setbacks & failures

These Weight-Loss Wednesday posts are harder to write than I thought they would be.  Maybe it's because I'm finally being honest with myself...ouch.  Here's the honest truth:  this week I gained 4 pounds. 

Even more honest than that is I gained all 10 pounds back that I had previously lost.  What?!  Yep.  We didn't weigh-in for a week for whatever reason, so I weighed myself at home and found out that I had gained it all back.  I spent the entire week worrying about losing those 10 pounds.  Fortunately, I lost 6 of them.  But 4 remained.  Talk about failure!

But in all honesty, it's more like a setback.  If I've learned anything in the past 5 weeks it's that my Breaking Point experience is the beginning of a journey of life change.  There are no failures in this journey, just setbacks.  Yes, it's frustrating and disappointing to have gained all the weight back that was lost.  At the same time, it's encouraging because I have a goal in mind and I'm working towards that goal. 

And again, the most encouraging thing is to know that I'm not alone!  Each week my friends go with me to work out.  They're praying for me and encourage me to keep going.  My family is there, too, telling me how proud they are of me and helping me along the way. 

What have you learned this week of your life changing journey?

breaking point

Oddly enough, this is a hard post for me to write.  But here goes....

Confession:  I weigh 326 pounds.

I'm not sure why that's hard to admit considering it's obvious to anyone looking that I'm overweight.  And I've been this way for the past 20 years of my life.  Throughout the years I've tried many diets and exercise plans.  I even tried out for NBC's The Biggest Loser a year ago. 

Four weeks ago I began a journey of life change.

Four weeks ago myself and many, many others started a 13 week weight loss challenge called Breaking Point.  I set a personal weight loss goal of 30-35 pounds.  This may sound low to some, but I wanted to be realistic and healthy in my weight loss.  Not to mention, my doctor advised that I only lose 1-2 pounds a week. 

My beginning weight was 336.

So, in the past four weeks I've lost 10 pounds.  I am 1/3rd of the way to my weight loss goal.

While I'm excited about my weight loss, I'm more excited about changing my life.  I'm challenging myself and doing things I've never done before (like taking a ZUMBA class!).  And the thing I'm most excited about is that I'm not alone.  I've got the most AMAZING friends who've been right beside me, encouraging me along the way!

There are nine weeks left of the Breaking Point challenge.  However, this is a lifelong journey.  My hope is to share from time to time about my journey not only to continue to challenge myself, but to encourage those of you who want to change your life.  Thanks for joining me along the way!