I'm New Here

Hi, I'm Whitney.

On Christmas Day 2011, I weighed almost 175 lbs and looked like this: 

On Christmas Day 2012, I weighed 135 lbs and looked like this:

I'm not proud of that first picture, not by a long shot.  You know that moment you take what you think is going to be a really cute picture, and then the person hands the camera back to you and you're so excited to see it?  Well what I saw on that day made me want to cry.  So what did I do?

Binge ate.

It was Christmas! 

The problem I'm trying to point out, is that when I finally hit rock bottom, I started to realize I needed a change.  But all I did in that moment was get sad, and try to deny it.  

I lacked determination, I lacked accountability.  

And then "New Years Resolution" season came around.  Now, I've never believed in them.  I have always said I viewed every day as an opportunity to be a better version of yourself.  So why wasn't I taking my own advice?  

Obviously, I did take the advice, and that's the reason I'm here.  I lost 30 lbs by May 2012, and the last 10 took me almost the last 6 months but I got that stubborn weight off.  I didn't "go on a diet", I made about 1,000 drastic lifestyle changes, and that's why I'm here.

TONS of people facebook message, text, etc. me regularly asking me how I did it.  They ask like there is some kind of secret.  And no offense to any of you who've asked, because I certainly don't MIND helping, but what bothers me is when I type out three pages of lifestyle changes and someone tells me, "diet & a LOT of exercise?  Oh, I really don't want to do that."

Well then don't.  But don't cry to me about the size of your ass or your thighs or not being able to fit into things.  You just wasted my time.  

So the point of this blog is for me to get it out, and for people to read it that actually want to USE it.  

Now I'm not going to be nice.  Probably not at all.  There will be a lot of tough love and I'm really not the sugar coat type, especially when it comes to motivating people.  But there will be a lot of humor, a lot of support, and you will never find a bigger cheerleader in me.  

I'm going to chronicle my daily struggles to stay committed to the lifestyle changes I've made. I'm going to chronicle how I did it in the first place, where I started, how I started, how I made those first steps towards a completely new me.  I'm going to go over everything from the demons inside my head (who to this day still tell me I'm disgustingly fat, at 135 lbs) to meal planning, to recipes, to work outs.  

My sister also lost a great deal of weight and we've had some successes together.  The way she does things is significantly different from the way I do, still within the confines of healthy eating and exercise.  I'm also going to pull from her on occasion too, because to be honest there is no one clear solution that works for every single person.  We all have to find what's right for us.

I hope you enjoy this.  I hope you have something to gain from the whole experience, and I hope I do as well.  I want you to know that this is a place where you can always feel free to comment openly, be honest, and make yourself vulnerable.  You have no idea how hard it was for me to post the picture of fat Whitney.  I hope that by ME being honest and open with all of you, you start to feel that you can let your guard down and we can all work together!

This has been long.  More soon.

xoxo