Saturday, December 29, 2012

Why I do this...

I thought it might be fitting to put together a post of explanation.  You see, there is a contest going on and there are some questions arising about who I am, and what am I about.  I'd like to take a moment to explain.

Basically, I want YOU to know why THIS CONTEST means so much to me.....

As you might have noticed, I started my journey well in to the 200's....233.9 to be exact.


But my journey started way before I ever hit that number.  Many of my readers already know the big events (believe me, there are some doozies!) that have happened in my life leading up to my significant weight loss.  I detailed them in the MY STORY section.
(go catch up, I'll wait.....)

Here is what I really want you to know about me....

I am a girl who fought with the inner fat girl for years.  I wanted to be thin.  I wanted to lose weight.  I wanted to look great in that bikini.  I wanted to feel attractive both in clothes, and out of them!  Yet the want was never enough to propel me forward.  Instead, I would try all the quick fixes...I would tell myself I'd start tomorrow, next week, next month, or next year.  That day never came.  I'd eat fast food like it was going out of business!  (Some days I'd even stop at multiple food joints and then discard the "evidence" before I ever got home.)  The scale went higher, my clothes got tighter.  I was ashamed.



I couldn't stand to look in the mirror, let alone take a picture!  (Hence the reason I have so few "before" pictures to choose from...)

I even was at the point that I thought I was destined to be "big" forever.  I tried to hide in the back of rooms, I dreaded the thought of actually being noticed!


And then something clicked inside my head.  It was like a light bulb went off.  I figured out that I actually had control of my life.  I actually had control of what I did, what I ate, of everything!  I realized that for too long I had been hiding my emotions in the food I was eating.  I realized I needed to take back control of my own life...a control that I thought was taken from me all those years ago when I was raped.

I realized that I had learned to use food to cope.  To cope when I was sad, when I was happy, when I was depressed, when I was angry, when I was PMS-ing.  I was addicted to food, and lots of food!  And as I took a step back, I realized this food addiction was being taught to those I loved most in this world.....my children!

So what I wouldn't do for myself, I began doing for them.  Slowly, I started making changes.  Mostly with my food in the beginning.  I was careful to track what I ate.  I am completely convinced that losing weight is 80% what you put in your mouth and 20% what activity you do.  I began eating more vegetables than I've ever eaten in my entire life!  (I'm not kidding!)  Then, I added in walking (NOT running).  (Running was too painful at the size I was at!)  Slowly the scale started moving.  The more the scale moved, the more focused I became.


And you're waiting for a wahlah, everything was perfect ever since..........right?

Well, you have the wrong blog.  You see, this blog is all about life being in progress for good....and that applies to my journey (as well as yours!).  I have fallen down so many times I have lost count.  My knees are bloody.  I have wanted to quit over and over again.  But here I am, because I decided to stand up one more time than I have fallen (and I will continue to do that WHEN I fall again!).

 (Me, this past week wearing a YOUTH large)

You see, we all are going to fall.  We all are going to have slip-ups.  It's life.  It happens.  The key is how you decide to react to those set-backs.  For too long, I'd use the set-backs as an excuse to "quit."  Not realizing that each set-back we have in life makes us stronger!

So why is this contest so important to me?  Probably the same reason this blog is so important to me!  Because I have the FIRM BELIEF that YOU have the ability to become your best self too.  And if reading my story, and the hell I've had to overcome, helps motivate even just ONE PERSON I feel it's worth it.  I want YOU to know that it IS possible.  I don't care if you've tried 2039482304820439820 times in the past to lose weight, YOUR PAST DOES NOT DEFINE YOUR FUTURE!

Did you hear me?  Because I'm speaking from my heart here...your past, no matter what it is, does not determine who you are to become!

What does determine your future is what you do TODAY!  Are you going to take steps forward today to paint the future you want for yourself?  Or are you going to just "wish" that "one day" you "might" get there.

You can do this, just as I have, and just as so many others have!  You are powerful, and have the strength to do hard things!  So please, put your head down....your blinders on....and start moving in the direction you want to be!

10 comments:

  1. Incredible as usual Alisha! No one deserves this more than you!

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    1. Thank you Karri! Your support means so much to me!

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  2. You look great! Such an amazing story you have!

    I have fallen and I am ready to get back up! I am looking forward to the new year, it is going to be a fresh start! let's make 2013 our year!

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    1. Thank you Andrea! I really appreciate you saying that.

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  4. So, so true! I lost 75 pounds when I was 22, after having been the fat kid for most of my life. It felt great! Now, after a wedding and having my child, I have put about 40 pounds of that back on. I cannot wait to get started on this in the new year.

    My husband and I are starting a diet together that he had success with in the past. We believe that by doing this together, we will achieve better results and be able to support each other. Thanks for the inspiration!

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    1. Angie, first of all...congratulations on such an awesome loss. And way to keep a good amount of it off. It sounds like your life has been busy with a wedding and a baby, 2013 is going to be the year about you! (And your husband!) :) You are right, it's easier to stay focused when you can support each other. Just know you have a cheering section here for you. Come back often and let me know how you are doing!

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  5. You are such an inspiration to me every day!

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    1. Marcee! Thank you. It means so much to have you say that...

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