Dream It, Believe It, Achieve It...A Weight Loss Journey

My name is Karen, and welcome to my blog about my weight loss journey. 

For as long as I can remember, weight has always been an issue. I can remember my mother shopping in the “Pretty Plus” department for my clothes. Even at that young age, it was a problem. I have looked back so many times to try to figure out why I carried this extra weight with me for so long. I come from a loving family and great support system of friends. I have a career that I love and work hard at. I can’t think of any crisis or trauma that made me turn to food for comfort or happiness. It’s just who I am.

I learned to live with the fact that this was my destiny. I would always be the heavy girl who stood behind everyone for photos, and tried really hard to blend into the background.  There is a certain amount of shame that I carried around for more than 30 years with this. As confident and happy as I was in life, there was always that idea that this is was something I could not be good at..the battle that I couldn’t win. 

I really tried so many times….every Monday or beginning of each month was a new diet plan. I refer to this as the “hamster wheel”...you just keep going around and around in this vicious cycle of beginning, lasting a few days or weeks, and then giving up. It’s discouraging, frustrating and makes you believe that this just isn’t possible. 

Well, I am here to tell you that it is possible! All it takes is that little voice inside of you to get loud….and angry! Eventually I got tired of the backaches, high blood pressure and cholesterol. I used to think to myself, “now is it going to take a heart attack or stroke to get me motivated to make that change?” So I took control. I decided that I was strong enough and worth fighting for. I wasn’t going to do it for anyone else but myself. I wasn’t interested in looking fabulous for a cute dress, or trying to win over my Prince Charming. I was doing this for me!

So I started making a plan. It was too overwhelming to think about the amount of weight that I needed to lose. I concentrated on one day at a time. It never became easy, and I refer to it as my second “job.” It takes a great deal of work and motivation each day…but it’s worth it..you’re worth it! I’m excited to say that I have lost 100 lbs so far. I continue to work at it, and consider myself a “work in progress.” I don’t have any degree in nutrition or fitness, but have some of life lessons to offer. 

I currently work with a personal trainer named John Moljo who will be working with me on this blog with the fitness tips and ideas on how to get started and succeed. He’s fabulous, and has a lot to offer in this field from his own background.

We look forward to sharing our thoughts and ideas with all of you, and would love any questions or feedback. So tune in to each of our blogs next week….and remember…dream it, believe it… and you CAN achieve it!