Weight loss and Preparing for Something Greater.

This is not a sponsored post but only my genuine journey to win back control of my life.

-Photo Credits: April Pershing

Weight loss. It’s something I’ve talked about several times on this platform. Each year I try, make a little progress and then regress back to where I was. This time, I knew it was going to be different. It had to be different. I think the turning point for me was during the holidays when I realized that I couldn’t keep a watch on because it was just too tight. I honestly think I had a small anxiety attack just thinking about having to go and search for the links that we’d gotten taken out all those years ago just so the watch would once again fit properly. Admittedly, all my clothes were a bit too small. I was just faking it because with being Broke on Purpose there wasn’t any room in the budget to go out and buy yet another pair of jeans. 

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After wallowing in self-pity for the remainder of the Christmas Holiday, I begin to feel this pull that I needed to lose weight not only for my health but also because something greater was coming and I had to be ready. It was actually the same feeling I had when I took the leap and rebranded from Cosmetically-Challenged to Being Melody, and it was the same feeling I had when I launched Broke on Purpose. This was a feeling that I would be foolish to ignore, and so I decided that I was going to jump on the bandwagon with all the other resolution-makers and resolve to actually do something about my weight. 

Several things that made weight loss different this go around. First, I only shared this decision with three others, God, my Husband, and my Mother. In every other workout plan that I’ve done, I’ve let everyone else in but God. I would post pictures to snap chat or Instagram and share all my success and struggles on Facebook, but I never shared my story with God. Of course, with him being omnipresent he knew all about my struggles but this time I opened up, and I asked him to be with me on this journey. I asked him to take away my desires for unhealthy food and to help keep me focused and on track. Secondly, I decided to go about weight loss this time quietly. Social Media would only know once I’d reached a set milestone was comfortable enough to share. I did end up sharing my journey with my lab mates who were overwhelmingly supportive. Other than those few knowing I was on this trip alone. This time, I was doing this for me and not for any types of likes, retweets, or hearts from Social Media.

To also aid in my journey I joined Weight Watchers. I knew how to workout and exercise, but what I needed was a program that was going to show me how to change my lifestyle by changing the way I looked at food. Exercising was something I had no desire to do. Even only 30 minutes a day seemed like too much for me with my busy schedule. I wanted something that would help lose weight and maintain my same way of life, minus the unhealthy eating. I choose Weight Watchers over all the other dietary programs out there because I didn’t want anything too restrictive. Yes, you count points, and have to be conscious of portions, but this is just what I needed. I needed a regimen that would help keep me in line. So, on January 3rd, 2016 I joined the Weight Watchers online club weighing in at 184.8lbs, the largest I’ve ever been. Through their Connect feature, I gained a whole world of support that turned out to be one of the most important tools I used in their program. Now in full disclosure since being on Weight Watchers I’ve always had 30 points to use every day which has been more than enough. Ironically with their new Smart Plus program, this is the lowest amount of points anyone can get. Five months later I still get 30 points a day and I’ve never found myself starving or hungry after a meal. I do get 35 extra weekly points that I can use on whatever I want and trust me I do. I have pizza every week, just ask my younger sister. I eat wings, ice cream, and even Five Guys albeit not weekly, but that’s the beauty of this program it’s only as restrictive as you make it.

So here I am today, five months later and 25lbs lighter than when I started the program.To some it may not seem like much, but for me it’s been a complete overhaul.  I’ve gone from a size 12 to a size 8 in pants and a from Large to a Medium and occasionally Small in shirts.Everything in my Fall and most of the items in my Spring Capsule wardrobe is too large. In full disclosure, I’ve worked out once and it was horrible. I know that to get to my second goal weight I will have to incorporate activities that will cause me to perspire more than I might like, but I will do that once I’m ready and not before. What’s important now is that I’m happier and that’s what it ultimately boils down to, me being happy. I can look in the mirror and appreciate what I see instead of chastising myself for not being this unrealistically put together image that I created of myself based on the parameters of social media. 

So why am I sharing my story now? Truth be told I felt like I was ready an that someone needed to hear it. The remainder of my journey will still be done apart from Social media as this is still something that is personal to me. To everyone that has sent me private messages concerned that I may be sick and overworking myself I wholeheartedly appreciate your concerns, but trust me this is the most self-care I’ve ever done. I can’t walk into the destiny that God has laid out for me if I’m not ready. I feel that taking control of this part of life is what I need to do to prepare myself for that something greater.