not for the better. Living this way is a mediocre existance or even a miserable one. God intended us to live a wonderful, joyful existance.

When you're overweight, people never see you for yourself, because they've already marked you as different.

Most of the moments in my day are thoughts of worrying what people think of me. This is extremely overwhelming for me, and it drives me crazy. Knowing the above statement is true in most cases actually put my mind at ease. If I already know what people are thinking, then I don't have to worry about it. God knows who I am underneath the fat, and that alone is what matters.

Start thinking like the person I want to be and not the person I have allowed myself to become.

In order for me to change myself, I can't keep thinking like the fat version of myself. I have to think like the healthy, fit person that I want to be. This means no excuses or feeling self-conscious. This means I now have to learn to love working out and even love how I feel when I go and work out. I have so much to work on in this area, but I'm not going to let that hold me back.

Once you've chosen this path, you're on it for good. There is no good excuse to get off course.

If you're ready to change, get ready to tell yourself the truth.

Making excuses is lying to yourself. Also, not telling yourself the painful truth will hold you back.

If you cheat, you're going to stay fat another day.

This has come to my mind when I'm tempted. I don't want to be fat, and I don't want to feel the feelings that come with being fat one more day than I already have to.

The pain of regret is far worse than the pain of discipline.

Nothing worthwhile is easy.

Amen to that! We can apply this in every area we struggle with. My regret is that I have lost so much time. I could have been living a life of joy, a life with more wonderful memories than I have. Living a healthy life is not easy, but I know it's worthwhile.

We always make time for things we love.

This one hit me the hardest. Do I make time for God? Not as much as I should. Can I really say that I love Him when I don't make time for Him? As I continue on this journey, I'm learning to replace my love of food and laziness for a love of God.

This book has so much wisdom to offer, and it's a pretty good read. So, with that being said, if you ever run across it, pick it up!

*~Courtney~*

Day Off Temptations

I don't know why, but my days off from work are the hardest days of the week for me. I don't know if it's because I'm bored, I have easier access to the fridge, I'm lonely, depressed, etc. Maybe it's a combination of all of those.

Whatever it is, I'm fed up with it!

Today, on my day off, I'm attempting to change this pattern. I'm trying to keep myself busy. In fact, as I write, I'm sitting at the library far away from my fridge and WW ice cream bars.

I'm trying to keep my mind entertained with "happy thoughts" instead of my lifelong failures.

I'm trying not to associate food with relaxation and comfort.

I'm trying to teach myself to "eat to live" instead of "living to eat."

Who would have ever thought this would be so hard?

Well, cheer me on..

On days like this, I need it.

Weight Loss Jars!

Weight Watchers Day 11

Got a text from my other bestie, Brittnee yesterday. She said that she had a craft project for me regarding my weight loss plan. I'm all about adventures and crafting, so I met her after work where we proceeded to Hobby Lobby.

There, we picked out two glass vases, some pebble like black rocks, stick on pearls and some decorative trim from the fabric department. At this point I figured out that we were making Weight Loss Jars!

We got home, busted out the hot glue gun and went to town! Basically the idea behind the jars is this: You count out how many lbs you wish to lose. Each stone will represent a lb. You have a "to lose" jar and a "lost" jar. Then, when you lose a lb, you transfer one of the beads from the "to lose" jar to the "lost" Jar and voila! you have a beautiful unique way to track your weight loss!

I have a black & white bathroom, so this is the design I came up with.

Feel free to steal the idea!

: )

~Kelleigh