The Journey Begins

In my life a lot of “F” words have described me… Fun, Friendly, even some REALLY great words like Fabulous, Fantastic, but there was that one “F” word that seemed to overshadow the rest, the “F” word that no one had to say, but I knew was there… FAT.  Who knew just three letters could hurt so much?  So one day, I decided I didn’t like that “F” word… I would keep the rest, but that one HAD to go.  On that day I began my journey from FAT to PHAT.

This was a journey I had been working towards for a long time… group meetings, shakes, pills, books, making up my own diets like only eat sugar one day a week, or not eating anything with more than 10 grams of fat, you name it I tried it.  Now, I could spot a bad idea, like the donut diet… Come on, really? But if it made the least bit of sense to me, I would try it. The thing is each path led me right back to where I started, and sometimes it set me even further back than I where I had begun. 

So on the day I decided to eliminate the “F” word I realized that I didn’t just need a path, I needed a guide.  Not just any guide, I needed a guide that had traveled this road, that had a map, a compass, and every other tool necessary to make this a successful journey.  I found that guide the moment I walked into the Weight Loss Zone, two weeks after my 28^th birthday.

I walked into my consultation somewhat of a skeptic.  It was a free consultation so I figured it wouldn’t hurt to listen but honestly didn’t expect to hear anything new.  I was expecting to get the usual take this pill, don’t eat bad food, come back in when you need more pills but to my surprise I got so much more.  Normally, I am a very confident person but when it comes to my weight I have always been incredibly insecure, so I walked into the office NERVOUS.  I knew some size 0, super model look alike would pretend to understand how I feel while secretly thinking “well maybe if you would stop eating you wouldn’t weigh 315 pounds” which brings me to surprise #1.

Surprise #1

A beautiful, NORMAL sized woman with a great smile warmly greeted me without a hint of judgment in her eyes.  She led me to the scale, which should have made me want to hide, but somehow I didn’t.  I knew whatever the number was, it was ok.  We then went into, what I assumed was the consultation room.  We sat there and got to know each other.  She asked me a few questions about me and my lifestyle, again never making me feel ashamed of my daily menu.  In fact she gave me a HUGE shock!

Surprise #2

She said, “You don’t eat enough” WHAT!?! Are you kidding me???  I thought this must be a trick, but it wasn’t.  She began explaining how the body works and things began to click.  It seemed so simple when she explained it.  I actually believed that this might be the right guide for me. 

I wish I could say I signed up and the rest is history, but that would be too easy and my momma always said to stay away from things that were too good to be true.  It hasn’t always been easy, and it still isn’t always easy, but it has and IS worth every step.  I began the Journey from FAT to PHAT at 315 lbs and a size 28; today I have lost over 90 lbs, 112 inches, and am wearing a size 12/14.  The best part… it’s still working! I have more to lose but now I KNOW I can do it.