Transformation Tuesday - Angel T.

It's not Tuesday but I don't care.  Any day of the week is a good day to read about another human's weight loss success.  Am I right?  Am I right?

Today's transformation story is a little bit dirty:

Angel started out at 216 pounds after a pregnancy.  Now, at about 138 pounds, she's discovered a love for playing in the mud.  

Angel says she has been big nearly all of her life and had tried Atkins, herbal drops and even diet pills, but nothing brought her the results she wanted.  Finally, after watching people around her lose a lot of weight and growing tired of that dreaded roll that spilled over her waistband every time she sat down, she decided to take some action.  

She joined Weight Watchers and followed it for about nine months.  She was three months into it before she started exercising due to a prolonged surgery recovery.  She remained strict with her diet for those first three months, then added the treadmill and a weekly cheat meal to her plan.  Now, some of you may find this discouraging, but she says she ate A LOT of broccoli.  Sorry, broccoli haters.  I guess the green stuff can't be avoided if you want to get into those skinny jeans.  

After 9 months and a 50 pound loss, she kicked it up a few notches by hiring a trainer.  She says she cannot believe the results she's achieved and the things she's able to do now.

"In July my sister signed me up for the mudathalon, a 5k with 40 obstacles," Angel says.  "I was so nervous!  I am not much of a runner, but I could not believe the things I was able to do.  I could climb and jump over walls and climb ropes.  Who would have thought I could do such things?"

She says she has done several mud runs since then and she loves them.  While she's proud of the fact that she's down to 15% body fat, she also loves how happy she's feeling since losing so much weight.   She says:

"I am HAPPY! I have always been pretty confident but now I am extremely confident. Believe it or not I am now in the process of getting my own personal training license and am looking for a career change in weight management.  I have so much energy.  I feel younger than I did when I was 20!"

Her advice is to stop looking at your eating plan as a diet but rather to simply focus on changing your habits long-term.  Oh, and get off the couch!  That's her other piece of advice. 

As for Angel, she's traded her comfy couch for a slimy mud pit ... and she's loving every minute of it.  

Transformation Tuesday - A Look Inside

I know you all have been holding your breath waiting for my next big transformation post, but while I'm waiting on my current victim to finish answering my interview questions, I thought I'd share with you a little somethin' somethin' I came across a few weeks ago:

First of all, is it just me or does this picture I kiped from Amazon look like an invitation to look in her pants?  Hey, whatever gets you to buy the book, I guess.  Out of sheer curiosity, I clicked the link and it doesn't take you to the inside of her pants.  But I digress ...

Anyhoo ... I am currently having a love affair with this book.  It's a glorious mix of snark, wit, and reality.  If you've struggled with weight issues and all the emotional crap that comes with it for years and years and years ... you will LOVE this book.  I feel like she crawled inside my brain and stole all my thoughts and feelings.  I'm not finished with it yet, but when I do get a chance to sit down and read it, I have a hard time putting it down.  This girl just "gets" me.  I highly recommend it.  It's an entertaining read.  If you want to know HOW to lose weight, you may want to head on over to the Richard Simmons section.  That's not what this book is about.  This is more about how she dealt with her feelings as an overweight person and as an overweight person trying NOT to be an overweight person.  Plus, reading about a girl who lost 200-ish pounds after carrying them around for most of her life is just plain motivating and inspiring, if you ask me.

I would add, too, that if someone you love is fighting this battle, this book will give you insights that can help you have a little more understanding and compassion for that person's very real everyday struggles. Along those lines, and all joking aside, I think the "Look Inside" icon above fits perfectly as an advertisement for what this book provides.  If this is your struggle, you'll get a glimpse inside yourself.  If this is the struggle of someone you love, you'll get a peek at how it feels to be him/her.  

CLICK HERE for more about the author, Jennette Fulda.

Transformation Tuesday: Amberlee Booke

Amberlee Booke

5'5"

Highest weight:  200

Current weight:  134

Total lost:  66

One goal of mine in writing these Tuesday posts, besides inspiration for myself and others, is to show that there are all kinds of methods out there for losing weight.  No program is the "right" program.  If it works for you and it's improving your health, it's the "right" one.

For some people, a program with pre-packaged foods and personal coaching can provide a much-needed structure and accountability.  Today's success story, Amberlee Booke, was able to regain her health and confidence with just such a program.

Amberlee gained her weight after getting married and experiencing a great deal of stress at her job.  After developing a habit of skipping meals all day followed by eating nothing but junk in the evenings, she found herself carrying 200 pounds on her not-so-tall frame.  She saw herself in a picture one fateful day and decided it was time to make a change.

"I was determined to prove to myself that I could do it," Amberlee says.  "I followed the program 100%.  Didn't cheat once. I'm still proud of myself for that."

(Did she say she didn't cheat once?)

Since her program of choice requires eating a protein and vegetable meal each day along with the pre-packaged items, she found herself struggling to eat enough meat.  Remember, this was a girl whose main food group consisted of junk food, so adding protein was quite the challenge.  She says she was ready to quit.

"I was able to have a health coach and friend to help me through it.  I'm so happy I didn't give up!"

In 7 months, she'd lost 66 pounds and hasn't looked back.

Amberlee appreciates everything about her new life.  She was happy to fit into pants she hadn't worn in years, but thrilled when those became too big, too.  At 28, she is wearing a bikini for the first time in her life.  She has energy to try things she would never have dared to before.  She is more happy and confident than ever.  That confidence has helped her get through some hard times recently.

"I recently went through a divorce and I know it helped me through it because I believed more in myself.  If I'd still been heavy, the weight would have been just one more thing I hated about my life."

Amberlee is excited now to be passing her new healthy lifestyle habits onto others.  She has helped her dad change his life as well by coaching him to a 110 pound loss.  She has also become a coach for the program that helped her lose her weight.

"I love helping people believe in themselves, too!  I'm not perfect every day but now know the habits to a healthy life.  I won't ever let myself get back to where I was before."

If you'd like more info on the program Amber followed, contact her at ambshealthyhabits@gmail.com.

Transformation Tuesday

I'm still waiting on my next TT subject to send me her story, so in the meantime, I'm  lusting over all the cute outfits in my future.

I think Fall fashions are my faves.  I love layering and dark colors and boots.  Oh how I love a cute pair of brown boots.  But alas, that love is not reciprocated.  It's a one-way crush.  Until my calves shrink, the cute brown boots just don't love me back ... yet.  Stupid calves. Unrequited love is just, well, sad.

 I am in love with these colors. ^^

This outfit is so cute it brings me to tears.

 Just kidding on this one.  Wanted to make sure you're paying attention.

Which skinny outfits are you lusting after?

Workout Pledge Wednesday

It's been a long time since I've done one of these.  Come to think of it, I'm pretty sure I've only done it once.  But I'm ready for another one.

If you've ever wanted to annoy me, or if I've wronged you in some way and you feel the need for revenge - this is the post for you.  Perhaps I've corrected your grammar one too many times?  This is your chance to punish me.

The workout pledge this time involves push ups.  You should know, I hate push ups.  But they're good for me, so I'm letting you help determine how many I end up doing this Saturday morning.

I'll do my normal cardio/resistance workout, but I'll tack on additional push ups as follows:

-For every comment on this post - 2 push ups
-For every new like on my Facebook page (I'm currently at 93 likes) - 3 push ups
-For every share of my Facebook workout challenge post - 2 push ups
-For every Pin of this post on Pinterest - 2 push ups
-AND ... if I get up to at least 150 total Facebook likes by Saturday morning, I'll add that many push ups to the workout.  So ... if I have 150 likes, I add 150 push ups.  170 likes, 170 push ups.  See how that works?

OK, people.  Make me work.  And be sure to let me know on Facebook which of the above you did ... and ... Go!