Just so ya'll know, I've created a new blog that is as I like to call it "a feel good blog". As you all know, I'm not a shy person. I LOVE talking about myself. However one thing I love more is giving to others. As I've gone through my weight loss journey, I've learned a few things that I want to share with others. I have also been learning more and more each day through different means. In my new blog I will be doing posts regarding healthy mind, body, and soul. I invite all of you to take a look to see what it is all about. Thanks for letting me stand on TWO soap boxes now!



So! I want to start this blog off as a story. Once upon a time there was a little girl. She was the youngest of a family of 5 siblings. All growing up she was a little "round". When you're 8 years old though, no one cares how much you weigh, children don't make fun. However once you hit 10 years old, that's when things start to change. The other children made fun of her because she was the "fat girl". She matured very early and this just made things worse. The boys would snicker behind her back, and she began to feel envious of all of the other little girls. Middle school came, and along with it came severe depression and a realization of what society expects of women. Her girlfriends were all so pretty, SO skinny, the boys loved them, but this little girl was never given any attention. She went through middle school loathing herself. High school came and she began accepting her own skin. She still didn't get attention from any of the boys, however she didn't care as much. Of course it hurt because all of her friends had boyfriends and she was constantly the third wheel- but she had things going for her in OTHER areas. She excelled in school, she loved the hard work, got good grades and learned that there is more to people then looks. Sure, good looks will get you so far, but your brain carries you the rest of the way. She still though could never shake the loathing of her own body. She did learn to hide it quite well, and to not think about it, but it was always there. After high school she went out to face the world. She could take on anything! She moved out and got a full time job. She began horrible eating habits. Eating out at LEAST once a day, sometimes twice. She wasn't as active as she was in high school. No soccer, no aerobics, just eating out an watching TV. She quickly gained more weight- but refused to see it. When she looked in the mirror she didn't see a fat person, she saw who she was on the inside. She met a young man who treated her like she deserved. Who never treated her like the fat girl like everyone else had. He loved her. She bought a house, bought a dog, and got a new job. She started becoming more active, and started eating out less and less. She quickly lost 10 pounds without even trying! She noticed how good it felt to LOSE weight instead of GAIN weight. Over the summer she had heard of people doing a new diet. One of her co-workers told her about it, and said she was going to do it. This girl had tried working out at the gym, tried eating right, but she could never stick to anything longer than a week. So she thought, why not try this fad diet, see where it takes me........
She started the diet weighing 193 lbs. She went on this diet for 48 days, had some struggles, but stuck to it. She ended up weighing 156lbs! Wow!!! She had really just lost almost 40 lbs. The people in her life were so excited!! She looked fantastic! She decided to take a break for the holidays, eat right, exercise but made a goal to not gain one oz back-- and she didn't. After her 23rd birthday, she started poor eating habits again. She began eating out frequently, and had birthday cake almost every night! She had lost a little weight since stopping the fad diet, but had gained it back after the birthday. She decided to do the fad diet one last time to see how low she could get. She did it for 26 days this time, did not have very many slip ups, and had a great success. She lost another 25 lbs!!!! She was no longer the fat girl! She felt GOOD in her skin. She didn't just accept herself, she felt GOOD with who she is. She has been dealing with the feelings of self hate that have been inside of her her entire life. It is hard to change who a person is-- but it is possible. The physical outside now matches the emotional inside!
So as you've guessed, this story is about me. Losing weight is MORE than just changing your physical appearance. It's dealing with feelings, thoughts, and ideas that you have had your entire life. It's developing a HEALTHY relationship with food, and your body. It's appreciating what everyone else takes for granted. It's re-teaching yourself how to love yourself, how to accept your flaws and just be happy with who you are. So...... here are some pictures of the "new" me. And here are my FINAL stats:

Day:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::The first day of the rest of my life (cliche I know)
Beginning weight::::::::::::::::::::::205
Current weight:::::::::::::::::::::::::130
Weight loss this round:::::::::::::::-25
Weight loss total:::::::::::::::::::::::-75 freaking pounds!!

Measurements:
Bust: Was: 43inches Now: 34inches (-10in)
Waist: Was: 41inches Now: 27inches (-14in)
Hip: Was: 46inches Now: 36inches (-10in)
Belly: Was: 43inches Now: 32inches (-10in)
Thigh: Was: 24inches Now: 16.5inches (-7.5in)
Bicep: Was: 14inches Now: 10inches (-4in)

So technically Friday was my last day on the 500C diet, and this weekend was just FANTASTIC! I will be putting together a summary with pictures, pounds lost, inches lost etc of the whole experience so I won't bore you right now. Just know that I hit my goal of 130lbs!!!! I'm workin on a finding a camera that actually works-- but we're moving back home this Wednesday so I don't foresee anything happening really before then. I will tell you that my final results and how much I've lost is incredible to me-- I never thought I'd make it but I did! So watch back in a week or so, good things will come!

So here I am on my final week of HCG. I Must say that I had quite the loss last week. This round has been easier than the first, and I find myself with better results! I have to admit though I have been getting light headed and dizzy quite often, which I know 100% is the diet. I just don't eat ENOUGH. I skip meals all the time and usually only eat about 150-250 calories a day. I'm pretty glad that this is my last week on the diet. It's getting to the point where I feel I need to cheat. BUT I'm not going to, because I can have a pb&j this sunday and I am soooo beyond excited for that! I found my Julian bread (net gram carb 1 per slice) here locally at an even better price then I got it for on the internet! This Saturday I start the low carb part of the diet.... just in time for St. Patty's day-- I have a fantastic new recipe for corned beef and cabbage! Wahoo!!
Here is the best news. Saturday I was feelin grumpy so I decided to go try on some clothes. I went to Kohl's and they were having some killer deals (I mean KILLER deals). I ended up taking home two shirts (size MEDIUM) a jacket (size MEDIUM) and 2 pairs of shorts (SIZE 7 BABY!!!). These were in the junior section, so I know for a fact if I tried on misses I'd be a size 6, and still medium. But with one week left on the diet, and then the gym afterwards I know I'll be at LEAST a size 6-- possibly even a 4. Who woulda thunk that size 16/18 Amanda would work her way down to a size 4/6?! I'm glad I had enough motivation in me to see it!!


Day:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::21
Beginning weight::::::::::::::::::::::156
Current weight:::::::::::::::::::::::::133.6
Weight loss this round:::::::::::::::-22.4
Weight loss total:::::::::::::::::::::::-71.6lbs (wahoo, that's a lot!!)

So I thought I'd do a quick little update of where I'm at. I had a fantastic week as far as weight loss goes, but a horribly slow weekend. I did an experiment this time.... I started my period on Tuesday and decided to stop taking HCG while on it. Thursday woke up at .8 loss. Friday woke up at 1.2 loss. Saturday woke up with .6, Sunday .0, and Today was .4........... I started taking the HCG again yesterday and it takes 2 days to get in your system, so I guess we'll see how I rebound from it. I believe the slow loss may be due to my period, and the lack of HCG in my system. I'm still doing fantastic on the diet, I'm at the point where it is feeling good still, however I know in two-three more weeks of it I would not be feeling this way. I'm keeping my options open more this time around. I made the most delicious shrimp asparagus stir-fry this week, and some yummy chicken nuggets. I made it through a wedding AND a baby shower without a gain! WAHOO!. I have a feeling that I'm not a size 8 in pants but I have yet to go try some one. I'll do that sometime this week! I have read all sorts of reports on this "fad" diet. And yes I do believe it is a fad diet, however I've lost 52 lbs on this "fad diet" and believe that whether or not the HCG is really effective, it is still working. AND it has taught me so much about my relationship to food. The thing about most fad diets is you lose 25 or so pounds, go a month or two, and it comes back. I started in July of last year and I have not gained an ounce back. I do believe that there are HEALTHIER ways to lose weight. However I could never succeed with those ways because I never would dedicate myself like I do to this. I never saw such fast results, never re-taught myself how to eat. So all in all, I believe I have been a success on HCG. So that's my little tangent for the day! Here are my stats!

Day:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::14
Beginning weight::::::::::::::::::::::156
Current weight:::::::::::::::::::::::::141.0
Weight loss this round:::::::::::::::-15
Weight loss total:::::::::::::::::::::::-64.0lbs (wahoo!!)