Speaking for the first time about my journey

Well I spoke for the first time in front of a group of people about my journey.  I spoke to my boss's church yesterday and just shared a little mainly about my running.  I realized that this is the first time IN MY LIFE that I have gotten up and talked in front of a room that was not a classroom where I was forced to get up to do a speech.  I was terrified at first I thought my legs were just going to go out, but the most amazing part is I started to relax and the words just came.  

See on my drive to church I prayed for God to provide the words for me to say for people to be able to enjoy and relate to my story.  Now that I look back I see that I am am where He wants me to be and doing what I am supposed to be doing.  He showed me yesterday that I am on the right path and He will continue to open door after door after door!  I have found my true passion now.  I want to help people help themselves.  The strangest but greatest part of it is, it just seems too easy.  I mean I just am transparent, I just tell people  my struggles and trials and tell them my story.  How does that help people?  It is just me and I don't understand how it helps people.  But I am realizing that I am not always supposed to understand.  I realize that just because I don't see it doesn't mean it isn't true.  Don't get me wrong I LOVE that I can help people, it is just strange being that person that wants to never be noticed to someone that purposefully gets up in front of people to speak!  

I am so happy now.  I am happy that I have changed my life and found out what is out there for me.  I am so happy that through all this I can help other people that thought there was no hope left for them.  It makes me happy, it makes everything I do worth all the trials and struggles to just see ONE person get that glimmer of hope in their eyes that they CAN do this!  It helps me through my tough days to know that it is ok to struggle because someone, if not myself will learn from this. 

My whole life is changing so much and the next few months, years are going to be amazing.  God is leading me down some amazing paths and opening some amazing doors.  I cannot wait to be able to share with everyone the amazing things that are happening to me!!!  

I'll Start it on Monday

Well I did my commercial on Friday and that was scary but I survived.  Not sure how it will turn out I was very very nervous!!!  After the commercial I did a photo shoot for pictures for their website and other things and WOW that was FUN!!!!  Like when in my life would I have been comfortable in front of a camera much less enjoy it....NEVER!!!  It was amazing and I will share pics as soon as I get them!!!

So today is about I WILL START MONDAY.   How many of you have said a MILLION times "Oh I will start doing it Monday".  This applies to exercise, eating right or really anything that we want to do to change our lives.  Well I was that person!!  I swear I was that person for the last 36 years.  Every Monday would come around and I would be ready then I would slip up and say well there went this week, and would tell myself I could not start again til the next week.  As this happened over and over again I gained a little more weight each time. As I gained each additional pound, in my head this put me further and further away from my goal and by that it made losing all my weight impossible so I just would give up.  And it would start over again the next Monday, it was a vicious endless cycle that I had to END!!!!  When your mind works like this you are not ready to change your life!   You have to be ready to make that change and QUIT making excuses and do it!!!  Waiting til Monday is just another excuse to put it off for a few more days.  If you want to change your life  you first have to get your mind where it needs to be.  If this takes you months, then so be it, but it is where you HAVE to be to succeed.  I will be honest it took me a long time, I really am not sure how long it was just something I thought long and hard about before I took the final step.  Because see people think that you starting to diet or exercise or joining a weight loss group is the first step.......IT IS NOT and they are so wrong.  If you are truly ready to change your life it is the FINAL STEP!!  We as a society have to realize this!!  We cannot just go on a fad diet or a crash diet or whatever is the flavor of the week.  We have to, yes I am going to say it, CHANGE OUR LIFESTYLE!!!!!  I know you think well that is too much trouble, well it is not.  It is just like anything else we do in our life, you just do it!!!

I have learned that the "I will start it Monday" will get you NOWHERE!!!  You have to make the decision to change your life and if it is Wednesday then good if it is Saturday then great!!!  It doesn't matter what day it is bc it is the day that you change your life and that is all that matters!!!!  You are the only person that can make the change.  You have to want to do it for yourself and not for anyone else.  

Don't you ever feel like you are less than Perfect

So as I was driving to work this morning I was listening to my ipod and the song "Perfect" came on by Pink.  This song has a HUGE meaning to me.  It reminds me of my life and a lot of feelings I have had my whole life.  I have this song in my running play list and when it comes on MAN I feel like I can conquer the world.  This song reminds me that I AM perfect.   I love the part that says,  "change the voices in  your head,  make them like you instead".  Wow that is so true on so many levels!!!!  We tend to beat ourselves up and I am my biggest critic!!!!  My mind is my biggest enemy in a lot of things in my life.  My weight, my running and so much more.  So you can see this song really hit home with me.  It has taken me through my very first run, my first 5k and my first 1/2 marathon.  I still get a burst of adrenaline when it comes on in my run and I think, "I can do this!!!"  I have also learned that my  music is a HUGE impact on my running.  I will be running along and just kinda blah and then a good upbeat song comes on and I am speeding up and pushing myself.  I love music it really gets me going!  I just wish I could sing.  I mean I sing in the car with the radio up, but you know sing good. LOL Oh well.

I have had A LOT on my plate in the past week, I am struggling some to keep it together but I am getting there. I truly believe this journey  has been preparing me for this moment in my life.  I think if I was going through the things I am going through now a year ago, I would have already crumbled and be no help to anyone.  I am having to learn how to deal with my problems and stress without using food.  It is at this point in my journey a lot easier than I thought it would be.  I think it is easier because I have been learning through my whole journey how to deal with food and not use it to comfort me during hard times.  

I love the new me!!!  I am happier than I have ever been in my life and nothing is going to bring me down!  I have fought a good long hard fight and now it is time for me to enjoy my rewards.  I have finally come to a point where I realize that I CAN do anything that I set my mind to, NOTHING is holding me back anymore and it feels amazing.  People talk about getting old and hating it....these are the best times of my life!!!!

THE HARDEST THING TO ADMIT!

Ok so I am just going to be completely and totally transparent and honest today.  I am not really wanting to let this be known to everyone but I feel like it is important that I say these things for those of you out there that struggle.


I went for my weekly weigh in yesterday, and I gained 2.5lbs last week. I was like OMG 2.5lbs in ONE WEEK!!!!  But, at the same time I deserved it.  I ate lots and lots of bites of things that I am not supposed to eat and also the biggest reason I do believe is that I haven't ran in SIXTEEN DAYS!!!!  My body is used to me running 3 miles twice a week and 6 or more once a week.  So I am not ashamed to say I gained weight last week and I deserved it.  I want people to see that even after over a year and down 132lbs that I still have struggles just like I did in the beginning and it IS OK!!!  And believe it or not I am ok with it.  I won't lie I was a little bummed but no biggie, I am going to buckle down and come back next week and lose that 2.5lbs and MORE!!!!!  I am at a place where mentally I can take this and I wanted to share with others that it is ok.  You just pick yourself up and strive to do better.  This is only the 2nd time in over a year that I have gained and not lost and to be honest both times it was my fault!!!  I was letting my mental hunger win over my brain when I was really  not hungry.  I want to share that you will have struggles and when  you see me and see all I have overcome that I still struggle just like the day I started and it is OK and you will survive.  


I still struggle with my running.  I have gotten out of routine just because of schedules and saying  "I will do it tomorrow"  and as of today I had not ran in 16 days!  That is huge when your body is conditioned to run three times a week and you don't.  So when you start back it is HARD!!!!!  This morning was HARD, but I know that each time I run it will get easier and easier and I will get where I was.  So when you are getting out there killing yourself running and look at others that are running longer than you... they are right there with you pushing and struggling but the results in the end are so rewarding that every struggle you go through is worth it and I would do it all over again.  


I hope everyone knows how hard it was for me to put this out there and admit it to everyone that I failed this week and I have to pick myself up and get back where I need to be.  It is VERY hard for me to admit all this because as I have said in the past if you don't say it out loud and admit it then it isn't real.  I thought though that if someone out there is struggling they could see that after all my accomplishments, I am no different and I still struggle. 

This is how I did it.

OK so I figured I have told everyone a lot about my journey but I haven't really explained how I have done it and that is a common question I get.  So I figured I would put it here so everyone can see.  I have lost all my weight with Medifast.  I made that life changing call in May of last year, set up my first appointment and have been going every week since then.  I believe Medifast is the best plan out there for people because 1.  It uses NO shots, pills or any drugs to help with appetite suppression or any of that it is ALL YOU!!  2. The counseling, the counseling THE COUNSELING!!!!   This to me has been the most important key to this whole journey for me.  If not for this I could not sit here and write this blog opening up to everyone about my struggles.  By meeting with a counselor every week I have been forced to face these demons and by facing them I have BEAT them and that is why I have succeeded in my weight loss and will keep it off.


The Medifast program has several different plans but  will tell you about the one I have been on.  I eat 5 of their meals a day.  There are many different ones, bars, puffs, soups, puddings and all kinds of other things.  So I eat 5 of their meals a day then I eat what is called a "lean and green" meal.  This is 5 to 7 ounces of meat and three servings of vegetables.  Usually a serving of a vegetable is 1/2 cup, so that is about 1 1/2 cups of vegetables which add that to the meat and that is a lot of food.  By having this one meal a day it teaches you how to prepare your food in a healthy manner and also helps you feel like you are still able to eat things you want.  You can still go out to dinner and even pick up a salad at a fast food place if you need to.  I go in once a week to weigh and to meet with my counselor to go over my struggles I have had during the week and to plan on what I want to accomplish for the next week.  For me the thing that was SO important for me with this was the accountability.  I needed to HAVE to go in every week and get on a scale in front of someone and face the hurdles that I had the week before.  This was the part that was life changing for me.  I could finally tell someone my crazy thoughts and struggles and they understood all of it, because the greatest things about the counselors there is they have all lost the weight and been through it themselves.  That to me made it easier to talk to them and open up because they totally could relate, understand and ultimately advise me on how to work through it all.  


I am not trying to sell Medifast to anyone.  There are many different ways for people out there to lose weight this is just what has worked for me.  If I could have done it on my own then by all means I would have but I was just too weak and torn down.  I needed help, I needed someone to tell me that I could do this, that I was strong enough.  AND I DID!!!!


My counselor has been a true God send.  I mean that she is one of those people that you think about and say "God put her in my path for a HUGE reason".  She is one of the most Godly women I know and has touched my life in So many ways.  It is like she answered that phone that day when I called, she is the one that met with me that first day when I was at such a low point and gave me hope.  She tells me every week that I am the one that has done this but what I keep telling her is that I couldn't have done it without her by my side the whole way.  She ran with me in my first 5K.  Now how many people can say that!!!  She did the Mercedes 1/2 marathon with me.  She did these things for ME!!!! She showed up, cheered me on and told me I could do it and the biggest thing of all.... She BELIEVED IN ME!!!!!   They care about you at Medifast, I think that is a huge thing for me.  I am not just a customer, they all know my name and cheer me on and care about me and that means so much.  They have watched me change from this introverted person to this exuberant person and I am so glad I could share this journey with them.


After saying all this, I by NO means feel this is the only thing that works.  This is just what worked for me.  There are so many other ways out there to lose weight that might work for other people and that is great!  


I have so far done two radio commercials for Medifast and will be filming my first television commercial in a week!  I am very excited and honored that they have asked me to do this.  I will also be making various appearances on their behalf.  It feels so crazy that they want me to do these things for them, I am just Lindsay.  Just a girl who chose to not settle anymore and make a difference in her life.