Back in 2019 as I was approaching my 50th birthday I made and important decision. I was tired of not fitting into my clothes anymore and changing my outfits 15 times until I felt semi comfortable in my clothes. I’ll never forget getting ready for my friend’s birthday and wearing a pair of black slacks, a new blouse and a wrap to cover most of my body so that my high school friends wouldn’t see how much weight I had put on. I’ll also never forget how good my friends looked that night and finally made a commitment to myself that the following year, I would look and feel just as good too.
And so, I embarked on a journey that took me almost a year to lose 30 pounds. I know some people who have followed the program that I’m on — it’s called Optavia — and they took off the weight much quicker than me, but I had to do it my way and thankfully, slow and steady won the race. While I was a lifetime member of Weight Watchers — now known as WW — I felt like I wanted to try something new and after seeing a friend lose 25 pounds with Optavia, I was in – hook, line and sinker. She connected me with her health coach and we were off to the races.
The interesting thing about Optavia is that it kind of gives you a taste of all the different programs that are out there. You do eat food that they provide but you also learn how to cook great meals that are low in carbs and super flavorful. Plus, during your journey you are assigned a coach who will hold you accountable and offer advice when your weight loss efforts have stalled. Plus, there’s the entire mental piece to the plan which helps you develop healthy habits for life and for me, that was a total game changer.
I can’t tell you how much I have learned over the past 2 and a half years but I do know exactly what foods will add extra pounds to my petite body and I also know how to make everything I eat these days fun and flavorful. I even started a Facebook group back in the summer which now has over 22,000 members – all offering amazing recipes, hacks and tips to focus on your personal goals and keep your eyes on the prize.
I’ll be featuring some of my favorite meal recipes on the site and hopefully, if you like what you see, you may even want to try it out for yourself. As the saying goes, nothing tastes as good as thin feels. I hope you enjoy my stories and I hope it motivates you to take care of yourself in 2022!