2 years later

First set of photos at the top was around November 2010, I was 255, 7 pounds down from my heaviest weight of 262.  I was a size 20/22 jeans

Second set of photos was from 6 months ago, around March/April? 2012 I was down around 50/55 pounds from the first photo set.  I did all of this weight loss on my own with the help of Turbo Fire.  Yes it took me longer than 90 days because 1) I didn't change my eating habits at first, and 2) see answer 1

Third set of photos is from October 15th 2012, down a total of 83 pounds, 179 from 262.  Size 12 jeans.
This additional weight loss was a combination of Turbo Fire, workouts with friends and working out with a personal trainer.

It's been a loooong 2 years, but I'm getting there.  Just take things one day at a time, one battle with food and one battle with workouts at a time.  Don't stress out when you slip up.  It's ONE meal, it's ONE day out of a month of good days you had.  Was it a bad week?  Still have 3 weeks in that same month to do it right.  It's never too late to start working towards your goals.  Slow and steady wins the race.

4 months of Raw Food

I've lost a total of 32 pounds since starting on this raw food diet, in only 4 months!  In the last month alone I've lost 2 pounds and 5 inches

1 inch off my waist
3 off my hips
and .5 off of each of my thighs

The top pictures are of me before I started the raw food diet in combination with my exercise
The bottom photos are me now.

190 Pounds

Dropped 10 pounds since the last update!  I've been working out around 4/5 times a week, my diet is 90% raw with one or two meals a week that have some steamed veggies or cooked something.  I'm down 28 pounds since going raw, I'm a little over 2 months into eating a raw food diet, and while it was really hard to do, it's been so worth it.  The results are so fast!  I'm thinking at this rate I'll be able to hit my goal weight in the next 2 or 3 months.  I'm so excited <3 :)

Personal Trainers

I never really understood the benefit of personal trainers until I finally went to one... I used to think... oh it's just someone who you're paying to make you workout... I realized that no that's not how it is at all. You're paying someone to share with you their expertise in how the human body works, how YOUR body works, how to properly make use of all of your muscles, and how to do it safely so you don't injure yourself. You get to have an outsiders view on what you're doing wrong with your workouts, and how to fix it. And oh god, my everything hurts. Workouts, where you use proper form are ~no joke~.

 If you're looking for a good personal trainer, there is an ad on the right there for Drew Mossman, he's an excellent trainer, I've been to him a few times now and I've never once left a workout disappointed.  He is based in Ohio, so keep that in mind.

February 2011 vs. July 2012

My starting weight was 262 pounds, the First photo is from February 2011, I was around 250 pounds, second photo is from a few days ago, July 13th, 190 pounds, both photos are from attending friends birthday parties.  Can you tell which party I was more comfortable with myself at? lol

41 days Raw

I'm 41 days into this raw food diet, I've dropped from 218 to 200,  my energy levels are up through the roof, I sleep better, and the results are kinda ridiculous, my skin is even shrinking where as before with just exercise my skin was just getting saggy.  I'm enjoying the thought that my skin might actually shrink up all the way if I continue to eat clean like this and workout. 

I haven't been able to workout lately because when I do workout while eating like this I become ravenous and can't control my eating and fruits and veggies are expensive and I'm supposed to avoid eating too many bananas right now because they're hard on my kidneys.  So I can't wait til my kidneys are doing a little better so I can start eating bananas and hitting my workouts hardcore again.  Trying to take lots of walks and just doing my best to stay active without killing my budget.

P.S. the photos on top are my beginning photos from a year and a half ago, the day I started Turbo Fire, not the day I started this raw diet.

Weight Loss Is NOT Easy (but it's always worth it)

In the past I've had nay sayers to my weight loss goals tell me
that because I can't eat this or that my weight loss is easier
than it is for them because it's "so hard to stop eating xyz"
I've had people tell me my goals are too much, that I'll be too thin,
or too muscled or I'll become a skinny bitch etc...

All I have to say to that is no, my weight loss has NOT been an
"easy" journey.  I've been suffering with a debilitating disease
for the past 10 years called hidradenitis suppurativa.  It causes
sweating to cease in some areas of your body, and in those areas
toxins build up under the skin and become terribly swollen, full of
blood and puss and are hot and painful to the touch.  They often become
open wounds and cause sitting, standing, walking... MOVING, NOT MOVING
to be painful.  There hadn't been 1 day in the past 10 years where I wasn't
bleeding from one of these wounds and I could have up to 20 at a time.

When I first started working out my legs slapped together and rubbed together,
and my upper legs is where the majority of these sores occur.  It was
EXCRUCIATINGLY painful for me to workout.  So much so I often cried during my
workouts. Sweating did not happen very easily, my body would just flush red and it couldn't
cool itself so i had to stop often for water breaks so I could cool down. I wanted
to give up, it was hard, but I had heard that weight loss could help my wounds heal. 
And after a few months, they did start to slightly improve.

I had also heard that dietary changes could help.  So first I cut out all dairy
products. Not easy to do AT ALL, as dairy was my favorite thing.
But the wounds significantly improved.  Instead of the 10-20 I had open
every day, it became 5-10, my workouts improved because of this as well
as I was in less pain so I was more able to workout.

This last month I discovered the ROOT cause of my disease, my kidneys were clogged.
Which sent all the excess toxins it couldn't handle to my lymph nodes, and what the
lymph nodes couldn't handle, they sent out through my pores as these lesions.

I found out that if I ate ONLY raw fruits and veggies (and sooome nuts and seeds) that
I could heal my body and the wounds would start to go away.

None of this was easy for me, I DO miss my favorite foods, I miss fresh baked bread,
I miss marshmallows, I miss soo many things.  Does it matter?  No.  Why?  Because
I'm not in pain anymore.  (some from time to time but overall... not in pain)

I'm 3.5 weeks into this diet, and for the first time in 10 years my thighs don't hurt
when I walk.  When I sit in a friends couch I no longer have to worry if my blood is going
to stain their couch.  I no longer am in pain when I sit down, I no longer cry when I stand up
from a seated position because a sore stuck to my chair/pants/underpants and ripped open
when I stood up.

So no, working out and changing my diet was NOT easy for me.  It's been a horrible, beautiful
struggle that I've forced myself to face.  It took courage and strength that no one else could give
me but myself and Yah. (God) And I know I've not even got it that bad, I know there are
others out there who started out their journey with lost limbs and they still pushed themselves
and overcame their fears and challenges as well! 
So before you look at someone who's lost a lot of weight and belittle their efforts, remember
it's never easy for ANYONE, but it's always worth it!

11 days Raw Food Diet

11 days into this raw fruits/veggies thing, I'm down 8.5 inches total, 4 of them off my waist!  I've lost 10 pounds, and now my detox is over? My voice is back, sore throat is still sorta lingering but BOTH of my nostrils are now available for breathing!  (A first for me, usually it's one nostril, especially during allergy season)  I have tons of energy, my skin is clearer than it's been in a long time, sleeping better etc...  Not sure if this is a result of the detox or a result of my weight loss, I actually ENJOY the sun now, I don't mind it when it is hot outside... it's really bizarre for me because I've always been the kind of person to hide from the sun inside with the A/C cranked, but I get so cold now.

Black Dress 1 year later

A little over a year ago I took that picture on the left May 10th to be precise, I had lost about 30 pounds at the time, now I'm down 54 pounds, feeling great, been taking loads of walks lately, and I'm eating a strict raw fruits and veggies diet.  Turbo Fire will resume in a few days after I make sure my ankle is ok after I fell and twisted it yesterday while stepping off a curb.

A new challenge!

Recently I made some new, fabulous and fit friends! They invited me to join them in training for a fitness show. And I said yes!

I've been so stagnant in my motivation for weight loss and this was just the thing I needed to get me back at it again. I have a little under 6 months to get into fitness show condition, I have probably a good 60 pounds to lose to be lean enough for the show. So I'm stepping up my workouts, I'm doing Turbo Fire still but I'm throwing in some self made strength training workouts.

I'm cleaning up my diet sooo much more, even more than it already was, and I'm counting my calories again. I had been doing 1800-2000 a day and now I'm doing 1400-1600, I've been doing Juice meals with my juicer two or 3 times a week and drinking Strawberry Shakeology every day. I am so excited, and scared. Scared I won't lose enough in time, really scared because I have to lose 10 pounds a month! I'm scared of being in a bikini in front of so many people. Basically parading around in your underpants. Yes I KNOW my site is full of progress pictures of me in my underwear, however that's online, you don't have to see those people seeing you! But despite all of my fears, I'm doing this, and I'm doing it for me.

I'm pushing through my fears and I'm going to finish transforming me into the girl I KNOW is underneath these last 60 pounds!

3 days without Shakeology

It's official I'm hooked on the Strawberry flavor. I am down to my last two packets of Shakeology! One is for a friend of mine who wants to try it before she buys it, and I've been saving the last one for myself til the bag I ordered last night gets here.

I've been 3 days without it and OH BOY, do I ever feel it. I've been super sluggish, not nearly as peppy, just feel kinda meh. Though I will say my cravings are still way down! I did have some marshmallows, but instead of eating the whole bag in one night like I used to do, I ate it slowly over 3 days, still bad, but a major improvement for me!

I can't wait for my bag to get here, I may use half my packet I have left today and the other half tomorrow just to keep from feeling so blah til it gets here.

Tropical Strawberry Shakeology Review

Tropical Strawberry Shakeology Review


First let's take a look at the ingredients list! I have been told that this is not ALL of the ingredients, they don't have all the vitamins listed on this one. But they're in there! That's a lot of ingredients!

Second let's take a look at my 1 week results from doing Turbo Fire + Drinking Shakeology and eating healthy.

For those of you who follow my weight loss actively, yes, I had put on some weight, I lost a friend to a car wreck and ate my emotions, hence the back sliding.

Since I started shakeology I have lost 8 Pounds! That was with just one week of shakeology + 3 days of Turbo fire workouts + for the first time EVER being able to eat healthy AND workout at the same time. Something I had never been able to do before starting Shakeology!!! I will be posting new pics every week, + upping my workouts to 6 days a week again! :)

Now then I've never been able to drink Shakeology due to a dairy allergy so when the Vegan - Dairy Free and Gluten Free, Strawberry flavor came out I had to see what all the hype was about!

I’ve been drinking Vegan Tropical Strawberry Shakeology for a week now. Here are some of the things I’ve noticed.

Taste wise: A little chalky texture if you just add water and don't mix it in the blender long enough, but it has a great, strong strawberry flavor. I have found that adding something like vanilla coconut milk and ice (the kind from the almond milk section, not the stuff in a can) makes it smoother and more like a milkshake texture :)

* Increased energy

I am able to get SO much more done during the day now, it used to be I would only be able to do a workout and maybe sew a few toys, now I can do my workout, sew toys, paint paintings, keep the house clean and still have energy left for lots more! I’m loving this!

* Decreased cravings for sweets!

* Able to eat smaller meals and still feel satisfied!

(Did not expect this at all, I had 1400 calories today and I feel SO full.)

* Able to do more when I workout.

Before I always felt sluggish and sore all the time, before my workouts, during my workouts, after my workouts… now I just feel sore AFTER. And when I workout I actually FEEL like doing them!

* Able to workout and eat healthy for the first time ever!

I’ve NEVER once been able to eat right and exercise at the same time, I would always get sooo hungry after working out and just eat and eat and eat and then stay the same weight. For the first time ever I am eating healthy foods while I workout because Shakeology satisfies my sweet tooth! I drink mine mid-day before I workout and it keeps the sweet cravings away + gives me the energy I need to workout without that heavy feeling a meal gives me.

* I’m saving $170 a month on my grocery bill! Don’t believe me? Let’s break this down.

On a weekly basis I was buying 1 bag of cookies $3, 3-5 Bolthouse Fruit Smoothies $4 a pop, Raisins $3, Candy bars at the checkout lane, maybe 2 a week $2, Coconut Milk “Ice Cream” $5 That was $30 a week on snacks! (Yes I know I ate a lot of snack foods, but like I said I was so hungry from working out I just ravished all food in sight)

So that’s $120 a month and doesn’t include me going out with friends and grabbing a bite to eat at a pretzel place or something similar at the mall.

(By the way that was $120 dollars on snacks JUST FOR ME, I’m not including any of the snacks I was buying for my husband)

PLUS I was going out to eat every day, usually at Subway, or Panda Express or Noodles and Company, I was spending around $5-$10 dollars on a fast food lunch, which isn't very good for me anyways. So that's an additional $35+ dollars a week I was spending on lunch. That's $140 dollars a month! So between the snacks and the fast food meals I was spending around $260 dollars a month on food I really didn't need that was making me stay fat and unhealthy. Subtract the $90 I spend on Shakeology and I'm saving $170 a month!

I know Shakeology seems expensive if you’re just tacking it on top of your grocery bill, I thought that too, I seriously never thought I’d be saving money.

*Yes I know that not everyone spends that much money on their snacks/food a month, it’s just MY personal experience with Shakeology. ;)

Are you ready to try Tropical Strawberry Shakeology? Click the link below to get some for yourself! :D

Shakeology Day 4

I have been drinking Shakeology for 4 days now, my energy levels are crazy through the roof. It feels like the energy boost I get on a beautiful day where the weather is perfect + the feeling I get after I eat sushi + taking a B12 vitamin + that feeling I get after a great workout all wrapped up into one. I was NOT expecting to feel this way, I have been cleaning like crazy because I can't sit still for very long, my body is just like... MOVE DANG IT!

Juice Fast Day 3

I'm beginning day 3 of my juice fast, so far I'm down from 221 to 211 pounds, 10 pounds! Which puts me at 51 pounds lost total! I'm so pumped. I know a bit of that is water weight, but since I'm continuing to do moderate workouts while I do this fast I am sure some of that is fat loss as well. :)

I got my shakeology in the mail yesterday! I can't wait for day 7 of the fast to be over so I can try it, my curiosity is killing me!

Juice Fasting + Shakeology!

Tomorrow marks Day 1 of a week long juice fast that I will be doing with a friend.

The juice that I will be making is the "Mean Green" juice from the "Fat Sick and Nearly Dead" documentary. I'll be drinking a minimum of 3x's a day + I will be riding my bike around 4 miles every day.

After the fast is over, I'm excited to say that the Tropical Strawberry Vegan Shakeology I ordered will be here and I will be documenting my progress with how it makes me feel, how it tastes, and my weight loss with it. I was unable to drink the other varieties of Shakeology due to the fact that I'm allergic to dairy products and while the chocolate variety is DELICIOUS, it contains Whey protein and causes me to swell in my throat, not good for me, but if you're not allergic to dairy, it tastes AMAZING with strawberries, you should try it!!! The Strawberry variety does NOT have whey so I am freakishly excited! I have friends who have lost 20+ pounds by replacing one meal a day with Shakeology... hoping to see similar results!

I plan to start doing Turbo Fire from day 1 once my Shakeology arrives + bike rides and eating a healthier diet than I have been eating lately. My end goal is to lose 20 pounds over the next 37 days, this will put me at 198 pounds and finally put me beneath 200 pounds for the first time in 13 years. Last time I can clearly remember being under 200 pounds I was in 9th or 10th grade.

I'm excited to see my progress over the next month, you can be sure I'll be taking weekly pictures again, starting tomorrow!

Lack of Updates

Sorry for the lack of updates, I've been in mourning for a friend of mine, he died recently and I just haven't been working out much. I had gained 10 pounds and then I lost it all, so I'm just stagnant at the moment with my weight loss. I'll be back at it soon I promise, I just need some time to myself right now.

Round 3 week 2

This time I'm at the end of week 2, my husband promised me if I stuck with it again for a whole month of the schedule that he'd get me a surprise, so I'm sticking it out again.
I was being lazy and only doing a workout every other day for a while there and just maintaining weight and not losing. Now I'm back on track and the inches are falling off again :)

Click the image for a larger view.