on the news!

I'm telling you, this is a crazy & wonderful ride I'm on. About a month ago I took a 1/2 a personal day and did something amazing...I was on the news! And yes, I know I am behind!

Filming. My eyes look HUGE!

I was so honored to be asked to speak on behalf of barre3! Sadie was interviewed first and then they asked me a few questions. It is terrifying to be in front of the camera and I'm always nervous I'm going to mess up but it wasn't live TV so that made it a bit easier. 

I've learned to stand tall, focus (which is hard for me :), and take my time if I need to so I can answer the questions with clarity. 

The spot was aired that night...here's the link - Annie on KATU

After the interview we took a class and Matt, the reporter, took with us led by the amazing Kait! I brought him 3 pounds weights to start and he said "Is there anything heavier?" and I told him there was but these would likely be enough. During the class he actually put them down and during the segment said "I had to put down the weights and they were just 3 pounds." He sweated through both of his shirts he was wearing, as did the rest of us! 

Sadie, Robyn, and I before class!!

I'm in the back!

During class!

So proud of the old me who turned into the new me!

Crazy!!

I swear I was happy. I just get so nervous!!

Me & Sadie!

What an experience this was. And then, that night after it aired, I got an email from Sadie saying how well I did. Nothing like positive praise from someone you look up to!!

I love barre3 (as if you didn't already know that)!!!

Fingers crossed {for more of this}!!!

PS. That night I also CHOPPED off my hair. This makes me miss it!

2 year endocrinologist update!

Last week I went to my endocrinologist for my 2 year check up! I was seriously excited to go because I was proud to show off all the changes I had made.

I am in no way-shape-or form a doctor. This post is based solely on what my Endocrinologist and myself discussed. If you have health related questions please contact your own doctor. 

 

I am so proud of the woman I was...she started this journey.

I am so proud of the woman I am now...because I have been changing my life for over 2 years.

I am sure I will be proud of the woman I will become...because, well, I can't imagine my life any other way!

**January 2012 - Initial Endocrinologist Results**
Weight ~ 213 lbs
BMI ~ 38%
Hemoglobin A1c ~ 5.9 {normal range according to my Endo is 4.0 - 6.0}

**January 2012 - 2 year Endocrinologist Results**
Weight: 143 lbs
BMI: 24%
Hemoglobin A1c ~ 4.6 after 22 months on Metformin

July 2011

October 2012

July 2011

November 2012

 

When I first got my results back from the endocrinologist I was considered insulin resistant, they thought I had something wrong with my adrenal glands {turns out I'd just recently had a cortisone shot and sent my levels through the roof}, my Vitamin D level was 17.6 L2 {normal range 30.0-150.0}, and I was just in overall poor health.

 

My first tipping point was a Halloween party...but my boulder that catapulted me off the seesaw was getting my lab results back! It really shocked my system. I KNEW I was overweight, I KNEW I was unhealthy & unhappy but until those numbers were on the paper I didn't realize how bad it was. Nothing to me, at that point, was as scary as hearing that if I kept on the path I was I would have diabetes in a year. My endocrinologist was very blunt with me and for that I will be forever grateful. She was the FIRST doctor to tell me I was overweight and needed to change. Looking back that fact still shocks me.

 

Over the course of the last 22 months I did go on a few different medications that I believed help me. I started 500mg extended release Metformin in February/March 2012 and stopped one week ago. I have a follow up appointment in July 2014 to see how 6 months off of Metformin goes and I am so excited to see if the hard work I put in pays off. I admit it, I am nervous to go off the Metformin because I feel like it did help me get to me a little "looser" with my carbs because of my PCOS. But I am ready for the challenge of eating what I know my pancreas can handle. My goal is to only eat carbs at 2/3 meals in my day.

 

I am still taking Vitamin D {I mean, I like in Washington State so I feel like I'd need that anyways}, Singular, and birth control. Totally normal and totally unrelated to PCOS meds!

 

Fingers crossed {that my levels stay low}!!!

{30 thoughts} NSV

I don't quite know where I first heard the term Non Scale Victory?! I think it was actually on Instagram!

A non scale victory is just that...something fabulous when you aren't standing on the scale!

 

Here's a few of my favorites from the past 2 years!

A dress being too big.

 

2 years ago size 18W. Now size 8.

Wrap around apron.

 

Backpack I hadn't worn in a year!

 

Fitting in to old pants {about 1 year ago}

 

Being celebrated.

Introducing those you love most to your favorite place.

New sizes!!

Trying new activities.

Fingers crossed {that there are many, many more NSV in my future}!!!

{30 thoughts} this isn't a diet...

Despite what some people told me when I first started my change, this is NOT a diet. Sure, in the past I'd failed at changing my lifestyle for various reasons. I wasn't ready, I didn't know how, I didn't want to. This time was different. I had the drive, the lab results, and the support that I needed.

When I first started eating healthy {and many, many times now-a-days} it is hard to turn down the treats, the sweets, and the old staples in my diet. I do it sometimes and I don't do it at other times. Sometimes I use my "it has to be the best of that item" rule and sometimes I don't! It's as simple and as complicated as that.

This quote speaks to me. I didn't do this in 5 months, I did it in 2+ years!!

SAME DRESS ~ DIFFERENT BODY

2 years ago today!!!

Left 2011

Middle 2012

Right 2013

It's a little big ;-)

 

You know the reason I know this isn't a diet. Just last tonight we were eating pizza {yes, it is not barre3 fall challenge approved but alas} and Jason said "I think the salad tastes better than the pizza". This week I walked down the mac & cheese isle at the grocery store and my mouth didn't salivate. When we go to restaurants we always order salads now. Going gluten free {yes, the pizza was not gluten free} isn't as daunting as I thought it was even a month ago.

 

 

I won't go back. I can't go back.

Fingers crossed {that this lifestyle change gets easier & easier}!!

{30 thoughts} live on the radio

6 days ago I was LIVE on the radio and it was surreal and it all happened thanks to Instagram!

Last Tuesday I posted this picture on IG with the hashtag #transformationtuesday

A woman named Jenny Hutt somehow found my picture on IG and sent me this message...

can you say SQUEAL!!!

Of course, I had to IG the comments! Heehee

Here is Jenny's IG

Me. Waiting to chat with Jenny!

{no makeup & wet hair}

 

All of this happened because I was willing to share my story. I WISH I could figure out how to get the sound byte/recording on to blogger so people can listen!! I am so thankful that I asked for the recording because I couldn't remember anything I had talked about. On the show I talked about weight loss, weight & food emotions, barre3 {duh}, and PCOS. I tried to not to say UM a lot, tried to talk slow, and I think I did a pretty good job!!! It was so fun to have someone who is a celebrity in her field congratulating, inspiring, and willing to talk to little ole me!

I emailed it to a lot of my friends & family and I got so many awesome responses - which I loved!

Fingers crossed {that good things keep happening}!!!

{30 thoughts} How I keep myself motivated!

This quote really speaks to me. One, it's funny! Two, it's true! Which I suppose is why quotes speak to us...I digress.

Reward:
~ {noun} a thing given in recognition of one's service, effort, or achievement.

~ {verb} make a gift of something to (someone) in recognition of their services, efforts, or achievements.

 

There are many kinds of rewards and the key is to choose the best one(s) for you! Since I've been on a healthy journey my focus has been more on the tangible or experience rewards instead of the food rewards! Here's a few of my favorites!

 

- Hot pink KT tape

- A new purse (-50 pounds)

- iTunes gift cards

- a "fancy" shirt

 

My favorite type of self-motivation by making a comparison picture. If you've followed by blog for a while or have looked through it you will see that!

 

Here's my newest one...

 

Left July 2011

Right July 2013

 

Here's my first one...

 

April 2012 {minus 20 lbs}

 

You know what else is reward to me. PRAISE! VALIDATION! Who doesn't like praise? Once I started sharing my journey/pictures/story I have gotten so many likes, comments, and messages from so many people - some whom I have never met! I LOVE it. Being recognized for my hard work is SO rewarding to me. It's more rewarding than anything I could buy!

 

It just feels good to have people recognize the good changes you are making. I know that what I am doing is worth it because I will likely have a longer & healthier life but there is a huge part of me that loves the attention. There, I said it. I'm an attention junkie. I also like to give the attention back to people who are going through or have gone through the same types of situations...

 

I get SO happy when people message me on FB or Instagram and tell me that I am an inspiration. Having all these other {mainly} women who are making changes...makes me want to keep making changes too!

But you know what, the compliments that mean the most are from my family. I've had my parents, my in-laws, my husband and my brother in laws all tell me that because of what I am doing, they are making their own life changes. That, that is what it is all about. Not only making my community better, but making my family better!!!

I want that next reward item, those next comments from my comparison picture, and I want to live a healthy life. That is why I am doing what I am doing.

How do you all keep yourselves motivated?

Fingers crossed {that maybe I'm inspiring you}...

being attached to an outcome...

attached ~ joined or fastened to something
outcome ~ something that follows as a result or consequence

This past week has really been a testament to not being attached to a perceived outcome. When I start something I expect things to go as I want them to (unrealistic - I know). I'm historically known for not doing well when things don't go my way or how I expect them to go. I've been trying to work on this and I think that maybe, just maybe, this is the week that will change it all. Or at least, I can consider it a good attitude week.

barre3 and QVC

expected outcome: to be with Harper working out in the background as Sadie sells barre3 DVD's.
actual outcome: spending less than 36 hours in Philadelphia visiting a new barre3 studio, getting to know Harper, Sadie, and Chris as I wouldn't have otherwise, and getting to go back!

Without these change in plans I wouldn't have spent all that time in the car with Sadie & Chris while they were relaxed. I might not got to have heard various conversations about the business of barre3. I wouldn't have had the chance to meet and chat with the studio owner & a few instructors of barre3 Newtown. Harper and I wouldn't have ventured into Philly. It was impossible to be mad at the situation when the people who were paying for, living for, and had dreamed of it for longer than me, were so super positive.

the number on the scale ~ goal weight

expected outcome: a number in a range based on height (that NO doctor ever talked to me about)

actual outcome: currently 144.4

 

The number on the scale is a tough thing to get over. Society has taught us that it means so much but I believe it truly doesn't. When I started this journey almost 22 months ago I honestly didn't have a goal weight in mind. I still don't! I didn't think I could lose this much weight. Sure, I wanted to but I didn't know how. My one goal....to NOT be diabetes! That's a good goal...right?!?! I truly believe that this is why I have had the success that I have had. I wasn't hyper focused on one number, I was hyper focused on health. Plain and simple.

 

I obviously used the scale as a tool but I think I'm done with it for a while. I have a Cyster name Chelsea who is rocking her PCOS body & weight loss and she just did "no scale July" and I'm thinking I need to do "no scale August". It will be a nice break from the "Wednesday weekly weight in".  It's going to be super hard but I need to trust in the process. I have learned SO much about my body in the past almost 2 years. I now know what to feed it to fuel it and I know how to work it to support it.  

 

***********************************

 

Sometimes the actual outcome is better than the expected outcome. It's all about figuring out what you want to do, whether it be lose weight, change something about yourself, or make a change in your life. Once you figure out what you want to do it's all about figuring out how to do! It's all common sense! For me...slow and steady was the way to go. I bought books on PCOS, I talked to people about food & exercise, I tried barre3 {which changed my life forever}, and I got uncomfortable. Looking back, I was uncomfortable before I lost the weight.

 

***********************************

 

And because I L.O.V.E. comparison pictures...

 

 

Left ~ July 29th, 2011. One day before Leena's wedding.

Right ~ July 30th, 2013. Just another normal day of barre3, PT, and a walk with Sabrina.

 

Leena's cousins said it best...

 

The woman in the before picture is pretty amazing. After all, it was her that had the discipline and determination to set and achieve a goal. ~Ajay

Fingers crossed {that more unexpectedly amazing outcomes are coming my way}...

 



-75 pounds!!!

The title truly says it all!

Just two weeks after shoulder surgery I hit the magnificent milestone of -75 pounds of weight loss. Now, I know some of that is because of inactivity during that period of time but I'll take it!




Of course, there has to be a comparison picture!!




My husband always takes my pictures. But with a very hurt arm the pictures were a little more interesting this time. We took 17 pictures total trying to get a comparison picture I was happy with... If you look my left arm looks like it's not doing normal things because that's the shoulder I had surgery on! These are my six favorite pictures from the compilation!

I'm aware that once I am able to start working out again in a few weeks, that my weight might go back up because of the muscle I will be building back up. I am totally okay with that. While it is most certainly exciting to see the number go down it is even more exciting to see the pant and shirt sizes go down! I really want to start focusing on the look of a toned body and not as much about the number on the scale! That will also be a little tricky because I've been weighing myself pretty much every couple of days for the last 20 months... My plan right now is when I hit the two-year mark of my tipping point that I will put the scale away and only get out once a month.

I don't feel like I'm going to continue to lose a lot of weight in numbers. But I have every hope that I will continue to lose inches and to burn off this fast I still have.

Another exciting thing happened when I hit this weight though...



According to this BMI calculator I am now considered in the normal weight range! I also talked to one of my friends who is a weight watchers leader and she said for weight watchers the normal range for someone who is 5'4" is 117 pounds through 146 pounds. So it looks as though I am right on track.

Fingers crossed {that the inches continue to come off}...

just down the hall....

...is one of my biggest inspirations!


My coworker Amy has been on her life style change for a few years now! She started her journey in the second half of 2010, Which is just about a year before me. Her beginning weight was within a couple of pounds of my beginning weight, so when I first started my journey it was very motivating to see someone who was as overweight as I was, could do it.

Amy is a weight watchers fanatic!! She loyally tracked every single day and now runs her own weight watchers meetings!! Amy lost her weight by eating correctly, talking to people about what she was learning, and by becoming a runner.



The pictures in the left-hand column are from our end of year staff retreat in June 2010. Amy says this is pretty much right before her tipping point. I still had a year and a half until my tipping point and I would bet I gained another 20-25 pounds from this picture when I was at my heaviest. From both of our heaviest we have lost 154 pounds combined!!! That's more than either of us weight now!

It's quite an awesome experience to have someone losing weight the healthy way who you work with. It's daily motivation.

Fingers crossed {that I continue to inspire others}...

there's always time for a little celebration!!

Last night my hubby and I dressed up, went down into Portland, and had a nice & fancy dinner at McCormick & Schmick's Harborside at the Marina! We had some celebrating to do {and some gift certificates to use}!

Jason & I :) Love him!!!

 



At first I went into this dinner and I was in a "I'll have whatever I want (likely something I shouldn't have) mood" but then once I sat down my conscious really got the better of me. Maybe conscious isn't the right word. My thought pattern went like this...

- I want the blackened chicken pasta with alfredo linguine.
- But, I had cheese a few days ago so I don't know if I need that much dairy today.
- Plus, I might have dessert which might have dairy in it.
- I still want chicken though. What about the Parmesan chicken? It's still dairy but not as much as the alfredo sauce.
- Order glass of Riesling.
- Talk to waiter. Tell him I do want the chicken pasta but I don't want the alfredo. Waiter suggests that we do a veggie medley on top of noodles that have olive oil instead.
- BINGO!

I forgot to take a picture of my dinner but it was delicious. It was the Parmesan crusted chicken breasts with linguine and tomatoes & fresh basil. It was fresh, it was light, and it was perfect & just for me.

I've said it many times on here and many, many more times in my life - YOU have to be an advocate for yourself. Whether it is going to the doctors or eating as best you can at a restaurant you are the only one who is truly looking out for you!!

it wouldn't be an Annie post if there wasn't a comparison picture!

left ~ April 2012

right ~ May 2013

Because I made the decision to change my meal I felt better about myself, I am proud of myself, and I ordered {almost} exactly what I wanted for dessert. If I had had my choice {and I did, I just chose something else} I would have loved to have had the cheesecake with berries and next time that is available I just might. This time, though, I decided to share the MOST delicious apple pie upside down pie with vanilla ice cream with my husband. There's something fun and intimate about sharing a dessert...and my husband always lets me have the last bite! He's sweet like that.

Have any of you made any good choices recently at a restaurant? Salad instead of fries? Sharing dessert? I'd love to hear how everyone out there handles eating out!!

Fingers crossed {that next time I go out I can make good choices}...

minus 70 (yes, seventy) pounds!!!

That's still shocking to see, write, hear, and say!!!

70 pounds is two cat litter tubs from Costco

After kind of just easily losing the range from 60-65 pounds...I had to work at getting to that -70 pounds! While I didn't change anything about my diet I did amp up my workout routine as my shoulder surgery draws nearer...and I think I kept adding muscle (which weights more). At least, that is what I am believing.

I feel very lucky that I have PCOS and I have been able to lose 70 pounds. I know many of my cysters aren't as lucky!

-70 pounds in 80 weeks!!!

left: September 2011

right: May 2013

I don't quite know what my trick's have been. I've cut back on carbs, portions, and sitting on the couch. I've increased exercise, greens/fruits/veggies, and my knowledge.

I have really learned how to set myself up for success in many areas of my life...

working out...finding what you love.
I found my one true exercise love - barre3. There is almost nothing I love more than barre3. It calms me and my ADHD brain down, it tones & shapes my PCOS body, and it lengthens and strengthens my osteoarthritis back & toes. Even with all my idiosyncrasies it is the perfect fit and that, is what I love most. Anyone can do this. I did this when I weighed 220 pounds! My father in law has done barre3! Anyone with anything is welcome and fitted at barre3. I also walk...a LOT! Just at work I walk about 3 or 4 miles a day and I know that thanks to my FitBit and I try to walk 2 - 4 times a week but sometimes this dreary PNW weather gets the best of me.

eating better...knowing how & what to eat.
This has been the other major change I have made. Before being diagnosed with PCOS I was so unaware of the food I was eating. I was treating myself badly by eating way too much of everything I ate. I considered a can of green beans enough veggies. I have learned a lot about what portions truly are and how much of each type of food is recommended. A lot of what I have learned I got from participating in the barre3 28 to Great Challenge. It's core values are that of any nutritionist, portions!! Check in out and give it a whirl. I have that chart from the link taped to my fridge as a daily reminder.

believing in myself...I am beautiful like me.
This was a harder one to come by and something I will be working on for the rest of my life. Being over weight isn't an easy thing to be and I truly didn't love myself in so many ways. I still struggle with ideas/ideals about how my body looks but it's slowly getting easier. Now...my brain wants to go to the "well, you can't gain it all back because you'll be a failure" model and I honestly don't think I'll ever go back to where I was.

setting myself up for success...an organizing life is an easier life.
The night before the next day is a pretty busy time around here. We are usually setting out our workout clothes for the next day, making a plan while grocery shopping, or making lunches. You can follow my lunches feed on Instagram {username anniebelle316}. I like to plan when my "treats" will be and focus on them instead of thinking I need a treat every day. I also don't always save treats for just special occasions. Sometimes getting through the workday, the workout, the craziness of life - that's enough.

18 months later...

 

Fingers crossed {that this isn't the end but yet the continuation}...