{A Weight Loss Story: Theron}

My most viewed post on the blog is by far my weight loss story.

Which is hilarious because I never even considered writing about it until one night I just started typing! 

Well it turns out that somehow...it inspired a lot of people! 

Talk about humbling! 

Alex's best friend from Samford, Theron {who we just went to an Auburn game with} started his weight loss journey last year around this time, and I'm thrilled to have him share his story on the blog! 

This is a different account, because it's a different plan, and a different gender...obviously. 

Theron is amazing, hilarious, and sort of weird {in a good way...}so enjoy! 

It was 5^th grade when I found out.

It was bring your baby picture to school day. Everyone pinned their baby picture to a board and would guess who was who. 

Standing in the background, I overheard the popular kid say, “wow, he was fat when he was a baby too.” 

Yep. Pointing at my picture.

I remember being at six flags trying to win a prize at the stupid guess your weight game.  If the Six-flags worker couldn't guess your weight within +/- 3 lbs., you win. She guessed 209. I stepped on the scale…210lbs. 

That was 10^th grade.

When I started college I was about 220 lbs. Hello college meal plan.

I hit 230 my sophomore year.

 In June of 2011 I got married. I stopped getting on the scale for a while. 

I was obese by definition. What else did I really need to know?

 The next time I stepped on the scale was the weekend of the Georgia/Auburn football game in 2011. 

We were celebrating my BDAY with family. 

My brothers found my scale and began weighing themselves. 

When they left the room I got on…237 lbs.

…GULP…O God.

For the first time in my life I got scared about my weight. I was 24 years old. Even if I gain about 5 lbs. a year, by the time I’m 30, I would be around 270 lbs. By 35 I could be hitting 300 lbs. Did I mention that I’m 5’8”?

Time out: Things to know about me

Understand that I am not a diet person. I hate diets. I hate counting calories. I've tried the iPhone apps to track calories.

I've never been able to actually stay on a diet. I've tried cutting back during meals but that wasn't working either.

I've also tried the “Go to the gym” approach to losing weight. It worked a little. I would run and lift weights and run some more but I never lost more than 10lbs. As soon as I would stop working out the weight would come right back.

 I had reached the two roads diverged in a yellow wood moment, only if I made the wrong choice I know I would be using a fat scooter from Wal-Mart to do the traveling. 

I had two choices.

 ·         Opt A – Be fat, get fatter, get heart disease, get high blood pressure, get diabetes, and get on meds to deal with all these issues…get on more meds to deal with the side effects of the other meds.

The icing on the cake was family. Being obese doesn't just affect you. 

One day I hope to have children and I hope to be there for them. I would be the fat dad that would try and tell his son/daughter the importance of being healthy…gasping for wind after throwing a few passes in the yard. Then going to sit on the couch to catch my breath with my son/daughter (yes, daughter will know how to throw a football). Nothing like some chips covered in cheese and salsa to help me catch my breath. Great lesson to teach children. 

Not only does it affect your children but your spouse. Either I am going to die early or I will live a miserable existence that requires my spouse to tie my shoes or worse, help put on my prosthetic leg b/c diabetes made it fall off.

·         Option B – do something. 

The only problem was that I didn't know what to do. I tried everything I knew. So I really began to consider Opt A by default.

A few days after the Auburn/Georgia game I was talking with a friend about this diet called “THE PALEO DIET.”

He sent me a link to this Blog called Nerd Fitness.

 The article suggested Rob Wolf’s book The Paleo Solution: The Original Human Diet.

 http://www.amazon.com/The-Paleo-Solution-Original-Human/dp/0982565844

 I read both…and boom...there was my Option B.

 After reading the book I was 100% sold. It just made sense. The more I researched, the more convinced I became.

 I made my commitment. It was the end of November. I weighed 240 lbs and I was going to commit to the Paleo lifestyle for 30 days.

Simplified Paleo = No grains, dairy, sugar, or oil other than olive

For a more in depth look at the Paleo Lifestyle check out the Nerdfitness.com article.

http://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/2010/10/04/the-beginners-guide-to-the-paleo-diet/

(it will take a few minutes but it is 100% worth the read).

At first it was hard. I didn't know what to eat or where to eat. 

At lunch the first few days I would go to target and buy a ton of carrots out of desperation. 

My digestive system went into shock for about 3 days. Then it got a little easier. 

After 7 days on a 98% Paleo diet I dropped 11 lbs. 

By January 1, 2012 I had dropped another 9 lbs. I was down to 220lbs. 

It had been about 30 days. Keep in mind I just came through Christmas Holidays and dropped 20 lbs. 

Not only had I lost a great deal of weight, I felt so much better. 

I had more energy. I was happier. 

And most importantly for the first time in my life, I felt there was hope that I could be the skinny guy (Dear naturally skinny people, you suck. Stop complaining about not being able to bulk up, Nobody cares.)

 I decided to stick with it with a few minor tweaks.

·         February 1, 2012 I was down to 218lbs. (Dairy makes a difference if you want the weight to come off quicker)

·         March 8, 2012 = 216 lbs. At this point I started strength training. (Body fat % = 22.6%)

·         March 20, 2012 = 219 lbs. I gained a few pounds the first 3 weeks of working out but it started falling slowly again.

·         April 1, 2012 = 215 lbs.

·         April 12, 2012 = 211 lbs. (Body fat % = 20.4%)

·         June 1, 2012 = 210lbs. Around this time I started studying for my CPA so the gym routine had to be put let go for a while.

·         June 19, 2012 = 207 lbs.

·         August 15, 2012 = 204 lbs. (Body fat % = 18.9%)

·         September 1, 2012 = 204 lbs. – passed first section of CPA and working out again.

·         September 25, 2012 – 209 lbs. (body fat % = 18.8%)

 Goal =  190 lbs. = total loss of 50 lbs.

Here are a few lessons I learned from my journey so far (most of these come from Nerdfitness.com check it out)

1. Weight loss is 75% diet and 25% exercise (MOST IMPORTANT)

2. If you can’t get your workout done in under 45 minutes, you are doing it wrong.

3. If it took me 24 years to get this big. It will take time for it to come off

4. Only change your workout routine if you have been committed to it for 6 weeks or longer

5. Treadmills are for hamsters and Strength training is key (yes even for girls) – Muscle burns fat. More muscle burns more fat. Treadmills do more for endurance than creating more muscle. I've done the cardio 

only approach to working out. I did lose weight but as soon as I stopped it came back.

6. You will need a support group…mine @ nerdfitness.com as well as support from family

7. Stop comparing yourselves to other people – you only see their results without seeing their years of hard work and struggle. Play the hand you’re dealt.

8. There is hope!!

Before

215 lbs

209 lbs

204 lbs

________________________________________________________________________

Pretty amazing stuff, right? 

It just goes to show that there is a plan for everyone, you just need to find what's right for you! 

So drop that Twinky and go take a run! 

{Pinterest Challenge}

Gasp...another post this week...and one tomorrow too! What has gotten into me :) 

Well we're at my in-laws for the week while our floors are getting  spa treatment! Can. Not. Wait! 

But anyhoo...that's not what I'm here! 

Young House Love {Did I mention I met them this past weekend? At their book signing in Cincinnati! I'll update on that Friday!} and Bower Power just posted another Pinterest Challenge for this week! 

The Pinterest Challenge was designed to push us to actually do some of the things we are pinning! So you pick something, and have one week to get it done! 

Well...remember that time I attempted a Pinterest Challenge {in July}...and then forgot? 

Yeah...totally forgot until a few weeks {more like two months} later when I went downstairs and saw this...

And this...

We've had this corn hole set for years, and it was getting splintered and yucky.

So I decided to re-do them. But only got to the sanding/ cleaning/ and priming stage. 

So...I'm going to do that this week {fingers crossed!} 

Hopefully they'll look something like this...

But not the stained color...a base painted color. 

It's going to be gorgeous and warm this week here in Northern Kentucky, so I'm hoping to knock this baby out in an afternoon/evening with Wendel! We'll see! 

Anyone else going to do this challenge? 

{Chaos...}

So as you read this post, our floors are being re-done...

"Enter high-pitched squeal of excitement!}

This is one of the BIG things that is on our To-Do List for this year. 

As we have mentioned, we haven't done anything to our floors but steam it a few times, and with the previous owners being chain smokers, we felt like this was something we wanted to do before we have little bit's crawling around the house! 

Here was the problem...I like hardwood, and Wendel likes carpet. 

So we did a little compromise! 

Re-finish the hardwood underneath of the current carpet in living/dining/hallway. 

And carpet in the yellow bedroom, master bedroom, and office. 

Before taking up the carpet...everywhere, we had some researching to do. 

The main question being:  who was going to re-do the floors? 

At first, Wendel and I were being ambitious and thought we'd do them ourselves. Then, we decided that we didn't want to "mess up" something so big in our house. Especially with the stairs and closets being involved. 

So, we researched, and ended up hiring a family friend {and my wonderful assistant's husband!} Can't wait to see the amazing work he does! If you want his contact info, comment! 

Then, we needed to get some inspiration for the stain color of the hardwoods. 

As you can tell from our office desk, 

We like dark wood. But we also wanted a stain that was "sellable" just in case we sell our sweet home in a few years! 

So off I went to Pinterest for some Pinspiration...here's what we found! 

This is actually the exact color we JUST painted our living/dining/kitchen/hall/entry 

{Revere Pewter by Benjamin Moore via Valspar in Satin} 

This color does look a tad grayer than ours though. 

But this gave us a good idea of what floor color would go well with this color wall. 

Source

We love the darker areas and how clean and stream-line it looks. 

Source

So, we will show "the floor guy" these and see what he says! We'll keep you updated! 

Then, we needed to check out carpets. I kind of let Wendel run with this one. 

I'm really not that picky of a person...shocking right? 

I'm a go-with-the-flow kind of girl! 

So when Wendel picked something he liked, I was all about it! 

The hard part was picking the right color! 

We took home this little ditty and moved it around to the other rooms to see what we liked/didn't like. 

We knew we wanted something neutral, and in the beige tones. 

But we ended up picking the color that was on the display at Lowe's...it was the perfect neutral shade! 

So...the moral of the story...

Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday= Hardwood getting sanded, stained, and prettified. 

While our basement and kitchen look like this...

and this...

We'll be staying at the in-laws house for the week! 

Then, next Monday the carpet guys come. 

Then we are hosting Halloween trick-or treating {or trick-or-drinking if you're my father in law} at our house! 

Nothing like a party to get stuff done :) 

We're excited...thrilled...giddy...exhausted! 

I'll update as I can! 

Get ready for Wednesday, because I'm sharing a friend's {actually Alex's best friend to be exact} weight loss story! Prepare to be amazed and hopefully inspired! 

{A Public Proclamation}

I'm making a public proclamation that is going to make Wendel so very happy! 

No more clothes shopping for me until Christmas time! 

I know...shocking right? 

But I just got out all of my fall/winter clothes, and cannot believe how much I have! 

Like double the amount of my spring/summer clothes. 

So I don't need to buy anymore clothes for quite a while. 

I say until Christmas time for a reason, and I'll explain. 

Last year, I was so focused on making our first married Christmas amazing, that I didn't get anything special to wear for Christmas time...

First world problems right? 

But what this lead to was me trying to figure out what to wear for Christmas parties...ending in tears. 

So this year, I've vowed for this not to happen!

I'm going to get a few special things for the Christmas season so the tears are less don't exist. 

Now as I say this, I have a little bag from Old Navy because I wanted something fun for our Christmas card photo shoot this weekend...but after than nothing :)

It's the thought that counts, right?

Hope everyone has an amazing weekend!

We get to meet Young House Love tomorrow on their book tour...{enter high pitch squealing}

Happy Friday! 

{A Shady Situation}

So remember that time when we were going to touch up our bedroom and we couldn't find the paint can...like forever ago?

Yeah that was a bummer. But have no fear! The painting monster was here.

{Update...totally found the can...annoying!}

So as you can remember from this post {or not remember because it was wayyyy too long ago!} we were left with this messiness...

Gross...

So since we were having to re-paint the entire room, we decided to do the whole shebang... 

We touched up the molding and repainted the ceiling. 

The REAL reason we decided to repaint the ceiling is because we never actually have. 

When we moved in, the ceilings were pretty clean. And they still are. But we figure while we're painting now, we might as well paint the ceilings! Silly, I know...but I'd rather do it now {sans little one} than later with a child busy at our feet. 

So a few days later {due to work/school/other commitments} we started on the painting! 

Shale by Benjamin Moore was the choice...

As you can see, we were in the midst of doing all of the edging. 

Then while I was finishing the edging and top of the wall, Wendel started rolling. 

Here we were after our first coat...kind of splotchy...

And the other side...splotchy again. 

A few hours later and we could finally do the thing we wanted to do in the first place...put up the curtains! 

I love how funky and colorful they are! 

So as you can see, we got rid of our headboard. It is actually broken and was driving us crazy. So we're excited to DIY an inexpensive headboard until we buy the upholstered bed of our dreams! 

I also have plans of getting rid of the dark brown accents and making the bedding all white, grays, and greens.

We also got rid of the TV. We just weren't sleeping very well with it in the room, and we really need to be reading more. So far, we are loving having it gone!

Notice the carpet samples...Eeeeeeee....so excited for our big flooring upgrade! 

We have a LOT of accessorizing to do! NOTHING is on the walls as of now, so we need to get on that ASAP. 

Notice we still haven't put the electrical covers back on...yes...it's sad and ridiculous! 

Notice the headboard in the yellow room...need to get that in the basement! 

Here are the covers...just waiting to be used. I have a few that I need to replace, so hopefully we will knock those out this weekend. 

Obviously we've got more plans in the mix including a new headboard, some new art work, and a little furniture updating! 

It never ends right? And I love it! 

So, any updates ya'll are working on that are crawling along like a very tiny snail. Some projects fly by, and some just inch along. Oh well! 

{Living For The Weekend: A Day Of Fall Fun}

So after our evening of painting on Friday, we had a super fun and relaxing Saturday planned! 

We woke up leisurely, got ready and got on the road to Irons Fruit Farm for a day of fall fun! 

This gem is an apple orchard, pumpkin patch, petting zoo, and corn maze all in one! 

This year {and last year} they didn't have you-pick-apples because of the weather, but we still had a blast! 

Last year, we went to Irons specifically to pick apples and bake an apple pie...this is what we found when we got there...

Bummer...No U-Pick Apples...but Irons Fruit Farm did not disappoint! 

We got very lost in the corn maze, 

And I saw an alpaca in person...I was a little thrilled/terrified. 

So we decided to do a second annual trip up to one of our favorite places! 

We got to see the alpacas again...

They still terrified me! No clue why...but when they look at you, they're terrifying!  

The corn maze was Reds themed...so Mr. Red Legs was there! And I got a super award picture with him :) 

And Wendel got an even more awkward picture with him. 

Then it was time for the hay ride! Still get so excited for these things! Dorky...I know! 

Ready to get lost in the corn maze! 

Still trying to figure out how the heck they do this! 

My direction captain...that man knows his way through a corn maze! 

In the middle...and slightly lost! 

We got out...obviously! They also have a huge pumpkin patch, but we passed on it because we're heading to another pumpkin patch with all of the kids next week. 

After, we hit up their bakery for some homemade apple cider and a cider doughnut...so delicious! 

And Wendel got an apple fritter...apple themed fried goodness. Can't go wrong, right? 

Then we headed home so Wendel could get some homework done...while I did this...

Then Wendel planned SUCH a fun date night! 

We have quite a few local wineries here in Northern Kentucky...random I know! 

Sometimes, the wineries will do dinner with wine tasting. 

So we headed to Stone Brook Winery for dinner and wine tasting with Alex's parents! 

The tasting was in this cute little rustic house, and the inside was just like a little cabin. 

Sorry for the TERRIBLE picture, but it was a blast! 

Great food, wonderful wine, and even better company. 

We feel so blessed to both have families that we truly enjoy being with! 

What did ya'll do this weekend? Anything fun and exciting? 

{A Trip To Bham}

Wendel and I headed to Birmingham last weekend to see his best friend and head to an Auburn game. 

You know that saying "We now interrupt this marriage for football season...."

Yeah...that exists in our marriage. 

Wendel is an avid SEC and NFL football follower...so that means that Thursday-Monday is filled with football. 

Now it's not 24/7...he's not horrible, but it is kind of funny. It helps me get a lot of work done {while ooing and ahhing at the appropriate times} 

All of this to say, one of Wendel's favorite teams is Auburn...like crazy big fan! 

So, for his birthday {in March}, I got Wendel and I tickets to see an Auburn game in Auburn. The whole tail gating experience! 

So we headed down to Auburn with Alex's best friend, Theron {you'll head more about him next week...he's pretty awesome!} and his wife, Emily. 

We did some tailgating, experienced "Tiger Walk", got some Lemonade at Toomer's circle, and baked in the 1200 degree temperatures with 80,000 other people! 

It was a great experience...even though Auburn didn't show up and played terribly! 

Here are some snapshots of the day! 

The Tiger Walk! 

This is when the players walk into the stadium and everyone watches and freaks out. Pretty amazing to see some of the players Alex obsesses over in real life :) 

Toomer's Circle for the famous lemonade. So delicious and fresh...like hand-squeezed fresh! 

Slowly burning while watching Auburn screw up the entire game...still worth it to see his sweet face! 

Oh hey gazillions of people who are sitting on top of each other. Why must we all sit so close is my only question? 

So happy to be in an air conditioned house, showered, and relaxing! 

We headed back early Sunday to celebrate with Alex's family for his grandparent's 60 wedding anniversary...but that's for another day :) 

This picture doesn't pick up all of the amazing colors in the hills of Kentucky. Love our beautiful state! 

Sad I didn't get a picture of us in front of the stadium, and no pictures of Wendel and Theron...I guess that means we'll have to go again next year! 

Hope ya'll are having a fun fall! What are ya'll up to?