(Excerpt from my August 13th, 2014 Facebook post)

For the past year, life threw blow after blow my way and I chose to eat my way through all the hard times rather than work through my sadness, anger and frustration constructively.

Sure I was still gymmin’ it… but because I kept eatin’ it I slowly started to see all of my hard work, my loss of over 130 pounds over the last 3 years, slowly unravel and before I knew it I had gained back 40 of those damn pounds in a year… 23 of them creeping back in the short time span of just 9 weeks!

I needed to make a change… I wanted this again and I needed to make the decision to stop with the, “I’m back”, “no I’m not”, “yes I am” bs and just be back already!

I am so fortunate for my friends and family and the support team I’ve gained over the years because it was all of them who helped me to see how nothing I was doing was helping me reach my goal… a goal I was only 29 pounds away from crushing not too long ago.

So I decided it was time to take back control of my life, to not become this person I was starting to be perceived as. My awesome friends, family and support team could tell me until they were blue in the face what I needed to do to get back on track, but only I could do it… only I could make the choice to put that fork down and really make a change.

Well, it took 3 years but I have finally learned what it truly means to make a lifestyle change.

I was at 275 pounds when I decided that I wanted to lose the 40 pounds I had gained by my birthday, November 10th… I had exactly 4 months to do it. So I lost 4, then I lost 11 and then I was at 260.

260 was the day I started a 30 day cleanse with Colonix… but go big or go home right? So in addition to that, I had a comprehensive food allergy test done to see what foods my body had a reaction to… well the list was long… none of them were strong reactions but there were reactions nonetheless. Cumbers, chicken, dairy and wheat were some of the foods on the list… I get dairy and wheat reactions but what the hell is in a cucumber?? Anyway, I removed all of the foods in red from my diet for the past 30 days and essentially became a non-processed, mostly plant based, dairy free, gluten free, soy free, corn free, hemp seed loving person… and I have never felt better, both physically and mentally!

So today, on day 31, I am down a total of 25 lbs and 3 inches from my waist and I will absolutely crush my goal of losing 40 pounds by my birthday! Today, I will be adding back one food from the red list and then waiting a week to see if I have a reaction. Then I’ll add another, wait a week and so on. However, I have made the decision to continue the mostly non-processed, plant based, dairy free, gluten free, soy free, corn free, hemp seed loving thing indefinitely. Why? Because I CAN. Because I don’t WANT those other foods. Because seeing the results I’ve been getting week after week just by eating for my body is enough to make me see that I CAN and WILL do this!

But, let’s not go completely crazy and say I’ll never have a slice of pizza again or a sip of alcohol, popcorn at the movies or even a cucumber! I’ll just know that if I do, it will be the best damn slice of pizza or sip of alcohol money can buy because it will need to be worth the price my body will probably pay for it later 😛.

Now, if you stuck with me this long (both on my journey and through this post) I’m oh so glad you did! And now there are some people who deserve to be called out here…

First, my amazing hubby and BIGGEST cheerleader, Dustin. Thank you for being patient with me as I became “the freak at the table” (courtesy of Nourish), and for always reminding me that I’m a bird food eating, tree hugger now ☺. I love you babe!

My awesome trainer and his family! Patrick- thank you for never quitting me… even though I know I’ve frustrated the hell out of you a time or two over the years 😇. Thank you for always telling me what I need to hear- good or bad. You are a constant voice in my head that keeps pushing me past limits I never thought I’d even reach. I am so ready and so excited to finally be on the path that will allow me to crush my goal and be better than, “good enough”!

Morgan- Thank you for letting me pick your brain about nutrition and giving me the stepping stones I needed to get to something bigger.

Quan- Thank you for pairing me with Patrick 3 years ago, for opening such an amazing gym that truly practices what it preaches and for being a kick ass Muay Thai instructor!

Anthony- Thank you for opening said gym with Quan, for my awesome and thoughtful keychain and for being such an awesome sounding board throughout this process!

And lastly, my new best friend, my holistic nutritionist and the person who would be beyond rich if she had a nickel for every question I’ve asked throughout this process, Kirstin. You have taught me so much about NOURISHment (ha! shameless plug ☺), the holistic side of nutrition and that a lot of restaurants use pancake batter or flour in their omelettes (craziness!). You’ve helped me see that my body can and will dictate my diet. And you made me realize that eating a mostly non-processed, plant based, dairy free, gluten free, hemp seed diet can be a good thing ☺.

That’s all I have for now… until Saturday… when I finally get back to posting my weekly weigh-ins again!

And just know… I never failed nor quit… I just took a few wrong turns and now I’m back… better than ever! It took that detour and all the bad, and good to get me where I am today… I am 100%, without a doubt, “All In”! (another shameless plug ☺).