Find support. Find accountability.

Something my mom once told me was that people who tell everyone that they are going on a weight loss diet or whatever often do better than those who keep it a secret. At first I thought "ok I can understand that," but now I am a believer. Around May or the end of April, I went public with my private weight loss/fitness board on pinterest called "healthy fit motivated." I weighed about 215 then, and I'm happy to report that I am currently at 199.6. This is the first time that I have been under 200 other than when I had the flu and strep in about 2 years. Now 15 pounds isn't a whole lot especially considering how much I have to lose, but hey, I'm still freaking proud of myself because I'm actually doing something.

The key to finding success and motivation is finding an outlet that you will feel accountability for. I didn't want my 350 followers at the time who included people in my daily tangible life to think I was lazy and whatever. So, I made a few changes. Lost a little weight. And now I'm back for more. This blog is even more motivating for me because I don't want people to think I failed. However, at the end of the day I am doing this for me, and if you aren't fighting for yourself you will give up fighting. This goal of mine is really out there for everybody to know. Even though the weightloss sites like MyFitnessPal.com and LoseIt.com didn't work for me, they make work for you! So check em out and find what works for you. I've found that belonging to a forum site really does help when you have questions or concerns.

I needed to find a place where I was really the odd man out not just another 20 something girl who is unhappy with the extra weight. I needed a landing site where I could go and find tons of people who would actually be able to answer my questions about fitness, veganism, and whatever else. So what is my forum site? Don't laugh. And keep an open mind!

I know what your thinking... it may seem kind of crazy or weird, but honestly, this community is so knowledgable. I rediscovered this site when I was researching the vegan diet and how to get enough protein, etc. This site has tons and tons of members. Many members are personal trainers or have the knowledge of a personal trainer, and many of them really are there to help out, give and get support, etc. The reason why I favor this site beyond the forum is the way it sets up your "bodyspace" page. I love that it gives you the options to put in your body fat percentage, measurements, and even motivation level instead of just your current weight. But hey, don't take my word for it! Go check it out yourself. Oh and check me out while your there: MissSRT4. -MM

Goodbye fat chick, hello world.

Ya know how sometimes when you're reading the "about" section of a weightloss blogger they talk about the "aha" moment where they had to buy size x pants, or an awful picture was taken or they couldn't walk up a couple flights of stairs when the elevator was broken? Well, I kinda think that's rubbish. How could somebody let themselves go, gain an x amount of pounds and then one day wake up and think "Well shoot, I'm fat." I think that half the battle is your inner fat chick fighting everyday with your inner fit chick trying to break out. Your own little cricket chirping at you to put down that whatever it is and go for a run. People have turning points and breaking points when it comes to weight loss and if you wanna call those your aha moments that's fine. But I like to think of mine as a breaking point because now I have picked up the pieces and began to move on. Goodbye fat chick, hello world.

So, let's talk a little more about my moment. My turning point was this last weekend. My senior year at the University of Colorado Boulder was about to start as I dropped my little brother off to his freshman year of college in Seattle. The below photo was taken and I was horrified.

For the first minute I stared at my phone in disbelief, and then I blamed my mom for not cropping the photo appropriately. Passing the blame was much easier than accepting the truth and taking responsibility... I'm sure everyone can sympathize with that. I hardly ever wear shorts, and man was I glad this was probably the first time this summer I left the house with my vampire white legs out. And just like a switch I turned my brain onto pure weight loss mode. But here's my question or self reflection of the day. Why didn't I take a right turn after this photo from November 2012...

Or this photo from December 2013...

The answer? Because I wasn't ready. I'd hit my highest weight to date, but I wasn't ready to commit. I'm a little non-committal, and I have a hard time seeing something out. Heck, I couldn't even commit to a single major at CU. But that's ok, because my journey and this blog following it is going to be a two for one much like my degrees. I will blogging about my weight loss as well as my vegan and gluten free lifestyle.

So, I hope you join me for this crazy ride.

-m