Hey party people! At the end of 2008 I was chosen as a Finalist for the 50 Million Pound Challenge "What's your New Years resolution solution?" contest sponsored by State Farm and spent 6 weeks creating a written & video blog for the contest. Prior to that, I used to blog weekly on myspace when I first started my journey to a healthier me, but I had fallen off and realized how much I miss it! The New Year's Resolution Solution contest got me excited about blogging again and gave me an opportunity to share my story with a bigger audience in hopes that what I share with you can help you along the way with me. Now that the contest is over (I didn't win, but I enjoyed it), I wanted to move my blog somewhere that even more people would be able to read!

A 'lil about me and my battles with weight loss first though. As I'm sure many can relate in some way - I LOVE FOOD! lol I consider myself to be a "Foodie" - one of those people who loves to try new ingredients, recipes, flavor combinations, etc. I also absolutely love cooking - especially for other people. This has amounted to a lifelong battle that up until 2.5 years ago, I thought was just my destiny and I couldn't do anything about it.

I went on my first diet in the 3rd grade when the school nurse sent home a notice to my parents after my annual physical that I was indeed "OVERWEIGHT" for my age and height. Literally, the note they sent home said "OVERWEIGHT" on it, as the result of my annual in-school physical. My wonderful parents did what any parent would do and took me to my doctor to see what could be done. I was placed on a 1,200 calorie diet at the age of 8. Under the watchful eye of my parents and the school cafeteria staff, I believe I lost about 10-15 lbs eating things like dry tuna with iceberg lettuce, dehydrated apple chips, and other meticulously measured meals. My mom, bless her heart, did it with me and measured her own food and watched what she ate, so I didn't feel bad, but with 2 older sisters and an older brother teasing me about all the stuff they COULD eat that I wasn't allowed to, it wasn't easy. I kept the weight off all through the 4th and 5th grade and then... PUBERTY HIT! lol Now, while when I was 4 yrs old, I was already blessed with plenty hips, thighs and bottom, adding puberty to that turned me into quite the curvy 11 year old and I jumped from a little girl's size 10 to a juniors 11/12.

Wait, did I mention that throughout all of that I was very active in karate? I don't think I did. LOL By the time I was 15, I was a 3rd degree brown belt, going to karate class almost every night of the week (dreading it) and a size 18! I decided to switch things up and try out for the high school track team for shotput, discus & javelin. I did that until I graduated at a size 20. I believe that much of my experiences leading up to this point had really shaped my unhealthy attitude towards exercise.

Over the next 8 years, I battled. I tried a lot of different things, including going to a nutritionist for personalized advice and meal counseling, joining Curves and participating in their 6 week weight loss challenges, but something always happened and I would quit. One of my best friends was killed in a car accident while I was working on my dissertation and I said "I just don't have the energy to worry about exercise and what I'm eating right now - I just need to get through this." I was watching a 6 year relationship fall apart and told myself "I have too much going on right now to worry about watching what I'm eating and exercising, I'll get back to it later." Each time, each diet, each attempt, I had lost about 30 lbs and I would allow something to turn my world upside down and the weight loss would get put on a shelf to be dusted off at a later date. I didn't realize that every time I put it on the shelf, I gained it all back and allowed it to bring friends with it too! lol

Fast forward to 2006, 3 degrees, a painful but necessary break-up, and a new job & town later, a new friend encouraged me to attend a Weight Watchers meeting with her after I got some pictures in the mail from my sister's vow renewal ceremony and I couldn't believe how I looked. I went with her and when I got there, I knew that if I walked out of there and didn't join, I would never go back. So I went ALL IN - signed up for the monthly pass to force myself to commit to the program and got on that scale. It took everything in me to hold in the tears until I got home from that meeting. At 30 years old, I had packed a whole 297 lbs onto my 5'1" body. I told my mom that night - "OH MY GOD MOM, I AM A VALUE MEAL AWAY FROM 300 POUNDS!"

Two and a half years later, I am still a monthly pass carrying member of Weight Watchers and I don't feel complete if I don't go my meeting every Saturday morning. I've lost 92.8 lbs so far by watching what and how much I eat, making smart food choices, keeping a food "diary", exercising at least 3 times a week, and addressing the emotional reasons for why I was eating the way I did. That last part is what I believe was missing from all of my other attempts to lose weight. It hasn't been easy, but it's definitely been worth it.

I am committed to exercising (at least 5 times a week) and continuing to make sustainable changes to the way I eat. I don't consider what I do to be a diet because diets have never worked for me. I take the changes and journey one day at a time!

If there's one thing I want you to walk away with after hearing my story, is that you can do anything that you put your heart, mind, and HARD WORK into.