Absolute.

  If you’ve known me for less than 10 years, you might not know- I used to be fat.   Not subjectively “fat”.   Not fat, relative to how I look now.   I was medically obese.   If you looked at the ideal weight range for my height and multiplied that number times 2, that would give you the highest number that I saw on the scale. I was over 200 pounds and I quit using the scale after that.   Maybe you knew me then, maybe you didn’t.   The truth is, I didn’t know myself. I had no clue that I was fat.   I would have admitted that I had weight to lose, but I was oblivious to the reality that I was extremely unhealthy.   I was on the path to countless medical problems and chronic diseases and I didn’t know it. I had brainwashed myself. I believed lies. I used the people around me to normalize my behaviors and dismiss my convictions about my lifestyle. I started correcting my relationship with food about 10 years ago and am still growi...

 Two weeks ago, I lost 2 pounds and hit a huge milestone.  These 2 pounds made me the lightest I have ever been in my adult life.  I am 34 years old, and I am the lightest I have ever been, the strongest I have ever been, and the fastest I have ever been. For a lot of reasons, I did not think this weight was even a possibility for me.   Based on my lightest weight in Minnesota, current muscle mass, and some other variables- I thought my weight would plateau at 145 pounds.   I was in disbelief as I approached my previous lightest weight and am still struggling to believe that I have broken that threshold as well.   This is data and numbers but my perception is still incredibly emotionally driven.   It is facts, but still the reality of it is so allusive to me. Before this year of discipline, I would look at women in good physical shape and I would admire them because I knew they were working harder than me to look like that.   I really had NO ...

  As many readers know, my word of the year for 2023 (and 2022 lol) is Discipline.   The month of May brought several milestones for me in my pursuit of discipline, but one stood out above the rest.   It was a perfect month for me in that I prayed and worked out six days a week for the entire month.   In reflection, I am still a little amazed that it happened.   I cannot recall another month, ever in my life, that I have brought this level of consistency.   Adding to the amazement, May was also likely the busiest month I have seen this calendar year (we had two seniors graduating from two different schools).   Some of you are likely very put off by this because it sounds impractical.   But a few of you are wondering, “How did she do it?” “What’s the secret?”   Sorry to disappoint, but there is no secret.   There was no moment at the beginning of the month where I made a proclamation that this would be a perfect month.   There was ...

I have made a lot of lifestyle changes over the past two and a half years.   I am incredibly grateful for all of the support and encouragement I have received from my family and friends as I have developed new physical, spiritual, and dietary disciplines.   I have earned quite the reputation for discipline and follow through.   I made another big change back in January but have not had many conversations about it, because even I was not sure that I would follow through.   I stopped drinking alcohol, indefinitely.   In a lot of ways this has been a long-time coming.   I had already significantly tapered my alcohol consumption in conjunction with Whole30 .   I knew God and my body were both encouraging me give it up altogether, but the idea of doing life completely alcohol-free was intimidating to this True Blood Texan.   So much like Jonah, I continued on in a different direction believing this strong of a commitment was just unnecessary. ...

When I started my “weight loss journey” I had no concept of what a realistic end goal was.   I was SO out of touch with the reality of where I was, that I had no foundation to imagine where I wanted to be.   I would kick around numbers in my head, trying to extrapolate from my high school weight what I thought a good weight goal was for myself.   I eventually settled that I could maybe get back down to the 150’s.   Knowing that my senior weight was 155 lbs. (with a LOT of muscle), even that sounded like a pipe dream.   I looked at recommended weights for my height, and thought “that’s never going to happen.”   And believe me, I had a whole series of solid justifications.   I didn’t know where to set my goal, but I looked in the mirror and I said- “I just want my belly button to be a circle.” (Not an elongated slit smashed between fat rolls.)   Yes, that is a detail but a detail that served as a metric and indication of where I was and where I w...

Here is the Full List of 70 Gains and Victories referenced in this blog post .        1.       One time, I saw my reflection in the window of a retail store and didn’t recognize myself. 2.        Having to retire my favorite pair of pants (that used to look painted on), because they would no longer stay up.   3.        I rode the zipline at my parents’ house.   I had tried to do it in the past but couldn’t support my own weight.   This was especially rewarding because it was on my list of reasons to get healthy. 4.        I took the kids to Urban Air and played dodgeball.   Not just as the parent who wanted to be out there to have fun with the kids, but I was able to COMPETE.   I did have fun, but as an athlete I reveled in having the ability to get out there and go head-to-head with the dads and high school boys. 5.  ...