The Biggest Loser Didn't Want Me (But Faithful Finish Lines Does)

On the eve of the Biggest Loser's finale, my mind goes back to my own weight loss journey and experience with the show.

Several years ago, my mom and I attended an open casting call in Columbus. We got up at the crack of dawn to drive an hour from home to wait in line all day long with other potential candidates. The folks who stood in line with us were amazing, all with incredible stories and good reasons for wanting to get on the show. Obviously, all of us were overweight and in need of someone to guide us on our journey to health. For some, this was their one shot at losing weight and getting healthy.

When the line finally dwindled and the wait for the audition was within reach, my mom and I were handed applications to fill out for the casting directors. Then we were ushered into another large room where we were herded into different groups. There we were also able to meet some of our favorite past season contestants, Coleen Skeabeck and Shellay Cremen (seriously two of the sweetest ladies!). They offered some excellent advise: BE YOURSELF and tell your own story.

After waiting literally all day, mom and I along with 10-15 other potential contestants were escorted into a large conference room where a casting director was waiting for us. The casting director didn't waste any time with asking us to answer why we wanted to be on the show, what kind of contestant we thought we'd be, and to tell him something unique about ourselves. You can imagine 10-15 of us vying for this guy's attention, all within the 5 minute time span we had.

It was ridiculous.

And fun.

(Yes, this introvert who hates being the center of attention, thought this casting call was FUN!)

But here's the thing: the Biggest Loser didn't want me.

And I'm OK with that.

Because that opportunity led me to where I am today.

I've been on a fitness journey for years now. My journey is not just about weight loss. Weight loss is definitely a part of my journey, but it is much more than that. This journey is about getting healthy in body, mind, and spirit. It is about making small, attainable goals for myself then actually taking the necessary steps to meet those goals.

And I'm not alone on this journey.

Thankfully God has surrounded me with family and friends who encourage and motivate me in this journey.

He's also gifted me with Faithful Finish Lines.

Faithful Finish Lines is an online fitness group that has changed my life! It all starts with the Stepping Forward program which is a 7 week online program for women that incorporates the healthy eating, physical activity, and mental strategies that leader, Sara Borgestede, learned during her 100-pound weight loss journey. Sara, along with personal trainer, Corrine, and community leader, Christine, will give you safe, practical, and realistic strategies to aide you in your journey to a healthier you!

The best part of the Faithful Finish Lines program, in my opinion, is the community of women that are going through this journey with me! This community is always full of encouragement and helps motivate me to continue going when I just want to throw in the towel.

If you're looking for a kick-start to your fitness journey, Faithful Finish Lines is for you.

If you're looking for a program that is simple to follow and gives you results, Faithful Finish Lines is for you.

If you're looking for an amazing community which will support you every step of the way, Faithful Finish Lines is for you.

What are you waiting for? Sign up today! The small financial investment is worth it. (Registrations ends tomorrow)

YOU ARE WORTH IT!!!

Are you on a fitness journey? Who are the people in your life who support you?

Two Things that Inspire

I love sunsets. 

There's something about the sun settling down on the western skyline that brings joy to my heart. Whether it's the gorgeous shades of yellow, orange, and red spray painted over the blue-purple sky, or the silhouettes of the trees in the foreground. 

Sunsets are breathtakingly inspiring. 

You know what else is inspiring? A group of people who band together to make changes in their lives and are encouraging each other on their journey together!

Last week I started a journey as part of a group called Faithful Finish Lines. It has been such a joy to be on this journey with these brave, inspirational women. We're all at different stages in our journey, but that doesn't matter. What matters is that we're doing it together!

I'm also a part of a Facebook holiday challenge group. The goal is to get up and move for 30 minutes each day. I suck at exercise, but it's been so inspiring to see each person post every day when they've got their 30 minutes in. Plus they're cheering each other on! 

These two groups of people amaze me.  We are all different. All in different stages of life, faith, and fitness. But we're putting that all aside to be each other's biggest cheerleaders. 

That, my friends, is inspiring. 😊

What inspires you? 

Today I'm linking up with the folks at #InspireMeMondays. Click here to read other inspirational posts! It'll make your Monday better, I promise. 😊

Faithful Finish Lines

Silence. 

That's what you've heard on the blog these last ten days. After the flurry of writing in October, I took some time away from the blog to just be. Thirty-one straight (almost) days of writing was quite the challenge! One I'm proud to have participated in and conquered (even if I didn't write every single day). {You can read all the 31 days of simply writing posts here!}

You see, that's the thing I learned during the challenge: to not let one or two or three days of not writing keep me from finishing. 

It's OK to give myself grace. 

But then I have to pick up where I left off and keep going. 

It's also an important lesson I've learned this week while participating in the Faithful Finish Lines fitness group. FFL is a 7 week program developed and led by Sara Borgstede which offers encouragement and accountability all while helping those of us on this journey to create and complete a specific fitness goal. 

Say what?!

So if you've known me any length of time you know I'm hugely overweight. Always have been. Well, except from like birth to 6 years old. Once I turned 7 it was like the pounds just crept up on me and never left no matter how active I was! Well, except that one time when I went to India and faithfully woke up every day for mandatory exercise at 7am and then walked a bazillion miles every day to get wherever we were going for five months. 40 pounds melted right off me those months regardless of the number of cokes I drank or the fact that I ate a Big Mac (lamb burger, anyone?) every day. 

But anyway... So I've joined the FFL group not because I have a huge desire to lose weight and be super skinny. Never have been skinny and never will be. Weight has never defined me as a person. It's a number on a scale. That's it. Weight has never stopped me from being ME or achieving the goals in life I've set out for myself. It doesn't matter if I'm 100 lbs or 400 lbs in terms of who I am or what I want to do in this life. 

With that said, the older I've become the more I realize that the weight I carry often causes me physical pain and fatigue. Several years ago I started working out and eating better, and one of the results from doing so was all this energy! It was amazing to finally not be tired all the time. But I quickly became discouraged because my goal then was to lose weight yet the pounds weren't coming off. So I quit. 

But this past week I've picked up where I left off several years ago and I'm moving forward. The steps forward are baby steps, but they're steps nonetheless. 

This week I've kept track of my eating habits and caloric intake by using MyFitnessPal as well as my exercise (or lack thereof) with RunKeeper. I've also made plans to meet with a friend of mine to learn the art of clean eating and possibly some personal training. I've also been reading and chatting with some of the other FFL participants, which has been so encouraging. Not to mention, I love receiving encouraging and inspiring emails from Sara a couple of times a week. She's been where I've been but has also seen the other side. 

I'm looking forward to seeing the other side as well. 😊

Have you ever started a journey, fitness or otherwise, only to find yourself discouraged? Did you quit or did you keep going?

giving it up

Confession: I'm addicted to Mt. Dew.

For those of you who've known me any length of time know that Mt. Dew is my drink of choice.  You normally won't see me without one in my hand.  As of Monday, however, that has changed.

I've gone 2 days without a Mt. Dew.

Granted, 2 days is nothing to cheer about because I've actually gone longer without it.  (The longest was 5 months while in India.  But I drank a lot of Coke & Canada Dry while there.  Oddly enough I was able to lose 40 pounds during those 5 months.  That's another story, though.)

Anyway, I've noticed that I haven't really wanted a Mt. Dew in the last couple of days.  That surprises me because I really thought I would.  My hope is that it will just get easier as time goes by, but life doesn't work that way.  Nothing in life is easy.

The one really bad thing about not drinking Mt. Dew has been the headaches.  By the end of the day, my head is pounding!!  But, I'm trusting the advice of friends and professionals that the lasting results of giving up my Mt. Dew addiction will be well worth it.  Losing weight, gaining energy, and all that.  :)

Did you have an addiction that you've given up?  What advice would you give to those of us who have decided to give up our addiction?

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!