Day 3...when your body fights you on it...

Yesterday was another success food wise! I didn't even eat any Halo Top! My good friend, Maren, made me some healthy granola that I was pretty excited about...so I may have eaten an extra serving there, but still kept my macros in check.

Yesterday's issue was more physical. It seems I pulled a glute muscle playing volleyball Wednesday night...and I also have junk settling back into my chest again, so I'm not feeling super fantastic. Both of those things compounding made it hard to teach my Zumba class last night, but I faked my way through it. The hardest thing about not feeling well is avoiding the tendency to comfort myself with food. I wanted to. I really wanted to. But I didn't. I know it would've made me feel better in the moment, but I would've felt yuckier this morning.

Physical ailments also cause severe sleep deprivation, so I'm writing this blog on about 3 hrs of sleep and I'm sure I'm rambling. Sorry about that! But I know how important sleep is to my health and so when I don't get it, it tends to affect my whole day. So this is me telling you that I won't let it do that today. I won't let my lack of sleep become an excuse to eat whatever I want today. I will fuel my body properly because I know it will help me feel better faster. (Yeah, I'm pretty much writing this to convince myself at this point.) I won't eat crap today, I won't eat crap today...

My hubby did find me my new favorite breakfast though. I love omelettes, but suck at making them. He found these things called "Just crack an egg" and they're DELICIOUS! So I'll start there.

Time to end the rambling. Without even reading back I know this blog entry is a mess. Maybe I'll go take a napzzzzzzzzzzzz

Day 2...trying to be positive...

Why is it that the first day of anything seems to last FOREVERRRR. I'm proud to say I made it through Day 1 successfully and saw a 2lb drop on the scale this morning...though I know that's just water weight. It's still nice to see that what I'm eating actually does matter and make a difference. I will admit that when I got home at 11pm last night from a volleyball game (which we won, woohoo!) that I ate an entire pint of Halo Top peanut butter ice cream...but I had saved enough carbs to do so, so I don't feel bad in the slightest. I didn't intend on eating the whole thing, but I got so into watching "This is Us" that I didn't realize I'd finished it off, till I did. I'm grateful for keto friendly desserts!

This week in my Jilly's Losers group, I decided to do a body positivity challenge because I'd noticed a lot of people putting themselves down over their weight or their looks or their habits, including me. The timing of this challenge is perfect for me because it's helping me to focus on my WHY again. It's also helping me to remember just how far I've come. Today's challenge was to take a full body picture in an outfit that we feel sexiest or most confident in. In a challenge like this, I know I need to set the example, so I got showered, curled my hair, did my makeup and put on a pair of skinny jeans and a long sleeve top...both of which I'd bought a few months ago at Old Navy to show myself I could fit into a smaller size and that I wasn't in fact "too fat" to wear them! After a tough couple of months with food (freaking holidays!), I wasn't sure I'd be able to get them on today....

...but I did! And I feel good! I told everyone they had to be smiling in their pictures and that they weren't allowed to say ANYTHING negative about them. I'll admit that part was hard for me. I wanted to point out the little bulges and imperfections...but I didn't. I smiled and I owned it. And I'm proud of that. (not proud of the mess on the floor behind me, but I'll get to it haha).

I still have a long way to go with my weight/body fat composition and more clothing sizes to drop...but I have definitely gotten better at loving my body at every stage of this journey. It's strong and it's healthy and it does things I never thought it ever could. So here's to day 2. I'm ready for ya.

Accountability...Day 1

One of the main reasons I created "Jilly's Losers" back in 2011 was to give myself accountability on my weight loss journey. Having to weigh in with my friends and post pictures and do challenges made it easier to keep my motivation up. After doing those things for more than 6 years, I guess it shouldn't surprise me that having to do those things doesn't even phase me anymore. Telling people my weight or posting a picture in a sports bra is just another day for me and that's making it hard for me to keep my motivation up for more than a week or two at a time. Needless to say, I'm feeling frustrated.

I made it through January 12th with no sugar and low carb before I headed out on vacation to meet my new, adorable nephew in New Jersey! I actually didn't eat as horribly as I normally would on vacation. My sister and I made some really healthy meals and only ate out twice. I was pretty proud of us. But I still caved on the sugar and ate more carbs than I had been and as has become predictable with me...it triggered another fall off the wagon once I got home. Writing about this stuff is getting old, but at the same time I can acknowledge that over the past 6 years...the times I was doing the best were the times I was consistently writing in my blog and tracking my food on MFP. I'm sure I've said that before as well, but hey...sometimes we forget ;)

All this extra holiday weight really is making me feel like crap. Not because I "feel fat" but because I have less energy, my stomach feels heavy and in knots and I feel on the verge of illness all the time when I'm not fueling my body properly. And yet I keep doing it! (And I know many people who do!) So rather than waiting for "Monday" or "January 1" to roll around again, I'm gonna start today. Again. For the 2098234th time. (Get used to it, I'll be writing entries like this for the rest of my life haha).

So this is day 1. Again. As hard as the ketogenic diet is during those first 2 weeks, I still remember how much I LOVED it once I got going last year and how easy it became. So I just need to fake it till I make it through those first 2 weeks and then I'll be fine. Lucky you, this means (hopefully) daily blog entries again just to help push myself through it. I've got my pepperoni and cheese snacks stocked up, I've made some low-carb/no sugar cheesecake bars for my "treats"  and I've got my pinterest fired up and ready to go.

At this point, it's not even so much about the weight loss that I know will come from doing it (though it's always nice). I am just really tired of feeling gross. No more.

Jilly's Losers Season 35 Rules!!

1. Season 35 will begin on Tuesday, January 9, 2018. It will last 8 weeks and our final weigh-in will be on Tuesday, March 6.

2. The buy-in fee this season will be $25. This is a singles season. Fees should be sent via Paypal to Jillyslosers@gmail.com with the note “Season 35 buyin fee” and your name. All fees MUST be paid by January 16. Make sure to mark your payments as being sent to family and friends to avoid any PayPal fees.

3. This season we’re going to try something a little different. Since we have so many people participating, it will be like we’re actually running multiple competitions at one time. Here’s how it will work! There will be two separate weight loss competitions going on. They will be separated by weight grouping. The final groups will depend on where everyone stands at the starting weigh-in, but ideally they will be something like this:

Group 1: (Weight 200 and under)
Group 2: (Weight 201 and up)

If after our starting weigh-in, I find that the groups are severely imbalanced, I’ll adjust accordingly. You will only be competing against those within your own group for weight loss! What this means is that there will be more winners as well! Each group’s prize pot will be equivalent to the # of people in that group. The person with the highest % of weight loss in each group will win 60% of their group’s prize pot. 2nd place will win 30% of their group’s pot. And the remaining 10% will go to a points winner, which will be explained below. (NOTE: All prizes are given after challenge rewards are paid out and 15% is taken out of the pot for myself since I was forced to promise I would do so during our last season! Thanks guys, I appreciate it.)

NOTE: For those of us who are current group members returning for season 35, your final season 34 weight and your starting season 35 weight will be compared and the lower of the 2 will be used as your OFFICIAL season 35 starting weight! (If for whatever reason you chose to skip the final weigh-in of season 34, your week 5 weight will be used in comparison) This means that if you start season 35 higher than you ended season 34, those extra lbs won’t count towards your weight loss. Let’s start the new year off right and don’t spend the first week overindulging. We did that all last month haha. For those who are coming in brand new…Please don’t make me be the bad guy. I know it’s tempting to eat all the food the night before starting a new health plan, but please keep things honest and do not pad your starting weight this way.(HUGE week 1 weight loss will be viewed with suspicion) This group is very much about honesty. I know that it can be hard between seasons to keep control over our eating, but let’s all try not to go too crazy!

4. Regarding weigh-ins: We have mandatory weekly weigh-ins every Tuesday. (Why Tuesdays? Because that's the day that The Biggest Loser aired on NBC when I started this group and it's just stuck!) Your weight picture must be posted by midnight MST to count! Please weigh in under the same circumstances every week (morning/night/clothed or not, etc) As for strikes...you are allowed 2 missed weigh-ins per person. That's 1 per month (or 2 in a row). On the 3rd missed weigh-in, you will be disqualified and you will not get your $ refunded. (You may continue to stay in the group and weigh-in but you will not be eligible to win any $ or prizes either from challenges or the final weigh-in) Remember that weigh-ins must be a picture of the # on your scale. Not just a post of your weight. I will also allow a picture of any weight watchers weigh in stickers as I know a few people in our group participate in those weekly weigh-ins and I know they are legit. Just make sure that you use the same scale all season. (At the very least, you MUST use the same scale for your starting and final weights)

5. Before pictures are MANDATORY. The pictures may be with or without a shirt (you'll notice more of a change if you do it without), but they must be full body pictures. If your before picture is not submitted within the first week of competition (by January 16), you will be disqualified. (If you submitted an "after" picture for season 34, that will count as your "before" picture for season 35) Those who win prizes at the end of the season will not receive their prize money until an AFTER picture has been submitted and they must do so within 48 hrs of the winning announcement.
NOTE: Newcomers to this group always worry that their pictures posted in the group will show up for the public to see. This group is secret. As long as you are on the group wall BEFORE posting your pictures, no one will see them but those in the group. Your pictures will show up on your own feed when you view it, but I promise you no one else can see it!

6. Starting and final weights will be confirmed with a KEY WORD. This is to ensure that starting and ending pictures are truly taken on the day of the weigh-in and not before. I will post the KEY WORD in this group the night before the first and last weigh-ins. It should be written on a piece of paper or notecard and placed at your feet in the front of your scale before taking your picture.

7. We will continue doing weekly challenges. I try to come up with new challenges whenever, possible, but for those of you who have been around a while, I'm sorry to say you will see some repeats! Each challenge will have different rewards/prizes that will hopefully help keep people motivated. There will even be a couple big prizes depending on how large a group we have! And it looks like it will be a HUGE one!

8. POINTS!!! As mentioned above, we will be tracking points this season for various things.

POINTS SYSTEM DETAILS!!! (borrowed from sixsistersstuff.com) -There is a weekly point calendar for each of the 8 weeks. (It will be posted as a separate document under the “Files” tab on the group page) Print it out and use to track your points and weight loss. If you prefer to use an excel spreadsheet that will do your math for you, Cody Mecham made one a few seasons ago that we’ve updated and will post as well for you to download.

-Beginning on Week #2 there is a double point challenge (highlighted in yellow)

-You can exercise each day, but you will only receive points for exercising 5 days a week.

-You can avoid carbs after lunch every day, but you’ll only receive points for doing so 4 times in a week (Carbs in this case is referring to the obvious…breads, pastas, cereal, grains/oatmeal etc, sweets. Fruits and veggies are FINE!)

-You can choose to not eat sugar/treats each day, but you will only receive points for not eating sugar on 6 days (everyone needs a free day!).

-There is a sample food journal that you can use or you can use your own kind of food journal to keep track of what you eat.

-Daily contact with teammate: It’s amazing the strength that comes from encouragement from your teammates! We said that you could email, call, or text someone in the group to encourage them to have a healthy day. It helps knowing that you are all in this together and makes you accountable for what you do or don’t do. Posting or commenting on the group page also counts. Hitting LIKE does NOT count!

-Example of maintenance points – If your weight is the same or lower than your lowest weight of the season, you will get 5 points. There will be no points this season for losing so that will save everyone some math!

NOTE!!!!! Points totals MUST be sent to Jill Tracy via PRIVATE message by midnight MST each Tuesday. With such a large group, I’m afraid there will be no exceptions. If you forget to tell me one week…they won’t count. I’m sorry!

9. Remember that this group is about gaining health and losing weight through eating right and exercising. EXTREME FAD DIETS/PILLS/POWDERS/CLEANSES ETC ARE NOT ALLOWED!!. Weight Watchers and things like that are fine, but no pills/drops/powders etc.

10. This group is only for those who will be actively participating in the competition this season, so while I hope everyone will stick around, please know that if you choose not to join us this season, you will be removed from the group. You are always welcome to join us in later seasons :)

2018...New year, new blah blah blah, you get the picture...

Last January I wrote a blog similar to this one. I set a lot of goals for myself...and then broke my foot the next day and got set back just a tad. But as I read back over that blog entry today I realized that I actually did a pretty dang good job despite all of that. I got back to exercising for myself (instead of just teaching), I got back into the habit of tracking my food, I wrote more blog entries, and while I didn't reach my goal of 207lbs, I still lost 60lbs from March to October. That's not bad at all.

And then then Halloween hit.

I'm sure most people can tell when things aren't going well for me health/fitness wise because I stop blogging. Needless to say, I spent Halloween to New Years eating all the food. All of it. And man was it gooooooooooood. But by the end of December, I was beyond ready for the influx of goodies and excuses to eat...to be OVER. And now they are. Deep breath in and it's time to move forward!

I know it's cliche to wait until New Years Day to start fresh, but it's a very real mental obstacle. I joked that I would wake up today with renewed motivation and will power....and I was right. I totally did. I woke up at 7:30am on a holiday and went to the gym where I took a 60 minute spin class  and then snuck next door to finish the last 30 minutes of a Pound class. My legs were jello. Then I came home and made myself a low-carb/high protein waffle with berries and cream and started chugging my water. It was like the last few months of carb-maggedon never happened (unless you ask the scale). And it felt great.

It's time to get back into the ketogenic swing of things full time and let it start working again. It worked last year...it will work again. This is the year I am going to see a "1" at the beginning of my weight. It's going to happen. I haven't been under 200lbs since December of 1999 and IT IS TIME people. I am going to stick to keto until it happens. So if we're friends, I'm going to ask that you help me get there...whether that means dragging me to the gym or not being offended when I say "no thank you" to some undoubtedly delicious thing you've made! I need this. I need my body to be in the best shape it can be.

Why? Well...sometime very soon I will officially become a certified Personal Trainer (YAYYY!!) and I'm pretty stinking excited. And while I am in "good" shape, I need to be in far better shape to be effective when it comes to helping other people reach their goals. I need to set a good example. If I'm being honest, I also don't want to be known around the gym as "the fat personal trainer". So I won't be.

So here is my list of goals for 2018, and hopefully I can be as successful as I was in 2017 if not moreso!

1) I will complete my personal trainer certification and have at least 5 regular clients by the end of the year.
2) I will continue tracking my food daily, even on the rough days.
3) I will stick to the ketogenic diet 90%
4) I will exercise at least 2 times a week on top of teaching my own classes and one of those two WILL be strength training.
5) I will weigh 199 or less by 2019
6) Regardless of where my weight stands from week to week, I will be proud of how far I have come and remember that I am more than just a number.

So bring it on 2018. And if you could...please don't toss anymore big injuries my way. I've had serious ones the last two years in a row and I'm kinda over it. Thanks.

Season 34 Holiday Rules & Guidelines!

1. Season 34 will begin on Tuesday, November 21. It will last 6 weeks and our final weigh in will be on Tuesday, January 2, 2018.

2. The buy-in fee this season will be $25. This is a singles season. Fees should be sent via Paypal to Jillyslosers@gmail.com with the note “Season 34 buyin fee” and your name. All fees MUST be paid by November 28. Make sure to mark your payments as being sent to family and friends to avoid any PayPal fees.

3. This season happens to fall during the holidays, which has always proved to be the roughest season of the year for Jilly's Losers. So this season will be a little different than the rest of the year and hopefully a bit less stressful (for me too!) For the first time ever, we’re going to do a “Choose your own goal” season! You may choose to either maintain or to try and lose some weight over the holidays. Whatever you choose, it’s up to you! When you post your starting weigh-in photo, you will also state your goal weight for the end of the season. You may not change it once you post it unless the change is to lose MORE. Anyone who reaches their goal weight will split the prize pot after the 6 weeks are up! Hopefully everyone reaches their goal and the split ends up only being a few bucks, but don’t worry! You’ll still have the chance to win bigger prizes for challenges! (NOTE: All prizes are given after challenge rewards are paid out and 10% is taken out of the pot for myself as insisted upon by you brats a few seasons back *grumbles*. Thank you lol)

ATTENTION!: For those of us who are current group members returning for season 34, I’m going to do something you may or may not enjoy haha. Your goal weight for the holiday season must be at or below your final weight for season 33. (If you missed the final weigh-in, your 3rd week weigh-in will be used. If you DQ’d before that, you will start over.) It really won’t be so bad though since all you have to do is be AT or LOWER than that weight in 6 week’s time. It’s totally doable for every single one of us! NOTE: You will still weigh-in on the 21st so that we can see where everyone is at and how we did on our week off!

4. Regarding weigh-ins: We have mandatory weekly weigh-ins every Tuesday. (Why Tuesdays? Because that's the day that The Biggest Loser aired on NBC when I started this group and it's just stuck!) Your weight picture must be posted by MIDNIGHT MST to count! Please weigh in under the same circumstances every week (morning/night/clothed or not, etc) As for strikes...you are allowed 2 missed weigh-ins per person. On the 3rd missed weigh-in, you will be disqualified and you will not get your $ refunded. (You may continue to stay in the group and weigh-in but you will not be eligible to win any $ or prizes either from challenges or the final weigh-in) Remember that weigh-ins must be a picture of the # on your scale WITH your feet showing. Not just a post of your weight.

5. Before pictures are MANDATORY. The pictures may be with or without a shirt (you'll notice more of a change if you do it without), but they must be full body pictures. If your before picture is not submitted within the first week of competition (by Nov. 28), you will be disqualified. (If you submitted an "after" picture for season 33, that will count as your "before" picture for season 34) Those who win prizes at the end of the season will not receive their prize money until an AFTER picture has been submitted and they must do so within 48 hrs of the winning announcement. NOTE: Newcomers to this group always worry that their pictures posted in the group will show up for the public to see. This group is secret. As long as you are on the group wall BEFORE posting your pictures, no one will see them but those in the group. Your pictures will show up on your own feed when you view it, but I promise you no one else can see it!

6. Starting and final weights will be confirmed with a KEY WORD. This is to ensure that starting and ending pictures are truly taken on the day of the weigh-in and not before. I will post the KEY WORD in this group the night before the first and last weigh-ins. It should be written on a piece of paper or notecard and placed at your feet in the front of your scale before taking your picture.

7. We will continue doing weekly challenges. They are not mandatory. But for this season, they will work a little differently! I like to do a 12 days of Christmas kind of thing where every day for 12 days (leading up to Christmas), a different prize is given away in a drawing. They will range from small gift cards to some really big prizes (depending on how big our group is)! What this means is that all of the challenges leading up to the 12 days of Christmas will earn you raffle ticket entries that can be used in any drawing you choose. Once the 12 days of Christmas begin, I will announce that day’s raffle prize first thing in the morning and you will have until that evening to decide if you want to use some of your tickets for the drawing, which will be done that night via FB live video. It’s a lot of fun with some fun prizes and hopefully will motivate everyone to work hard on the challenges to earn lots of tickets! NOTE: You may only win ONE prize during the 12 days of Christmas.

8. POINTS!!! Since so many of us rely on the points system to keep us on track during the week, I'd like to keep using it. The person with the most points at the end of 6 weeks will win a $25 Target or Amazon gift card.

-There is a weekly point calendar for each of the 6 weeks. (It will be posted as a separate document under the “Files” tab on the group page) Print it out and use to track your points and weight loss. If you prefer to use an excel spreadsheet that will do your math for you, Cody Mecham made one a few seasons ago that I’ve updated and will post as well for you to download.-Beginning on Week #2 there is a double point challenge (highlighted in yellow)

-You can exercise each day, but you will only receive points for exercising 5 days a week. You can earn 5 points for 30-44 mins of exercise and 7 points for 45+ mins. Just enter the minutes of exercise in the box on the excel sheet.

-Instead of no sugar/treats this season, we’re limiting it to one treat/serving per day. So when a neighbor brings over Christmas cookies, you just get one! Hopefully this will prevent any binges, but also allow us to enjoy the holidays in moderation.

-I’ve replaced “no carbs after lunch” with “get 7 hrs of sleep”, which may end up being harder for some! You can get 5 points for this…up to 4 times each week. “Sleep” means being in your bed TRYING to sleep. No phone, no tv, etc. You won’t be penalized for bathroom breaks or nursing babies.

-There is a sample food journal that you can use or you can use your own kind of food journal to keep track of what you eat.

-Daily contact with teammate: It’s amazing the strength that comes from encouragement from your teammates! We said that you could email, call, or text someone in the group to encourage them to have a healthy day. It helps knowing that you are all in this together and makes you accountable for what you do or don’t do. Posting or commenting on the group page also counts. Hitting LIKE does NOT count!

-There will be no extra points for pounds lost, but instead just the 5 points for either maintaining or beating your lowest weight of the season. NOTE!!!!! Points totals MUST be messaged via Facebook to Jill Tracy by midnight MST each Tuesday in order to be counted. With such a large group, I’m afraid there will be no exceptions. If you forget to tell me one week…they won’t count. I’m sorry!

9. Remember that this group is about gaining health and losing weight through eating right and exercising. Extreme/fad diets are not allowed. Weight Watchers and things like that are fine, but no pills/drops/powders etc.

10. This group is only for those who will be actively participating in the competition this season, so while I hope everyone will stick around, please know that if you choose not to join us this season, you will be removed from the group. You are always welcome to join us in later seasons :)

Before and After...

What does that mean exactly. "Before and after" what? For most of the world, the first thought upon hearing those words or seeing someone's "before and after" pictures...whether it be for weight loss or any other drastic change...is that the "before" is bad and the "after" is good. Our first thought is, "Wow! You look so much better! Good for you!". But have you ever really stopped to think about the "in between"? Or the fact that there really is no "after" when it comes to losing weight and becoming healthier?

Before and after isn't just a picture. It's oh so much more than that.

Before...

I was morbidly obese.
I was depressed.
The most exercise I got was grocery shopping.
I ate whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted.
I wore a size 28.
I wore clothes that were baggy to hide myself.
I couldn't climb the stairs without feeling like I was dying.
I couldn't fit in most chairs.
I couldn't play with my kids for very long.
I snuck food and often ate in my car.
I had no friends because I didn't want anyone to see me.
I didn't feel attractive or worth anything.
I could go on, but I won't....this list is long enough.

After...

Well...frankly...there is no after. I'm not done! I never will be...because I'm not on a diet that will one day end with me being my ideal weight forever without having to work on it anymore. HA! If only, huh?

So how about this.

Now...

I'm only a few lbs over being labeled as "overweight".
I am the happiest I've ever been.
I exercise almost daily, whether in someone else's class or teaching my own!
I've learned how to enjoy eating healthier without feeling like I'm deprived all the time.
I wear a size 16.
I workout in leggings and a tank top and feel pride in my body and what it can do.
I can take the stairs running (though I still hate them!)
I can sit wherever I want...comfortably. AND I can cross my legs!
I can keep up with my kids no matter what they're doing and I set a good example for them!
I only eat in the car when on road trips and I'm not ashamed of what I eat (though we all have bad days!)
I have more friends than I can count and they support and love me in my journey.
I feel sexy! And I love myself and know that I am worth the love of others.
And finally...(for now anyway)...I am PROUD of myself.

But as great as all of those things are...they are far from being an "after". That list doesn't talk about the in between. I have worked HARD to get to where I am now and will have to continue to do so for the rest of my life. I will never be "done" with working out or "done" with eating fewer calories and having to exercise control over WHAT goes into my mouth and how much. If I stop doing those things...I will go back to the "before". And I don't want that. I am a food addict if ever there was one and I struggle every single day with cravings and the desire to eat anything and everything. Sugar is my crack.

I have been running Jilly's Losers (my online weight loss community) for 6 years now. In those 6 years, 310 (yes...I counted) different people have joined and given it a try. 310. That's a lot of people. Some of them stuck around and have become like my second family, though most of us have never met. A lot, however, found that it wasn't for them and only stayed for one season. It made me sad going through 33 seasons worth of names and not remembering so many of them.

Do you know how many "before and after" pictures I have on my computer from 33 seasons? That is A LOT of befores. But if we're getting nitpicky...there aren't really any "afters". I can't think of a single person who joined Jilly's Losers...changed their life, got healthy, lost weight and then said, "well, I'm all done. Thanks for the help!" and left forever without ever having to struggle again. We're all a work in progress. Every single one of us "losers" still has work to do.

I've seen countless stories in the past 6 years. I've seen severely overweight people become thin. I've seen couch potatoes become gym rats and marathon runners. I've seen people recover from injuries and life changing surgeries. I've seen people completely transform their entire lives in more ways than you can imagine and it's BEAUTIFUL to watch. But if you think it's been 6 years of nothing but the positive then you obviously haven't given it a shot yourself yet ;)

I've also seen determination turn to frustration turn to "I QUIT!" I've seen hundreds of pounds lost only to be regained again. I've seen healthy, hard-working athletes succumb to injury/illness. I've seen months and years of hard work seem to come undone as a result of work, stress, death, birth, sugar, addiction, exhaustion.....and any other number of things.

I've seen...LIFE.

And life is what happens between the "before and after".

I am beyond proud of all of the "works in progress" that I have had the opportunity to meet and work with. I have loved getting to know so many people and hearing their successes and their struggles. Every pound or inch lost...every burpee or pushup or mile run (or whatever crazy challenge I've made them do!)...has changed lives and pushed ME to be better. I am inspired daily by those I call my "losers" and while there may be times I feel overwhelmed or tired of the work involved...I wouldn't trade my losers for anything.

So here are just a few of them :) Each of them has worked their butts off (literally) to get to where they are now and I have LOVED watching their journeys. I'm grateful that I've gotten to walk alongside them for even a part of those journeys and I know I've made lifelong friends because of it.

This is Chrissy "before"! She started her journey long before she became a "loser" and she has inspired me every day since we met. She's a mom and an incredible photographer...and she is HILARIOUS!

NOW! Chrissy is down 135lbs and is as badass as they come. I asked her what is something she loves to do now that she couldn't before. In true Chrissy style, she said, "I love that I can sit cross-legged in chairs now. I spend so much time with my legs twisted under me and it's the best thing ever." It's the little things.

This is Kate "before"! She is a mom of 3 and works with the children's ministry at her church. She and I met in a workout class at our gym a few years ago and have been close friends ever since. I don't even recognize the girl in this picture!

NOW! Kate has worked extremely hard (this past year especially) to make exercise a regular habit and to entirely change the way she looks at food. She has lost 45lbs! She is now an avid runner and although she hates Zumba, we are still the best of friends haha. THOSE ABS THOUGH!!!

This is Cody! I've shared his story before, but it is worth repeating. Cody is the reason I finally gave the ketogenic diet a try this year and subsequently lost so much weight. He did it himself first and lost close to 100lbs! He has been such a wonderful motivator and source of knowledge for me and I know his entire life has changed because of the changes he made in himself and his lifestyle.

This is Melissa "before"! She often shares the story of being called a "petite plus sized woman" when this picture was taken at her son's 8th grade graduation several years ago and how that comment set her on the path that got her to where she is now!

NOW! Melissa lost 67 lbs to reach her goal weight and has been maintaining for months now...but she still sticks around my group for support. Little does she know that she's the one supporting us. She is strong and determined and doesn't let anything stop her. She recently completed her first marathon and qualified to run in the Boston Marathon in 2018!! She retook her "before" picture at the same son's high school graduation this year and the difference is stunning. Especially in her smile :)

This is Shari! I met Shari in a Zumba class at the gym. She was quiet and reserved but she never missed a class. I watched her from the back as she kept coming back smaller...and smaller, the smile on her face growing bigger and bigger. I admired her long before we ever said hello. Now she is one of my very best friends. We are workout buddies and each other's support system...and if there were a "Foodies anonymous" group, we'd probably be each other's sponsor. Despite a tough year, she has made her health a priority and I'm beyond proud of how far she's come. She's lost 64lbs! She pushes me to be better every day.

These "before" and "now" shots make my heart happy. Seeing my friends happy...makes my heart happy. But the best "before" and "after" of this whole thing is that before I met these people...and all 310 that have come through Jilly's Losers...I was a wreck. After meeting them, my life has changed for the better in more ways than I could ever count. Each of them has taught me something(s) and each of them has carried me through my own tough spots more than they know. I'm grateful we are all a part of one another's "in between".