What a difference a year makes...

This week marks a year of my weight loss journey. At this time last year I was still reeling from the passing of my mother. Unfortunately my mother did not take care of herself. I did not want to be that person. Yes, she was thin, but not in a healthy way. Something snapped in me and I told myself that I had to do something about my health- my family, friends, and most importantly myself were worth it.
This journey from the beginning has been a rough one, but most weight loss journeys probably start out that way. My knees started to hurt, found out I had arthritis, then I developed bursitis and tendinitis in my right shoulder (some of the worst freaking pain I've ever had). Once that healed DJ and I were in a car accident. From this accident I gained a "lovely"(sarcasm) gynormous hematoma, which prevented me from working out for two weeks. Recently my right knee has been having a good ol time(again sarcasm) which prompted me to get a second opinion. Luckily I found out that I only have a little bit of arthritis and the cause of my pain is my kneecaps that are out of place due to my super tight Tbands. So off to PT I will go once more and if that doesn't work it may be time for surgery. Why do I tell you this? I tell you this because it should be a testament that no matter what is thrown your way you should not give up. Life is a b*tch sometimes, but how you handle yourself in times of sadness or pain reflects your true character. My old character would have given up a long time ago, but not the new me. I owe it to myself and others to be the best I can be. My health is a huge priority and so is yours. I wish I could say there is a magic pill to make the weight fall off, but alas there is not. You have to work hard, sacrifice, and make permanent changes. This not an easy task and I still struggle, but that's why it is a journey.
The beginning of this journey began with my weight at 254(highest at 265) and currently has me at 209.4(that .4 counts darn it!).Over this last year I have lost 45 pounds and gained a healthier me. I wish it were more, but I know that losing slowly is the best way to go(if you truly know me, you know patience is not always my thing). I still have about 44 pounds to go to get to my goal weight. Hopefully before this time next year I will be able to say that I am at my goal weight of 165 lbs. The pictures below show my journey from February 2011-February 2012. Thank you to everyone out there for their kind words of encouragement. Most of all I'd like to say thank you to my wonderful husband for all of your support.Much love!
-Ali

Almost a year...

I am coming up on a year of weight loss, among other losses. The spark that ignited my journey to be healthy was the death of my mother. My mother was beautiful, smart, and lovely, but she was not healthy. She was an alcoholic til the end and died due to stage four cirrhosis of the liver. Now, I do not drink much due to this factor, but I was still unhealthy. I was way overweight, my cholesterol out of control (partly due to the lovely genetics of my maternal side), and just unhappy with my health. Along the way my body has posed many daunting road blocks, arthritis in my knees, tendinitis and bursitis in my shoulder, a leg contusion from our recent car wreck (darn thing still won't go away), etc... Although all of these things and other smaller things like colds have happened, I have not stopped in my journey. I will not give up on my family, friends, and most importantly myself. Once I hit my goal weight of 165, this journey will not end but continue as it is important to stick with a healthy life style. The one year mark of this journey will officially be 2/23/12. I will post progress pics then and will have a much happier blog :) Thank you to all of those that have supported me and will continue to support me. Most of all I would like to say thank you to my soul mate and best friend, DJ. I love you will all of my heart and could not have survived this year without you.
-Ali

Birthday Challenge-Onederland!

So I have about 90 days until my birthday (it's my 30th...). Can you hear the scary music? I can! Anyway, I have had and will have many goals on this journey. In the beginning it was just to lose weight, then it was to be fit, buy clothes in a smaller size, etc... I had wanted to lose all of my weight by the first anniversary of my mom's death (2/7/12), but that quickly became clear to me that it was not going to happen. So... I reevaluated my goals and decided that I wanted to start my 30s under 200 lbs. I have 13 weeks to go and weigh 211.2lbs.This will be my birthday present to myself. I will need to focus and work even harder to make sure it happens. Let's see if I make it!
-Ali

Oh how times have changed...

So ever since my mother passed away I have began a transformation of myself that I never thought possible. I have since lost 41 pounds, but even more shocking is that I have begun to cook... and I enjoy it. Now, my mother was a beyond awesome cook and I am sure she would be shocked, but pleased to know I am in the kitchen making yummy things. Where my mom used butter and sugar, I use sugar free items, turkey, and veggies to make low cal scrumptious food. My favorite so far is Chocolate Raspberry Flan. I got the recipe off of Kraft's website(see recipe below). Garnish with cool whip and some yummy raspberries, plus a nice cup of hot cocoa.  I hope you enjoy and remember this is a no guilt dessert!
-Ali

what you need

1-1/2

cups boiling water

1

pkg. (0.3 oz.) JELL-O Raspberry Flavor Sugar Free Gelatin

1/2

square BAKER'S Bittersweet Chocolate

1/2

cup JET-PUFFED Miniature Marshmallows

3/4

cup thawed COOL WHIP Sugar Free Whipped Topping

1/4

cup fresh raspberries

make it

ADD boiling water to gelatin mix. Stir 2 min. or until completely dissolved; set aside. Place chocolate, marshmallows and COOL WHIP in medium microwaveable bowl. Microwave on HIGH 1 min. or until marshmallows are completely melted and mixture is well blended when stirred. Gradually add gelatin, beating with whisk after each addition until well blended.

POUR into 4 dessert dishes. Refrigerate 4 hours or until firm.

TOP with berries just before serving.

kraft kitchens tips

SPECIAL EXTRA

Melt additional BAKER'S Bittersweet Chocolate; drizzle over chilled flan. Or, dust the raspberries with powdered sugar before using to garnish flan.

HOW TO PREPARE USING FROZEN COOL WHIP SUGAR FREE WHIPPED TOPPING

If the COOL WHIP is not thawed, you can still make this dessert without waiting. Just remove the frozen COOL WHIP from the tub and cut it in half using a sharp knife and a cutting board. Cut one of the halves into quarters. Use one of the quarters in the recipe and return the rest of the COOL WHIP to the refrigerator for another use. Increase microwave time to 2 min.

Updated Progress Pics

Hope everyone had a great holiday! I know that this time of year is when people make fitness/health resolutions. As lame-o as this may sound, don't call them resolutions, call them goals and you may find you are more likely to succeed. Also, do not set yourself up for failure. You will not be perfect, you will have days you eat like crap, and there will be days you should work out and don't find the time/energy, blah blah (insert excuse). I have been there, will still have those days, we all do. This has been a long journey, with many bumps in the road, but I know that I am healthier than I have ever been. If you have any questions, need motivation, just send me a message and I will be happy to help in any way I can. Last soap box message, please use myfitnesspal.com. This website is an awesome resource. Good luck!
Progress Pics 02/2011-12/31/2011(40 pounds down, about 49 pounds to go)

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It's been a while, but I am back :)

Hi everyone! Although I haven't blogged in a while I have stuck to my, weight loss and healthier me, journey. I've lost 40 pounds! I still have 49 pounds to go, but I know I can do it. Here's hoping that my lovely gift of the Polar FT7 heart rate monitor will assist me in this. I can't believe I am as excited about a fitness device! This contraption should really help me understand how many cals I truly burn and not just what the machine/MFP tells me I burned. Oh and one final change, we are also trying out a new gym, LA Fitness. So far it is kicking Urban's butt with the exception of the drive (UA-5 Minutes vs LA- 15 minutes). I'll let you know what we chose :)
Peace!
-Ali

Progress!!! With Pics :)

Hi everyone! It has been a while since I've blogged, but here I am :) I have continued on my journey even though I have not blogged, be rest assured! Recently I got a little unmotivated, but once I looked at other's success stories I was easily re-motivated. Being healthy is not easy and that is something I have to remember. Also, as cliche as the saying "Rome wasn't built in a day" is, it truthfully applies to my weight loss journey. I know that I didn't gain the weight in a day and it certainly wont come off in a day. I also know I need to pay more attention to what I eat, so I have been eating more vegetarian meals which surprisingly hasn't been hard.  What have you tried lately to become healthier?

Ali

Pics below are from the beginning of this journey to today. I have revised my goal to 165 pounds, so I have around 57 to go.