How was my thanksgiving you ask?? Well.....

Hello my friends!

Thanksgiving is over. And let me say that it was a lot of fun! In case you didn’t know, Aaron and I were in Illinois and Indiana visiting Aaron’s family for the past week. We had a blast but I was also ready to be home to get back into my routine and start back at the gym.

 Thanksgiving is always a really hard time for me to control my eating. It seems like everywhere I turn there is food that has been cooked with love for me to enjoy. Unfortunately, that is precisely the problem for me…being around all of that awesome food makes me want to eat it. Because I am not taking control of my eating like I should, I continue to eat when I know I shouldn’t. Then I feel guilty about eating more than I should, which usually results in more eating. I have a tendency to self-destruct when I get a little off track.  

Weigh-in Wednesday: 256

So this trip was a struggle for me. Aaron’s grandma makes some of the best food I have ever tasted and that made it even harder to try and turn down.  So all in all I didn’t eat the best this weekend.

As promised, here is a photo of my Thanksgiving plate.  I forgot to take a photo of my dessert but I stuck to only one piece of pumpkin pie (which was a big victory for me!)

Today I started feeling the effects of how I ate this week. Although I had some victories with food, I also had some struggles. I felt really discouraged today but after a sweet pep-talk from my sister and a trip to the gym I feel better. I just realized that if I don’t work out every day then I won’t lose any of this weight.

  

If I am not losing weight, I am gaining weight.

So I have to continuously lose weight until I am healthy again.

Here is one victory of the day: I rode over 5 miles on the bike at the gym! My knees are about to give out any minute but I feel really good about it.

On a different note-I wanted to share just a few photos of our trip.

I went shooting! Oh it was so much fun! I got some pretty brutal bruises as you can see. But it was so worth it!

We went to down-town Indy and took a carriage ride.  Luckily, all the Christmas lights were up! Did I mention that Christmas is my favorite time of the year?

Everything was so beautiful there. There were so many trees and other pretty nature sights. We don’t see a lot of that here in Dallas so it was a treat .

We stopped through St. Louis and went to the Arch! Let me say it was so cool! Aaron and I rode to the top and it was an unforgettable experience.

This was the first time I had seen the Mississippi River! I know……I need to get out more!

And lastly I decided to straighten my hair while I was there! Of course it decided to rain the entire day but I just couldn’t believe how long it has gotten!

Well friends, my next post is going to be a healthy/yummy Italian food recipe that I just love to make. Thanks for reading!

My Thanksgiving!

 Hi all!

Well Aaron and I are all packed up and ready to head up north to Lawrenceville, Illinois for Thanksgiving! I am so excited to meet the rest of Aaron’s family and spend some time with them, although I am also sad that I won’t be able to spend time with my family this weekend.  

It is no secret that Thanksgiving (and the Holiday season in general) can really mess up a diet!!

 So what are my plans for Thanksgiving, you ask??

Well, Aaron and I have agreed to “power walk” every morning while we are on this vacation. I bet you are getting a fun mental picture as you are reading this! I think that walking together will be a lot of fun, especially since it’s supposed to be a lot cooler there than it has been here in Dallas (By the way, I am thankful for the warm weather  because it’s almost December and I can still wear shorts!).

  

I have told Aaron to hold me to my word and only let me have one normal size piece of pumpkin pie after dinner. This will be hard, because pumpkin pie is my all-time favorite Thanksgiving dessert.  Also I am hoping I will be able to sneak a photo of what my Thanksgiving plate looks like!

In the spirit of Thanksgiving, I would like to take some time to talk about some people I am thankful for-

I am thankful for my husband Aaron. He has the capability to make me laugh when I am not in the best of moods. He eats my cooking and likes it (well most of it…haha). He is the leader of our household and keeps me on my toes. He loves the Lord and pushes me to grow in my faith. We can have fun while doing anything, from trying to kayak to sitting on the couch laughing at commercials.

I am thankful for my Mom and Dad. No child could have grown up in a more loving household. My parents have taught me everything I know and continue to amaze me with the love and wisdom that they show to me and my siblings. They are both so supportive of me and my weight-loss journey and are always so encouraging. 

 I am thankful for my sister LeAnne and my twin brother Colby. LeAnne is my best friend. She is the person who cares so much that she will go above and beyond what a sister should do.  She is the most supportive person and she pushes me to be better and to work harder. She encourages me in my crazy ideas and understands when I’m upset. Even though we are far away from each other, we still talk everyday (sometimes more!) about my struggles and my victories. She is the best sister anyone could ask for.

Colby is a great brother! He can make anyone laugh in any circumstance. While I didn’t like it so much when I was little, I have grown to love his sarcasm and always look forward to spending time with him. He is so much fun to be around. I loved growing up with my siblings. Let me just say, that between me, LeAnne, and Colby, there was never a dull moment in the Gibson house :)

I am thankful for Karen. She is my other best friend (and my cousin). We have been best friends ever since she was born (at least that’s what I like to think).  Karen is so loving and caring. She has the biggest heart and is so accepting of all my quirks and weirdness. Some of my favorite memories are of us sitting on the couch, under blankets, doing cross-word puzzles while watching Little Women.  

I am thankful for my nephews and my niece. I love being an Aunt so much! These sweet kids bring smiles to my face constantly. Since Aaron and I don’t have any kids yet I claim every one of these kiddos as my own and spoil them as much as I can. They bring such joy to my life.

I am thankful for the cousins club. My cousins (James and Karen), LeAnne, Colby and I started this club when we were in elementary school. Now we have new additions to this club-Ben, Suzanne, and Aaron. Some of my most favorite memories involve these people. I am so blessed to have my best friends be people in my family!

I am thankful for big families. We are a close-knit family, and when we all get together you can bet there will be loudness (mainly from my dad and me) and laughter and love. I’m so thankful that the Lord blessed me with such a great family!

I am thankful for my in-laws! Aaron’s family has always been so welcoming to me and so loving. They definitely made the transition a lot easier when I moved to Dallas after Aaron and I got married. 

I am thankful for these girls! Anytime we have dinner with Aaron’s family and the three of us get together I know that we are going to have fun! They are both such sweet girls and I’m so thankful that the Lord blessed me with their friendship.

All of these people are a gift to me from the Lord. I am blessed beyond measure.

I hope you all have a very blessed Thanksgiving!

Oh yeah-please pray for me to have victories while on Thanksgiving vacation!!

My Perfect Gym!

Today I want to introduce you to my gym, the Timberglen Recreation Center. It is conveniently located about 2 minutes away from our apartment and is exactly what I was looking for!

In the past I have been very reluctant to go to a mainstream gym because I can get very intimidated. When I lived in Lubbock and attended TTU, I had the option to go to the Rec Center on campus. As you can imagine, I didn’t go because I felt very intimidated working out around all of the beautiful and skinny people!!  Instead, my sister LeAnne and I found a gym called Freedom Fitness. It was a bigger gym, but it wasn’t full of people who looked like they didn’t need to be working out in the first place. 

  

When we moved to Dallas, and I accepted the fact that I had to start working out again, I started researching gyms in our area. I didn’t feel like I necessarily needed a big fancy gym with a pro shop, a sauna, and a pool (although it would be nice). Aaron finally suggested that I look into recreation centers. Low and behold, there was one right next to our house.

Here is a photo of our gym! It has about 10 different pieces of workout equipment and free standing weights. It is small but no one is ever in there with me when I am working out. It feels like my own personal gym! There is also a basketball court attached to the building, which will be perfect when we work on our basketball skills this winter (stay tuned for more embarrassing photos!).

 And of course, as promised, here is a glamorous photo of me working out. My sweet husband took this “action photo” of me on the elliptical (my Grandma always called pictures like this “action photos”).

I haven’t totally settled on a workout schedule yet, but the last couple of days I have been doing the elliptical for 20 minutes, the treadmill for 20 minutes and then weights for 20 minutes. There are also a couple of different bike machines that I want to incorporate into my work out.

Tomorrow I will be posting about my Thanksgiving plan and some things I am thankful for!!

Thanks for following me!

Pre-Weight Loss Photo!

Thanks for all of your encouraging words! You have no idea what it means to me to know that I have your support and prayers. I am beginning to believe that I can do this!

Today I walked a mile to the Oak Creek Tennis Center and Park so I could take a "pre weight-loss picture." Funny thing is-I thought if I took the picture in a pretty place it would be easier to post it for all to see. It is hard to put myself out there, but it is exciting to know that this will be the last photo of me at this weight.

On a side note...I had my first workout yesterday morning and it was great. I used the elliptical machine for 20 minutes, the treadmill for 20 minutes at different elevations, and then finished my workout with 20 minutes of weights. My arms and legs are definitely feeling the burn today but that just means I'm doing what I need to do. Aaron and I are going to work out later tonight and I am excited

So stay tuned.

Later this week I will be posting about my cute little gym and my workout schedule. I will also be posting a glamorous photo of myself in work out clothes (or a not so glamorous photo...because who looks glamorous in work out clothes?)

A question for you: Do you have any cool gym workouts that you can recommend?

Here I Go!

This is my first blog post. This is the first day of a journey that I’m sure will completely change my life.

  

I grew up in the best family with the most supportive parents and siblings. I never remember my weight being an issue until 5^th grade. I had a childhood friend who gave her opinion about my weight and I took it to heart. This “friend” would frequently tell me that I was fat and that I should lose weight so that boys would like me. As a result, I started developing a very quirky personality to compensate for my weight. I was known as “the one with the great personality.”

I played sports during my teenage years so that helped me stay in shape. I was always a bigger girl, but I was the tall one on the basketball team, so I was great at throwing my weight around down by the basket. I also played golf, which was good for me because I would have to walk 9 holes a day with a big golf bag on my back. While I didn’t gain it as quickly, my weight continued to increase throughout high school.  When I graduated, I weighed about 180 pounds.

The heaviest I had ever been.

After graduation, I moved to Lubbock and lived with my sister and my cousin. I ate lots and lots of fast food, especially Wendy’s (my favorite). This was partly because Ruidoso didn’t have a Wendy’s!!! Throughout college I continued gaining weight. One day my sister brought up my weight in a conversation. She was kind and worried, but of course I got really mad at her for bringing it up because I was so sensitive about it. I knew it was a problem. I just didn’t want to face it.

That was my issue then, and it is still my issue today.

Even though I wanted to ignore it, I had a real struggle with low self esteem because of my weight.  I tried lots of different diets (Weight Watchers, meal planning and exercising, etc.). Nothing changed. I still ate too much, drank too many Dr. Peppers, and turned to food to cope with my emotions. During this time, I fell in love with my best friend Aaron!  As we were dating, I started P90X with my sister. We did it everyday and completed the entire 90 day plan but I still didn’t lose much weight. So I went to the Dr. to get some tests done. It turned out that I had high cholesterol. I also had other tests and blood work done. In all honesty, I was hoping that they would offer me a medical reason for my weight gain. I was devastated when I found out that there was nothing medically was wrong with me besides my high cholesterol.  After that, I tried to lose the weight again but I didn’t believe in myself. I didn’t believe it was possible. My food addiction was getting out of control.

Then Aaron and I got engaged in December of 2010. It was perfect. But then I started thinking about having to pick out my wedding dress. I had already moved into plus size dresses (which cost more with fewer options) and I was afraid that I wouldn’t be able to find something that worked. When I went to try on dresses I had the strong support of the women in my family. Also, a couple of close friends came to help. Thankfully, I did find the perfect dress.  It did make me feel beautiful.

  

I wanted to lose a bunch of weight and shock everybody at the wedding. But I didn’t. We got married on June 18^th, 2011 and it was a perfect day. I felt beautiful regardless of how much I weighed. We went to Maui for our honeymoon and, of course, I was self-conscious on the beach and at the pool. After the honeymoon, I weighed 230 pounds.

The heaviest I had ever been.

We moved to Dallas and got settled in to married life. I spent a lot of time organizing the apartment and unpacking boxes, which kept me busy and eating unhealthy food.  I recently went to the doctor again for (as gross as this sounds) an ingrown toenail. Long story short-they had to test my cholesterol again. The results were bad. My doctor wanted to put me on cholesterol medication, but they usually don’t prescribe it to young women because it can sometimes affect the ability to have children. On top of that, I had gained almost 30 pounds since our wedding. I weighed in at 256 pounds.

The heaviest I have ever been.

 So here I am.

I have an addition to food.

I have to lower my cholesterol.

No more excuses.

I want to lose at least 80 pounds. I want to blog about it because I need encouragement and accountability. More than that, I need your prayers. I can’t do this by myself.

Please join me on my journey.