Transformation Tuesday: More Than a Number

In the "Instagram" world today is "Transformation Tuesday." So, in light of recently hitting the 100lbs lost mark I thought I would jump on this bandwagon and share. The thing is, though, that what I have to share is so much more than a silly number. I mean really you probably couldn't see a big difference between 95 and 100 pounds. And if I were to hop on a scale right now I can't guarantee it would hit the 100 lbs lost mark exactly because I'm always dancing around in a 5lb range. In fact, the day I officially hit that mark I didn't even realize it until later on in the day when I did the math and it hit me I had officially lost 100. That number just is not important to me. But the journey to reach that number has been everything.

You don't have to be a fitness nut to lose weight and be healthy, I just fell in love with being active. I love seeing just how far I can push it... and then testing that limit again and again to see growth. Along the way I found my inner athlete and my competitive nature was unleashed. But, this journey goes beyond "fitness."

You want to know what the absolute coolest part of this whole sha-bang has been? Connecting with other people! Inspiring other people to work to be their best selves. Seeing the ripple affect of my life change boggles my mind. Every time I have someone tell me how I have inspired them it just blesses me to pieces! When I started my journey it was for very selfish reasons in wanting to achieve and reach goals for myself. I wanted to get healthy for me. However, the process of getting healthy has created an amazing platform to touch and reach others.

All I, really, want in life is to help others chase after their dreams and be the very best version of themselves. Too many people settle for second best because for whatever reason they think that's all they deserve. WRONG! You are a child of God and He has a will and a plan for your life that far exceeds anything you could ever imagine for yourself. So, don't settle! Fight! Don't give up. Be relentless. It doesn't mean it will be an easy path, but it will be SOOOO worth it. You are worth it!

That message goes beyond fitness. If you're in a bad relationship... you deserve better. Maybe you're in an "okay" relationship... guess what... you deserve better! Do you hate your job? Whatever it is, don't settle for second best. Set goals and work hard to accomplish them. Nothing is going to be handed to you but anything worth having is worth working hard for.

The exciting thing is that for every goal I hit I have many more ahead of me. My life is going to be an adventure. If someone were to write about it... you'd want to read the book!

I don't want to be the girl that just lost a bunch of weight... and now she's pretty... and now she's acceptable to the world. NO, I want people to say, "Woa! That's a woman of God." And if the description ends at that, I am over joyed. Who cares what other silly worldly things I accomplish if I don't Love God and Love people!

When I look at old photos you know what I see?... a lot of smiling. I was never a sad fat girl. (I really want people who didn't know me from before to know that!) I was just stuck. I think anyone that knew me before can attest to me being a joyful person. I've always been beautiful because my beauty was defined by something deep inside me, but being overweight caused me to hold back and miss out on certain things out of fear and insecurities. I held back because of my weight, but now I am all in. Ready for the adventure called life.















Sidenote: All my "before" photos are from me at my biggest which happened around the Spring Semester of my Junior year of college (spring '09) to about when I started to get healthy which was January 2011. I was overweight for most of my life but really got large during that time period. I can remember weighing 180 in 6th grade and I think I was at 200 by high school and graduated high school at about 215-220 and then that gradually went up and then really jumped spring '09.