"Now if you are going to win any battle you have to do one thing. You have to make the mind run the body. Never let the body tell the mind what to do. The body will always give up. It is always tired in the morning, noon, and night. But the body is never tired if the mind is not tired." -George S. Patton

I used SPARKPEOPLE from January 2009 - May 2010. I went from being 287lbs to 240lbs. I did it with a lot of work. I was strong with motivation, information(sparkpeople), ...

"Now if you are going to win any battle you have to do one thing. You have to make the mind run the body. Never let the body tell the mind what to do. The body will always give up. It is always tired in the morning, noon, and night. But the body is never tired if the mind is not tired." -George S. Patton

I used SPARKPEOPLE from January 2009 - May 2010. I went from being 287lbs to 240lbs. I did it with a lot of work. I was strong with motivation, information(sparkpeople), inspiration, and dedication. Keeping track of every minute you put in work and every calorie you take in is a GREAT way to check yourself!

Now...After may 2010 I continued to run and I adapted to watching the foods I ate. I of course became more okay with eating cake or BBQ'd ribs, but I controlled how much I ate.

I went to College in August 2010 and all of my classes were a mile away from the dorms and uphill. I lived on the fourth floor of the dorms (we didn't have an elevator). I ate chicken, tuna, salmon, and tilapia meats. I filled my plate with veggies. I also got the choices to try healthier Mediterranean grains. I worked out with all of my friends. It was really great. I tried on a pair of jeans that I bought when I had lost the first 20lbs. I fit them!! Like I could actually sit down with them buttoned!! I was so happy!! (the weird part was that I was still 240lbs! I did lose around 12 inches off of my body though.

The following year I moved into an apartment with my friend. I was able to purchase my own groceries. I had so many workout partners and I did yoga and plank crawls every night. I found out that reading, writing, and playing video games (my friend was a huge gamer) actually helped me not give into cravings or make them a HUGE part of my thoughts. Then I decided to step on the scale once again.....I lost another 4 pounds! I was ecstatic to be 236!!! I hadn't been that weight since before my junior year.

See...the thing is...I've NEVER been 'skinny'. Not even when I was 7 or 8 years old. My mother and Grandmother experienced very extreme cases of poverty. By the time I was born they had both escaped that background. They were so scared when I was a baby that I would starve! They both fed me whenever I cried. It taught me a very bad habit at a very young age. Even as a child I heard ''eat all of your food! Have more! Don't waste! Eat until you're full!" ---These are taught habits that I'm STILL struggling with. When I look at my plate and it still has food on it, I eat it because I ''don't want to waste''. I eat until I'm FULL. I'm trying to train myself into learning that it's okay to leave food on the plate, it's okay to eat until you don't feel hungry anymore...just satisfied.

I wouldn't say that I'm an emotional eater. I'm a 'visual eater' If I see something---I want it. If you put comfort food or sweets in front of me---I'm going to demolish them!! So I'm learning self control. That's what it's about--CONTROL. No one can take that control from you...unless you let them, unless you never learn you have it in the first place.

My family eats for EVERY occasion possible! I have a big family and we like to get together as mush as we can. Which is fine...I love it. Recently I've been trying to rig what we eat. Grilling lean meats with garlic, rosemary, and olive oil. Making a chopped fruit salad WITHOUT the whip cream, making large bowls of green salad. And surprisingly we've noticed that the chips, potato 'salad', and macaroni 'salad' aren't the favorites anymore. I like that.

So I moved back home January 2012. It is now May 26th. I now weigh 258lbs. I gained 20 lbs back since I've been home. I've been working out like CRAZY since I've been home, but I've also been eating like CRAZY since I've been home. My friend told me, ''it's 80% what you eat and 20% exercise''. I believe her. My muscles and toning are UNREAL right now! BUT I GAINED 20 POUNDS!!! So as of MAY 25, 2012 I'm going to focus on what I'm eating. I want to track every calorie. I'm holding myself accountable--I'm the one with the control, right?

Reasons to be motivated: 1)Self-love. I want to love myself completely---I cannot do that when I don't approve of my current health. 2) I want to motivate my friends and family. I think it's time we all check ourselves. I want to be that drop in the water--that rippling effect. 3) To strengthen a current relationship. We're both awesome and he's already lost all the weight he wants to--I think me doing the same would build on what we have. 4) For my love of fashion and adventure!! I am going to take a roadtrip in a month to visit some old and great friends. In August I'm going to Hawaii to stay with a friend for 10 days!!! I want to move to Portland next year! I love jeans!! But I want to love them more!! haha.

STAY TUNED FOLKS.

+UPDATE* 01/05/2013: Move to Hawaii at the beginning of August of 2012. Did hikes, had a personal trainer, went shopping, ate good food. Dropped 22 inches off of my body. Went from 270-244lbs. Now I'm back home to save up for my next adventure. Really need to put in more work this time around. REALLY NEED TO FOCUS.

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