40 Day Challenge

So Lent started Wednesday, and before it began I kept thinking about what to "give up" during the 40 days. Many of you are probably like "what? Lent? Melissa" -- it's true. I may not go to church every week, but I have a faith and while I don't practice or believe in everything the bible says, I try to do what I can -- makes me feel good -- we all have our vices (anyways -- this is not a blog about religion).

I get a message from a friend -- let's challenge ourselves to lose x amount of weight by April 20th (when Lent ends). The winner gets free dinner paid by the loser! SCORE -- done. So for Lent I decided to give up coffee (yes again, I started drinking it when I got back from Aruba - and I can feel the "yuckiness" it's doing to me - weird right?), ice cream, AND a goal of 12lbs from March 5th until April 20th...easy peasy right? Wish me luck!

Now that I have this challenge happening, I had to weigh myself to get a start weight -- now mind you before I left for Aruba it was 180lbs(ish). Ya...about that...188lbs - WTH!!! Why is it that it takes months, years to lose it, but takes DAYS to gain it back, so discouraging, but - year of DO not try. Just got to pick myself up and get back at it!

Because I was getting a little down on my gain, I needed to remind myself where I have come from to where I am today. So I created a before and after and shared it with everyone on facebook, now I am sharing it with you. Even in 2009 - I don't believe this was my heaviest. To share -- I was about 240lbs the summer before my senior year of college (2003). Until last year I ranged from a size 16-20 (which was like 200-220lbs). So...while I may get down on the bumps I have throughout this process, I just have to remember where I started.

That's it today. Short & Sweet. Till next time...

~Melissa
Current: 188lbs
Goal for 4/20: 176lbs
Goal for 2014: 150lbs