If You're Happy & You Know it

I interrupt my daily November Thankful posts to document another BIG check mark on  my "to-do" goal, oriented list. November 2012 marks the month that I nailed my final Weight Loss/Goal Weight.I weighed in at Weight Watchers and couldn't believe my eyes. The # I had been chasing for SO long was staring back at me on that scale.  I am so happy, thrilled beyond measure, jumping for joy, screaming from the roof tops, jumping  up and down...you get the idea :-). I have lost a total of 120 lbs.. I reached my personal goal weight. That final goal weight has changed  a few times over the last two years for the simple fact that I knew I could do it! I am so happy that I started the journey and made the choice to find my healthy self. To remember/document  the journey, I had John snap the after photos. My friend, Meredith created my "Before" and "After" photos so I could see the side by side visual! Thank you, Mer. It is crazy to see just how far I have come!

A HUGE  Thank You to my friends and family who have cheered me on, along the way. Having a great support system was key for me! I am thankful for my Weight Watchers leader, Jan.  She has been so supportive. She has celebrated with  me, cheered me on and kept me on track. I am thankful for the new friends I have made at Fitness MD. It has been fun meeting new people and challenging myself along the way. I am thankful for my friend, Amanda. She attends Fit Club EVERY morning with me and I am so glad she is there. We cheer each other on. We roll our  eyes at each other when the trainers get on us or when  it is time to run another large lap. I am also so thankful for John. I may have driven him a tad bit crazy with my weekly weigh ins and exercising but I am truly thankful for his support and unconditional love.

I am happy to report along with my final goal weight reached, I also lost my 4th and final child :-). I have taken a photo with each  of my boys as I have lost the amount that they weighed at that particular time.  You can find those posts here, and here and here.  I  lost 120 lbs. and Tanner weighs about 125 lbs.. It is crazy to think that I lost an almost 14 year old boy. I had him jump on  my back and he was heavy :-).I can't even imagine carrying that extra weight around anymore. We won't mention the fact that he is officially taller than  me now.

This next photo was for fun! I knew that when I  reached my goal weight, I wanted a picture with the pair of jeans that I wore to that family photo shoot 2 years that sent me into over drive to pull the weight off. You can find that story here.

To those of you who may be in the middle of your own journey or maybe you are just starting, I want to tell you that YOU CAN DO IT! Stick with it and you will be so glad that you did. I wasn't perfect all of the time.Who is??? I was consistent and kept with it. If I had a  bad day(which we all do and are entitled to), I would regroup and get back to the things that I knew I should be doing. With that kind of mind set, it just became habit and a part of my lifestyle.

I will leave you with a few of my favorite inspirations that kept me going along the way!