How I Lost 60 Pounds In One Year!

Wow!! What a year! This has been one of the most interesting years in my life. The top four happenings of note were
1. The death of our Nana in January (what a way to kickoff the year :p)

2. Settling her estate (this took us MANY months. I now have the utmost sympathy for anybody who ever       had to settle an estate - esp. if it was that of a beloved, yet certified, hoarder.

3. A huge family trial that also lasted for many months (started around April, I think, and in some ways is still     ongoing) - God was and still is faithful!
AND.....

4. I LOST 60 POUNDS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (ish)
    I have never lost that much weight ever! It was an absolute thrill every time I was able to fit into something else from my "I have a dream" box! (You know the box. The one where you keep those clothes you love and are going to lose weight and fit back into someday, while you look at your current "I'm living a fat nightmare" wardrobe and swear you're not going to gain one more ounce, then go console yourself with chocolate cake because you're 'so fat'. Yeah, that box).

***Please note *** By God's Grace, I lost all that weight while going through aforementioned stress and I barely exercised.


    So I wanted to give y'all my THM story, to date, and record here my weight loss goals for 2014.
(after the success of last year, setting weight loss goals sounds like something I could actually accomplish. Huh, how 'bout that?)



The Book That Started It All
    
    I think I first heard of the Trim Healthy Mama book through the Above Rubies Magazine. I actually thought it was more like an encyclopedia that listed various ingredients and gave a description of what it was and what it would do to your body (yeah, I read that description very carefully, obviously). When the book finally arrived I was surprised to find out it was a 'diet' plan. I DEVOURED this book. I started implementing some aspects of it to get a feel for the different  ingredients before jumping on 'whole hog'.

A Friendly Little Competition and the Naysayers  

    Our family decided to do a weight loss challenge starting in January. We let everybody do their own eating program/exercise thing. I obviously did THM (I had the best of intentions with the exercise thing....)

AND THE WINNER WAS........

    Not me. I did come in second though.

The winner was my fellow blogger, Charlotte. She also did THM and was WAY more dedicated to exercise than I was.

  When I first started this plan, I had many naysayers. My mom said, "It's too complicated". My brother said, "It's too involved, you'll never be able to keep up with it. Do my diet, it's so much easier and you can actually do it for the rest of your life". By the end of the year, I had lost 60ish pounds and he had lost...none. He actually gained! Also by April, my Mom said "I'm not exactly sure what she's doing, but it's working!" and joined me on the diet! She has now lost about 40-50 lbs!


A Few Tips

1. If possible, try to be involved in a THM community type thing
   
      facebook has a Trim Healthy Mama Group, there is also a Trim Healthy Mama Forum.
 

    Along my journey I have picked up a few more supporters and have helped sell about 7 THM books to my family and friends/co-workers. We're getting up our very own little community!

2. Try new recipes.
 
      I faithfully stalk Gwen's Nest every Tuesday. She does a link up and has a bunch of new THM recipes          every week!

3. Every body loses weight differently and you'll have 'stalls' KEEP THE FAITH

    Don't let somebody else's weight loss trip you. You will lose according to your body's needs.
    Your body will go through periods where you think you've finally hit that impenetrable wall. DON'T GIVE UP!!!!! Hang in there! If you keep doing what you should, your body will do what it should.

4. Don't underestimate the importance of eating E Meals.

    I did this myself and have seen others do it against my council. (Yes, we are a hard-headed family. Why do you ask?) One of the most faithful 'E Mealers' in our little community is Charlotte, you know, the one previously mentioned for winning the contest!  Remember, your body needs the careful carbs for energy to burn the fat.


My Weight Loss and Exercise Goals

    I only need to lose about 40 more pounds to reach my 'stop and assess' goal. I have NEVER been in a dress size that I would call 'ideal'. Therefore, I have no idea what size is right for me. I realize different women/body types look best in different sizes. So I have set a temporary goal for a dress size. When I get to that size, I will reassess and decide if I want to go smaller or not. I think I should be able to reach this dress size by Easter. (added points, count how many times the word 'size' appears in the above paragraph. I might need a thesaurus) If I reach this size by Easter, I can almost guarantee you a new dress will be appearing in my very happy closet!

Let's Exercise!!

It is my goal to exercise 3 days a week for the month of January.
Right now, I just want to work on getting in the habit. I will reassess my exercise goals at the end of January and set some for February. (Small goals, people, small goals)

Workin' On Those E Meals

It is my goal to eat 4 to 5 E meals a week for the month of January.
 I still struggle to eat the right amount of E meals, even though I know how important they are to my weight loss.

I Issue Myself a Challenge

To help me hold to these goals, I challenge myself to post on here, by the last day of each month, a record of my exercise and my E meals. I will then reassess my goals and post them for the next month.
I also want to include in those posts my favorite THM recipe(s) I've tried that month.


I hope your New Year has gotten off to a great start and hope you'll come back and visit us soon!