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Wednesday, January 1, 2014

Transformation! Make it YOUR year!

I talked a little bit about my weight loss health journey {here} but I've gotten several emails asking about the program I followed so I thought I would kick off 2014 sharing a bit more about my progress. 

I lost 40 lbs. in 3 months, 3 days following the Take Shape for Life program and went from this to this!  Woo hoo!  It's still so hard to share that before pic.  I was very unhappy with my external appearance and I felt so sluggish.  But one of the things that motivated me in the beginning was seeing pictures of others who had succeeded in achieving their goals so if I can inspire someone else to take that first step, then it's more than worth it!
I'm still amazed at how fast the weight came off. But the TSFL program is no joke - you HAVE to be mentally ready to do it. It takes a lot of willpower at first, but once you start dropping pounds and feeling better, you are so motivated to KEEP GOING!  All in all, I lost 40 pounds and 4 dress sizes.  I lost 20 lbs. the first month and the other 20 over the second and third months.

I followed the 5 & 1 program religiously the first two months.  That's 5 Medifast meal replacements and 1 Lean & Green meal per day.  In the third month, I modified the program to 4 & 2  (4 meal replacements/2 lean + greens) because I was feeling hungrier and I was still able to lose weight, but probably at a slightly lower rate.  I like that there is a transition and a maintenance phase to the TSFL program. 
My goal was 40 pounds and I achieved that, but I still want to lose 10 more and tone up.  I'm working on those on my own, using the principles I learned on the TSFL program.  Clean eating...mostly.  The holidays have been tough, but today, I'm back on!
Just yesterday I was having a pity party over not having anything to wear {I need to go shopping!} so I kept digging and digging in my closet and found this pair of jeans from my freshman year of college.  That's 1995, y'all!  And guess what???  They FIT!!!  I promptly sent the hubby and my mom a pic - ha!
Funny thing is I remember wanting these jeans SO BAD.  They were very spendy and definitely not in my college freshman budget.  But for my birthday, my mom bought them for me.  She told me I better wear them every.single.day.  Well Noonie, here I am 18 years later STILL getting to wear them - ha!  See...they *were* an investment after all!    

So no matter what plan you decide to follow, visualize where you'll be and make the change for YOU!  Everyone else in your life will benefit too from your new, healthier, more energetic outlook.  If you decide you want to give Take Shape for Life a try, I have a fabulous health coach for you...my friend Eileen!  Here is her {page}.

And here are my favorite TSFL Medifast meals:
Do it for you.
Take that first step.
Make it count.
Be the best you...mind, body, and spirit.
Happy New Year!
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12 comments:

Lauren and Eddie said...

I am so impressed! I have about 40 pounds of baby + baby + moving stress + death of my stepdad stress weight that I need to lose. I'm hoping to start eat clean, clean, clean. I'm also in the very beginning stages of working on training for a half marathon {and I've NEVER run}. This is such good inspiration! Great job!!!

Jodi Snowden said...

You go girl! My goal is to lose 20 lbs by May.

I love reading your blog by the way. You always have the cutest ideas and parties!

It's the "Little" Things.... said...

Thank you Jessica for the sweet shout out! You have done amazing on the program and I am so incredibly proud of you and happy for your success!! xoxoxo!

Elizabeth said...

you look amazing! This has really motivated me to stop making excuses and get my body back to where i want it to be. I have that same MJ dress and when I put it on it looked awful on me (because of the extra weight i am carrying around). Seeing how awesome you look in it makes me motivated to hang on to it and wear it when I loose weight. Happy new year!

Unknown said...

Jessica-

I love reading your blog and check it almost everyday for inspiration and all the wonderful ideas you have. You are turly an iinspiration to me. I am trying to get back on track and seeing you may have given me hope that I can actually do this. You look amazing!!! Congrats on your success. Wishing you and your family many more happy and blessed days ahead. Thanks again, Tonia

Kimberly said...

Thank you for sharing your success with us. It's always inspiring to see what plans work for different people!

Spears said...

Your dedication to healthy living has produced amazing results! Congratulations!!

Rebecca and Lori said...

Wow, lady- you look amazing!
Lori

Queen of Good Intentions said...

Your hard work really paid off! I love how real you are with your readers. Your authenticity always inspires me. I am ready to get back on the healthy track. Thanks for sharing! Congratulations on your success!

TaDa! Creations said...

Congrats to you my friend! You look great!!! I also love that your list from your phone was at 4am with 1% left on your battery. LOL Thanks for sharing the specifics. I also love how when we are disciplined in one area of ours lives, it's easier to be in other areas too. I'm for sure finding that to be true.

Mama Bear said...

Hi Jessica! I've recently discovered your blog through Pinterest and I just had to stop by and say how sweet and inspiring it is - truly. I love all your cute and fun party ideas and your style is so colourful and unique, I wish I had your talent for putting things together! I'm mama to a girl and boy too, though my "babies" are all grown up now - but that doesn't mean they don't love family parties! We are going to be celebrating one very soon and I've got lots of great ideas thanks to your pins and blog posts. Can I just say too that your loving, generous heart shines through in every picture and has really inspired me to make 2014 my year for giving, as well. What a beautiful blog. You have so many gifts - your family is very blessed to have such a wonderful mama. Love, Ruby (in "sunny" England!) xx

Queen of Good Intentions said...

We are missing you. Hope all is ok! I keep checking to make sure I didn't miss your post on my bloglovin feed some how. Please post again soon.