A Word About My Healthy Lifestyle

I have been trying to lose weight since I was 13 years old. I have had mild success throughout the years, being able to lose 15 lbs in junior high and 30lbs in high school, but in between gaining 10 lbs each year.

Between the ages of 12 (When I stopped growing in height) to 22, I gained about a hundred pounds. I'm not sure what I weighed prior to 12 years old but I was wearing size 16 in teen sizes. (Which is plus size, but I was definitely slender for the most part). If I had to guess, I probably weight about 170lbs coming into junior high.

My weight gain began in the seventh grade after my parents split up. I had no type of balance to my diet and only trace amounts of exercise outside of my PE class. I struggled with depression and didn't know how to handle my emotions. This behavior and attitude persisted through high school. I had tried losing weight several times in between there, every time using the Atkins lo/no-carb, high-fat diet. 

When I got to be a senior in high school, we were calculating our BMI in science class and I came to the realization that I was up to 250 pounds. I was devastated and disgusted. These negative feels about myself motivated me to shed 30 pounds in one month. I felt great! I bought new clothes and weight about 220lbs.

The success didn't last. 

Upon getting off the Atkins diet, I not only gained the 30 pounds back but gained an additional 44 pounds in 5 years, putting me at a resounding 294 pounds. 

I stood on the scale and could not believe what I saw. Never ever in my life did I think I would be 300 pounds. I always felt like I was chubby and thick and that was just a reality, but 300 pounds, in my mind, crossed a line. 

I was ashamed and disgusted. I was addicted to starchy, sugary, delicious food and hated working out because it was a constant reminder of how unhealthy and out of shape I was. I was embarrassed using the treadmill at the gym because I could only jog 3 minutes at 5 mph before reaching my limit.

Even lifting weights was sad.

I was at the end of my rope. I didn't love my body and I hated the way I felt. Even sitting down was uncomfortable for me.

So how did I get from this struggling woman to the path I'm on now?

Jesus.

I had struggled with addictions before and I knew the only way the break this one was through the power given to me through Christ. Yes, the food addiction was a chemical one but there was more to it than that. I met with Gloria from my church for my second ever Sozo. I mentioned that I wanted healing for my attachment to food so we dove in to it. 

We asked the Holy Spirit when my attachment to food began. He showed me that it began when I was young girl. Growing up my mother was (and still is) a fantastic cook. We were taught that when we ate it had to be a home cooked meal with sides and an entree. The idea of our family eating TV dinners was preposterous in out house. So what was ingrained in my brain growing up is this: Food must be tasty. 

This is a lie.

Now that we knew the lie, out next step was to ask God what His truth was. What He told me was this: Food is our stewart. Food was sent here to serve us and not control us. Food does not HAVE to taste good.

I asked God to break the stronghold of food over my life. And to replace the lie with His truth. I asked God to show me who I was in His eyes. My value to Him has nothing to do with my weight or anything else I could control. In His eyes I was perfect. With that being said, He has great plans for me that will be achieved in a healthier frame. Plans to prosper me.

Once I had the correct mindset, the time for the hard work had arrived.

My roommate Ana ate according to the Paleo diet and my friend Jessica recommended the Couch to 5K App. Knowing nothing about diet or exercise I decided to just do those two things.

My average meal plan looked like this:

• Omlete or scrambled eggs for breakfast
• Salad with boiled egg, bacon, and balsamic vinaigrette for lunch
• Two pieced of backed Chicken for lunch
• Kielbasa for snack
• Chicken for dinner with a side of veggies

My average work out plan looked like this:

• Couch to 5K Mon/Wed/Frid
• Power Walking Tue/Thur
• Trading off power walking and rollerblading here and there

This is how I lost my first 56 lbs.

I was feeling great! And also not so great. 

I felt lighter on my feet but struggled with some health implications. I was CONSTANTLY thirsty. Had chapped lips. And would have leg cramps at least a handful of times a week. To this day I don't know what the cause of it was. Jamison, my friend, looked into it and said that people on the Paleo diet would often have similar issues.

I struggled through this for about 7 months when I decided to make a change. My good friend Dr. Lisa recommended a book to me that she and her two daughters stuck to, called Living Well Naturally by Anthony Sattilaro. It's a book from the 1980's about a man who cured his cancer by changing his diet and developing a relationship with God. Great book! On top of that I started reading more books and internet articles on diet/health and types of exercise. 

There are SO MANY different types of diets and each book/article has such conflicting ideas. I have found that trying to find the "right" diet can be a lot like trying to find the "right" political party. Just like each political party will tell you that they are the most correct option, diet plans will go into great detail not only why their diet is the best but also why every other diet is wrong.

This can be very disheartening. Especially for the average Joe who knows nothing about diet and health. But instead of being discouraged, I decided to enter into a testing phase. 

I am currently in said testing phase where I'm trying to figure out what is best for my body. There are probably better ways to have a testing phase where you journal and take notes and track things, but basically I just try something and then make mental notes of how I feel and how it affects my weight loss.

I've gone through cutting red meat, cutting back on carbs, cutting back on fat, cutting dairy and so on and so on. I've had various success but for the time being but I am currently following a 98% Vegan diet and a Jogging/Cardio/Strength workout plan that looks like this:

Diet:

• Steel Cut Oatmeal for breakfast
• Refried beans and/or rice, salad, entree (roasted veggies, veggie burgers, tofu/veggie stir fry), and fruit for dessert (usually an apple)
• Different variation of lunch for dinner (usually also sweet potatoes instead of beans/rice)
• If try not to snack but if I can't control myself I'll eat an apple, peanut butter, or raw nuts (cashews, pecans, or almonds)

Exercise

• Couch to 5k Mon/Wed/Fri
• Jillian Michaels Tue/Thur
• Sprint Mile Tue/Thur/Sat
• Hacky sack between my classes
• I try to save one day (usually Sunday) for something really light like yoga or stretching 

But there is more to my journey!

I have not been consistently losing weight. I lost little to no weight in the month of October. There were several times where I would fall off the wagon (ask my roommates and boyfriend who can tell you all about it) and my go-to junk foods would be pizza and cookies. Some times I would binge for a few days or only go a day or two before falling off again. In fact, it's January 7th and yesterday I started with just one cookie and ended up eating 5 cookies, a smores sandwich, Hershey's Graham Crackers Sticks with chocolate dip, and two Poptarts. 

It happens!

I wondered what I was doing differently that was slowing my success. What was different? I turned back to Jesus.

Jesus, what do you want for me and my body?

After some intercession I heard from The Lord. He told me that he wanted my healthy body to be a reflection of my health. That above all else, he wanted me to pursue health in my relationship with HIm.

So I started a new regime that invited Jesus into the process. Every morning I read a chapter in Proverbs (there are 30 chapters so I read whichever chapter of the day of the month it is) I listen to worship and pray for my day. Each night before bed I journal, and do some intercession.

(I'm still working on structure for my prayer/intercession time. I'm working on making prayer lists and scheduling prayer time based on Mike Bickles sermon about developing the inner man. It's easy the first few times but once you get into the thick of it, it gets very mundane and chore-like but it makes a huge impact in your life.)

Getting into this Intimacy Regime and improving my spiritual health had a great impact on my physical health and well as my mental health. Learning to love myself and love my body started early in my health journey and has turned into something I have to walk myself through nearly every day.

I'm trying to cut back on my habit of pinching and poking my flabby areas because I feel like I'm communicating to myself that I am gross. It's still something I'm struggling with.

I've recently starting dating a wonderful Christian man which has added an even newer struggle of trying to keep my weight loss focused on God and my testimony and not based on what I think my boyfriend wants to see. Fortunately I had my mind set straight in the beginning so I'm not having to train myself out of those thoughts, and more am just needing to deflect them.

I have lost a total of 87lbs and currently weight 210 pounds. I am smaller than I was in most of high school and am approaching junior high weight! My mile is at 8:35 and I can do 3 miles on the treadmill easy. I can lift more and longer and sleep and wake easier. I sit more comfortably and I worship more freely. It's easy for me to mention that I am beautiful and cute and attractive and I feel like I can confidently call myself athletic. 

My goals for the future include:

• Losing at least 30/40 more pounds (or whatever puts me at a healthy, tones weight)
• Get my mile down to 8 minutes by May
• I want abs
• I want to be able to do 10 full push ups by May
• I want to be able to do 5 pull ups by 2016
• I want to be a size 9 dress size by 2016

When I started my journey I told myself that if I could just get down to 210 I would be happy. Now, I AM happy but I realize that I can achieve whatever health goals I can imagine. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me! I want to reach the epitome of health, strength, and endurance and there is nothing in this world that can stop me.

I hope you can feel encouraged by my story. I'm always happy to share my tactics and plans on what I've done and what I'm currently doing in detail. But please know that my testimony and success are non-existent without Jesus. I tried for years and years to get to be where I am today. It wasn't until I got things straight with God that I saw any lasting success.

Here are some progress photos!