We Fall Down, But We Get Up!

Hey fitness freaks! IT'S FRIDAY!!!!!!!!! The weekend is here! :) FINALLY! I don't know about you, but for me this week feels like it's been dragging! Maybe I'm just pumped up for the holiday. Here in the United States we're about to celebrate Labor Day, the last Summer holiday, putting Summer officially to an end. But I'm actually ready for the Fall. Cooler weather, autumn leaves, pumpkins, Thanksgiving (my favorite holiday)... it's all good!:)

"We Fall Down, But We Get Up"...  you may be thinking, what that's all about? Confession time... I'm not perfect. Of course you already knew that because no one is, but what I mean is, I've had my ups and downs during my weight loss journey, too, just like everyone else.

Actually, around 7 months ago I got a big reality check when I went to the doctor early last February and the scale read 161lbs! How could this be?!? I was doing good, maintaining my weight of 135lbs! (Or so I thought.) I eat healthy, I exercise like crazy... what was going on?!? Well, little did I know it, but I had been slowing gaining weight over the months. You know how they say it "creeps up on you"? That's a lie. Weight never just "creeps up" on you. Don't get me wrong, while my new weight caught me by surprise, I knew something was going on, but I justified and made excuses for it in my head. For example, my clothes were fitting tighter, but I was still fitting in my size 6 jeans & pants, and still a size small in shirts... maybe my pants were just shrinking from the washing machine... yeah, that must be it! Sure, my face looked a little fuller when I looked in the mirror, but I blew that off, thinking that it must just be my imagination... yeah, it had to be all in my head. Sure, I felt a little heavier when I walked and my butt was bigger than I remembered, but hey, bodies are weird... right? WRONG! There are always signs of weight gain that most times we just choose to ignore, which is exactly what I had been doing for months.

Weight never just "creeps up" on you, see my face shape change with my weight? That's a subtle sign.

I knew I had to do something, I had gained 26 pounds and not even realized it. First, I needed to evaluate my situation and figure out where I went wrong. Like I said, I was eating healthy, still exercising everyday, what was I doing that had caused the weight gain? Remember when I wrote that blog post about portion control? And how that had always been my downfall in the past. Well, surprise, surprise, when I went back and thought about my eating routine, I quickly realized that it wasn't the food that I was eating, it was the amounts that I was eating. I don't care how healthy you eat, if you're eating too much, you're going to gain weight! Plain and simple. And that's what happened to me. I had also stopped counting calories. (Remember my blog post on calorie counting? I wasn't kidding, it is important!) I foolishly thought that as long as I was eating healthy foods and exercising, that everything would balance itself out. Boy, was I wrong! You know that saying, "80% diet, 20% exercise"? That's completely the case for me, as well the majority of the population. Everyone's body is different and if you're someone who naturally has a very high metabolism, you're one of the lucky people who can eat whatever you want, however much you want, and still maintain your weight. I don't happen to be one of those lucky people. My body has never, and will never, work like that. I fell into believing the hype that exercise conquers all. While I love to exercise and I do feel it's essential to your overall health, if your diet isn't in check, you can forget it! And for me, since I have no problem with eating healthy, it's all about the portion control.

How was I going to lose the weight? I may be a health & fitness nut, but I don't know everything and I am never afraid to look to outside sources to get help. I had done Nutrisystem in the past, but didn't want to go down that road again for just 26lbs, but I knew that I needed some help, besides myself, to get back on the right path again. My solution? Weight Watchers. Never, ever, thought I'd do it. The whole reason that I chose Nutrisystem over Weight Watchers before was because I didn't want to count points. I had stopped counting calories and the whole idea of counting "points" was annoying to me, but I considered the cost, which was fairly cheap, and decided to sign up with Weight Watchers Online. Turned out to be one of the best decisions I ever made! :) I found out that I actually like counting points, better than calories. Now for all you calorie counters out there, please don't stop! It's essentially the same thing, I count points, you count calories, no real difference, I just find that I like the "points" idea better. Who would have ever thought that? :) Certainly not me! I started tracking my points everyday and  keeping an online food journal. (Remember my post about food journaling? Is it all clicking now? I'm still learning, right along with you guys.) Fast forward 7 months later to August 31, 2012, and I've not only made my goal of getting back to 135, but surpassed it! Now weighing 128lbs and officially a size 4! 33lbs down since that doctor's office visit gave me a jolt of reality. I feel great!

Now please don't take all of this as a ringing endorsement for Weight Watchers, while I love the program and will continue to stay on it to maintain my weight, I'm not getting paid, and I'm really not even officially recommending them, that's not what this post is about. The whole point of this post is to say that we all make mistakes during this journey. We fall down from time to time, but the important thing is, WE GET BACK UP! I'm proud about the fact that when I realized I needed to lose weight again, instead of feeling sorry for myself & wallowing in self-pity, I chose to do something about it. That's what separates the strong from the weak. It's not that strong people don't make bad decisions, because we do, everyone does, but strong people are willing to do what it takes to turn those bad decisions into victories!

One of my favorite sayings that I've said here before on this blog is "don't talk about it, be about it", and I've proven, more than once, that I AM ABOUT IT! And YOU CAN BE, TOO! Don't let minor set backs take you all the way back to where you started. And no matter how big they may seem at the time, they really are minor. You can get past them. You WILL get past them! As my mother likes to say, "this too shall pass." :)

Don't give up and don't give in! WE FALL DOWN, BUT WE GET UP!

Your friend,
Jonelle "Fit Girl" Boyd



BIG ANNOUNCEMENT:
EXCITING NEWS!!! An F.Y.I for all of you out there who may not follow me on Facebook, I'm writing my first eBook! It's called "Confessions of a Fit Girl... How I Lost Over 90 Pounds and Kept It Off!" Filled with encouragement, motivation, fitness & nutrition tips... and more! I know you'll like it and I hope you will support! I'm still working on the finishing touches but it should be for sale sometime next month. I'll keep you guys posted!

Oh, and if you're not currently following me on FB, what are you waiting for? Lol! ;) Connect me on my personal page and like my Succeed At Fitness page, please! :) Thanks!