This is a picture of me probably at my heaviest.

Weight Struggles

Welcome to my online diary for the next seven days. If you’re a regular on social media, you’ve probably seen posts regarding the 7 Day Challenge. Is it hard? Yes. I can say this because I’ve completed the challenge before. I did it last year and lost 4.4 lbs. It is hard because you have to have willpower even when you’re in tempting situations. Imagine the temptation when you walk into an event with cake everywhere. IY YI YI!

The challenge worked for me, but here comes the sad part. I gained the weight back and then some. How did this happen? Well, several things caused this. For one, I’m greedy when it comes to sweets. I like ice cream, cupcakes, Oreo pudding cakes, cake pops, etc. and I love dining out. Put all of that with lack of exercise and you got twenty extra pounds coming at cha!

In addition, I’m an emotional eater. If I’m happy, I feel like I need to celebrate in some type of way and I reward myself with food. If I’m sad, I will literally try and eat the problem away. Once, I was upset over an issue with a friend so I went to Wally World, bought a pack of Pillsbury Chocolate Chip cookies, baked all 12 of ‘em and ate ‘em (these were the 12 BIG cookies). Yes, I ate all of the cookies, right out the oven. It was melt in my mouth chocolaty goodness. I remember sharing this story with my OBGYN and her face was like: *insert blank stare*. 

Growing up, I only got on the scale a couple of times so I only remember a few of the weights I’ve been. I remember being 100 lbs., 138 lbs., 145 lbs. (I was in high school when I was 145). Then, I went to college, my parents passed, I ate, ate, ate, ate and the next weight I ended up at was 233. I had a few friends helping me to try and lose the weight, but I was stubborn and didn’t want to put in any work. I did manage to lose 12 lbs. within 4 weeks (I lost 9 lbs. at the first weigh-in, which was after 2 weeks, and then 3 lbs. at the second weigh-in) only to give up and gain it back.

I am on the far right. This is me at 170 lbs.

Then, one day, I had a wake-up call. I needed to get my life together.  I had just ended a relationship, had strayed away from the Lord, and I was fat. Yeah, I’ll say it, I was fat. I knew there had to be an easy way to get the weight off versus doing all these hard, painful exercises. Therefore, I started walking  (I would walk 3 miles per hour on the treadmill, 3-4  times out the week, did a couple of walks at Riverwalk, and walked two or more laps at Cherry Park). I counted my calories with the help of two apps, Fat Secret and MyFitnessPal, and eventually advanced from walking to the elliptical, which I would do for 30-35 minutes. I lost a total of 63 lbs., reaching a weight of 170. My goal weight was 150.

Then, those old habits started creeping back in. I went all the way back up to 202 lbs. after a fun trip to Orlando, Florida last June. I got my act together, started walking, did the 7 Day Challenge and got back down to 186 lbs. for a photo-shoot in September. I maintained that same weight until October and then after that, the holidays hit, and it was downhill all over again. Now, I’m trying to lose the weight again.

The Plan

At the end of each day starting on Sunday, I will be publishing a blog post of my meals for the day, calories per meal, and total calories for the day. I will also include the exercise I did along with any other tidbits.

The Goal

My goal for this challenge is to simply lose and not gain. I’m using this challenge to jump start my weight loss. There is not a set number I’m looking to lose at the end of this challenge. I simply need to lose. I will say that my goal is to lose 10 lbs. by June 27^th for my soror’s wedding. Once that is complete, I will then head towards my ultimate goal of getting back to 170 and then to my stretch goal of 150. 

The Disclaimer

In no way, shape or form, do I have the answers to weight loss. I also am not trying to be a fitness expert or nutritionist. Believe me. I do not have this desire.  I simply am a woman who decided to put her struggles out there on the forefront to gain support and encouragement so I will be faithful on the challenge. I felt that if I had people watching, it would make me more determined to stick to the rules and not cheat, lol. Hopefully, it can encourage you to do the 7 Day Challenge as well if you need to lose a few pounds.