WOWZER Wednesday and January Goals

Happy 2014!!!!!!!!!!!!! A new year full of new possibilities.  Today for Wowzer Wednesday, I want to share Emily's story with you.  Emily is such an inspiration to me.  She has had some trials and tribulations and has always come out on the top learning to believe in herself.  I hope you enjoy her story!

1. Tell us a little about yourself.

My name is Emily and I run a Facebook page called My Journey 2 The Fit Life (www.facebook.com/MyJourney2TheFitLife). I am 30 years old from NJ with my fantastic husband. I have lost 105lbs total, 95lbs with Weight Watchers. I am a runner and enjoy working out. I am a positive, friendly and sarcastic person. I love to laugh. I enjoy writing and have started a blog (www.myjourney2thefitlife.blogspot.com), but do not keep up with it as much as I would like to. I am blessed with incredibly supportive family and friends. I honestly don’t know where I would be without them.

2. What made you decide to live a healthier lifestyle?

After getting married, experiencing problems with my thyroid, and becoming more sedentary, I found that I had gained a good amount of weight. When my husband and I wanted to have children, we were unsuccessful. One of the tests that I went through as part of the infertility treatment showed that I had early stages of endometrial cancer. My doctor suggested that we treat the cancer through medication and in addition wanted me to lose 100lbs. As I was 26, these two options were the least invasive and would insure that my husband and I were able to have children naturally. If the cancer spread I would need a complete hysterectomy. She suggested that I join Weight Watchers. I decided to start my weight loss journey that day. I had lost 10lbs prior to walking into my first Weight Watcher meeting about a month later. About 5 months into my journey, I was told that the cancer had spread and I needed to have a complete hysterectomy. Losing weight, working out and getting healthy was a great distraction from everything else that was going on in my life. At age 27, I had a complete hysterectomy. I had also lost about 60lbs and was feeling the best I could ever remember. There were plenty of days that made me wonder “why me?”, but the hopeless optimist in me believed that there had to be a purpose, a lesson in the bad. I felt I had no other option, but to learn from my experiences, to continue my weight loss journey and my journey to becoming fitter and healthier. It was up to me to garner the strength, find the good and make a difference. So I persevered on with my journey. I continued to lose weight, to try new workouts and work on finding myself. So here I am almost four years later, I have lost a total of 105lbs, found out that I am both emotionally and physically stronger than I ever imagined.

3. What changes have you made?

Joining Weight Watchers not only changed my life, it gave me life. I know I could not have lost 95lbs without them. Weight Watchers helped change the way I look at food. I now try to eat to live, rather than live to eat. I still enjoy the foods I love, but I do it in moderation.

Exercise now plays a huge role in my life. Despite always being overweight, I always played sports and was athletic. But I never imagined all that I was capable of physically. I am stronger and faster and more capable than I ever imagined. In 2011, I started running. I used to cringe at the thought of going for a run, now I can’t imagine my life without itThis year I ran my first half marathon. I already have two more half marathons scheduled for 2014 and I plan to sign up for a full marathon. Exercise not only makes me feel better . physically, but also emotionally. There is no better feeling than challenging your body and then surviving!

But perhaps the biggest change is that I now believe in myself. I believe that I can do anything I put my mind towards.

4. How is your life different now?

My life has done a complete 180. I no longer try to hide in the background. I no longer worry about how my size will affect me and the situation I am in. I feel like I am actually living life and not just letting life pass me by. I am always looking to try and experience new things. I don’t want to miss anything life has to offer. I have found my voice and it’s a voice that I want to be heard.

5. Any advice for others on their own journey?

There are a couple pieces of advice that I would give to someone starting a journey to weight loss and getting healthy. Take the journey one day at a time. Set out each day to do your best and don’t beat yourself up over “slip ups”. Don’t always rely on the scale. It is a fantastic tool, but you will never be defined by that number on the scale, nor does not determine your success. Take your measurements, so you can see how many inches you have lost. (Not doing this is my biggest regret!)

Also do not give up. Things will not always be easy. You will not always have good days/weeks/months. Those are important parts of the process. I truly think that in those hard moments is when we learn the most about ourselves, our journey and our goals.

Isn't she just awesome??? Please check out her Facebook page and blog!  She has been very supportive of me on my journey as well!!!!

Goal review from December:

Here were my December goals.

1.  Lose 8 pounds so I reach 100 pounds lost by 2014. - I was SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO close and who knows, maybe I am there but I don't weigh in until tomorrow (as I REFUSE to weigh at home because I become a scale addict), but as of last Thursday I was down 97 pounds!!!!! So I am not disappointed!

2.  Actively participate in the Skinny Snowman Challenge.  - I did GREAT at this one.  I kept track of my points and it really helped keep me on track, especially having to write out 5 positives everyday!!!

Goals  for January:

1.  Walk, bike, and elliptical 50 miles combined!!!!!

2.  Start using my new planner to pre-plan my meals and exercise.

3.  Continue with the positives for the day, list at least 2 positives for each day on my Facebook page.

Well, I am off for now!!!  Enjoy your day with your family!

Keep Losing,

Kari