V Watts' Thoughts...

Hey Y'all!  I'm a total Blogging Loserette!  Blah! But today I want to introduce you to a very special Lady, Veronica!  I remember Veronica was one of the very first ladies to contact me over a year ago right after I started the blog!  We instantly connected over our common past.  I fell in love with her instantly and to say she has been kicking ass and taking names in her weight loss journey is an understatement!  Enjoy! 

Hi you guys! My name is Veronica. I live over at V Watts' Thoughts; I met Darci via her friend Holly some time last year. I remember connecting with her right away because of her cutting sense of humor. I ♥ her big time. Today I wanted to share with you all my weight loss journey and how it's been going so far. I still have about 25-30lbs left that I'd like to lose. I feel determined to make my goal. I hope you enjoy reading on how I've lost 55lbs so far.

50 Pounds Lost - Front Progress Picture

I have quite a few people that are asking me how I've lost this much weight. The answer is several things really. The scientific answer is exercise and eating right. But if it were that simple I would have had success a long time ago. See, I've been on this weight loss journey for yyyyeeeaaarrrsss now. I did lose 80lbs in my early 20's. And for those who've read my very first post, you know that it led to a 6 year struggle with bulimia. I was skinny, yes, but I hated myself the entire time.

50 Pounds Lost - Back Progress Picture

Then I got into recovery on August 25th 2008. Within the first 2-3 months of recovery I gained about 35-40lbs. Of course I was upset by this but I had to want recovery more than I wanted to be thin. Then as I began to get my mind right again about eating and exercise I began getting back in the health game. I would have a few successes, 5 pound loss here or there. But I'd inevitably gain the weight back. I get very close 180lbs and it felt like everything would just stop. I never really felt good about my body. Even when I would lose a good deal of weight my mentality was still, "Well, I've been much much thinner than this before so why should I be excited about being this weight?"

50 Pounds Lost - Side Progress Picture

Around October of last year Cole and I started seeing a couple's counselor. He was a Christian and thus he worked a lot on our spiritual wellness as much as our mental wellness. He opened my eyes to see just exactly how negative and controlling I was about myself. In general and to the naked eye I am a delightful person. I thrive on being nice to people and being the comic relief. But I compartmentalized the angry/negative side of me. It was something only myself and perhaps my husband ever got to see. It was a very painful truth but one that needed to be addressed.

So, what did I do about it? I started to pray that God would begin to change my heart about the way I saw life and chiefly about the way I saw myself. I prayed that I would allow Him to cut myself slack and love myself just the way I am. I prayed that I would be able to let go of the reins and stop trying to make things happen from within my own strength and to allow Him to help me make changes occur. In the Bible there is a verse that reads "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me" Philipians 4:13

And I can truly tell you that I didn't notice the changes at first. I can tell you that it took practice to start having a better attitude about weight loss. I had to remind myself that I am worth loving even if my weight and body aren't where I want them to be. I can't pin point the day it happened but all of a sudden positivity began to flow from within me. I even started to see my setbacks as just a tiny harmless portion of this journey. I didn't dwell in sorrow about it like I used to. I was looking at my body that was still around 210lbs or so and I liked what I saw. I used to have a body that looked good in a bikini and at 210lbs I can tell you with all surety that my body was not bikini ready but I.loved.my.body. It wasn't a vain love. It was a love that went beyond putting restrictions on myself like: "I will love my body when it looks like xyz".

Weight loss began to happen for me. I hadn't seen this type of success before on my personal journey. I only have 45 minutes to workout at the gym so it's not like I was in beastmode and having fantastic 2 hours sweat sessions. I do know that I also had to give over to the Lord my eating habits. I loved food. No, I adored food. No, I WORSHIPPED food. When I began to realize what type of power I allowed food to have over me it was both sad and scary. I prayed that God would give me the strength to resist binging. Do I still have the urges, yes. But I feel like I have much more stability and soundness of mind to make wiser choices.

Christian or not, I'd like to share the sermon that my pastor gave yesterday. He is starting a new series about the power of the tongue (or words). It explains almost to a T what changes took place in my life to get me to where I am now. I was so surprised and excited as I was listening to him preach. It was as if the Lord had given Justen (my pastor) the diary of my life over the past 6 months. Again, even if you are not a Christian I think you might enjoy this. It talks about the power that your words have to lead you towards success or failure. It's about 30mins. I've also included the power point so you can see the points he is talking about. I challenge you to listen and take a read. It will have you thinking differently about the way you talk about yourself.

Listen (look for Part 1).

Power Point

So, I'm a total loser and I don't think the links to the sermon or PowerPoint work!  Ugh!  Sorry about that!  If you want to hear/see them let me know and I will see If V can get us hook'd up!  Doesn't Veronica look AMAZING!?  More than amazing...STUNNING! GORGEOUS! INSPIRATIONAL!

Stay tuned for some new stuff on the blog in the next week or two!  Eek!  I'm excited! 

Love you, B Faces! xoxo