My arms are sore right now, because I just got done doing some reps with a 5lb ball here at my desk. Actually, they were already sore because I did some Zumba last night and OUCH. 15 minutes of the Activate DVD was all I could do before I had to call it quits. I couldn’t be on my feet anymore! So then I did 4 sets of 25 crunches: Regular, Right side, Left side and my favorite…Bicycle crunches. Overall, I was pretty impressed by my workout last night even though it might not seem like much to most people.

I said all that to say that my goal for this journey is to just have a healthy start. I realize that this will all take time. But I’ve decided to go all in. I don’t only want to lose weight, but I want to be healthy. Not just in my diet either. I want to eat healthy, sleep healthy, have healthy fun, spend healthy….everything I do, I want to be be doing the best at it by going about it in a pure, clean manner. I’m excited to be sharing my journey with you.

My Backstory: Everyone’s got one. Mine so happens to be that I grew up knowing that my athletic skill is close to none, so I just never tried. I knew I liked to cook and I liked the taste of food, so it was easy for me to just turn to food when I was bored, to entertain, when I wanted to impress…it just wasn’t the right choice for me looking back. It wasn’t that I was a complete pig or anything, I just ate what I wanted, when I wanted. I was chubby since I was a child and have grown into an even chubbier adult.

A few years ago, I started having problems. Not the normal heart problems or sugar problems you would assume with an obese 20-something. I stopped having my period and gained upwards of 100 lbs. I almost didn’t notice the weight gain either, that’s how out of it I was. I tried diets and everything and nothing seemed to keep the weight off. I went to my Dr. and he tested all sorts of things to figure out what it was…we had no luck. I gave up. I decided that until I knew what was wrong, I wasn’t going to think of it. That was 2 years ago. Finally, I went to a new Dr. I was fed up with being sick. I knew something was wrong and want to have children some day, so the “no periods” weren’t cutting it. My new Dr. figured out what was wrong with me. She told me it would take a long time, I would have to work hard, but if I do it right, I will have great results and be better.

This is the picture that CHANGED IT ALL. When I saw myself here, I was literally disgusted…and absolutely sad. I knew I needed a BIG BIG CHANGE. I’m embarrassed to even post this, but here goes…

Before the first of this year, I became more determined than I’ve been in my life. I knew that the change needed to be made. It needed to stick. It needed to be drastic or I wouldn’t have any success. So I began using MyFitnessPal, which is the best calorie counter around. I plugged my info in and just followed my calories to a T. I have cut out ALL soda…and if you know me, that is a serious deal! And I’ve committed to be more active.

I’ve been doing this for about 13 days now and I have lost quite a bit of weight. 10-15 lbs! (Don’t know actual weight because of scale mishap.) And I only worked out like, 2 times for the whole 2 weeks too. It truly was a miracle for me and I’m so motivated to lose 2-3 lbs per week moving forward. Another miracle thing has happened as well, I STARTED MY PERIOD. For me, that means something good…but not for the “whew, I’m not pregnant, that was close!” type of good…but a “WHEW! My future husband and I will be able to bring children into the world!!!” type of thing. Such a happy, blessed feeling. I attribute these miracles all to God.

How Can I help you? I plan on sharing my tips, secrets, recipes…everything with you guys. I promise, I’m not shy. Ask all you want. I’m sorry if you weren’t expecting this PERSONAL of a blog from The Pretty Plus, but I can bet you there will be more to come! I’m excited to share my success in hopes that it helps others! Again, I love you guys. Be healthy!