This year has been a crazy year for us! I really don’t know how it happened or why it happened, but I’m VERY glad that it happened. At the beginning of the year, I sat down with Willie and told him I wanted to blog about our weight loss. People were asking us questions, mostly the same questions, and I thought a blog would be the place to get the information out there. I had no idea that someone at CNN would be searching the internet for weight loss stories and stumble across the blog! The funny thing about the blog is Willie hated the name. He tried to get me to do something else, but the one thing he couldn’t deny was it was catchy. It’s got that horrid word “fat” but I don’t mind it. Fat is a word people use and we can’t all of the sudden erase from our vocabulary.
On that day in March, Willie and I went from normal people to weight loss people. I remember the day like it was yesterday because I HAD NO ONE reading the blog and then I woke up to an inbox filled with e-mails and the site had crashed. I had no idea what was going on! We definitely didn’t think a 30 minute interview would turn into so much. One minute can transform your life and that’s the one message I want to share with everyone.
Willie and I woke up one morning and wanted a change! We wanted to change our lives and we took the steps to change it. Those steps didn’t happen immediately, it was a one day at a time. One day at time, the weight came off by changing our lifestyle and today we continue to live that healthy lifestyle. Remember you can make a change just by taking the first steps. Small steps lead to big progress you just have to be patient and put in the work!
We didn’t expect much to come from it but that wasn’t the point. The purpose of the blog and why I continue to blog is to show people you can lose weight and keep it off the natural way. I blog to show that my life isn’t much different than any one else’s life. I go to work, I work out, I eat and of course I run, but those are things people do every day. We are just like you and your family. Life isn’t always easy but that doesn’t mean it’s got to get you down. I blog to help myself make it through the days, I blog to show you that I’m human and I CAN and DO relate to people who struggle with weight loss, body image, time management and whatever else.
It’s always nice when you’re hometown gives you a shout out too. We covered the Beaumont Enterprise and received a state resolution which are probably the biggest honors we will ever receive in life. There’s nothing like an experience like that to bond people together. Those people I stood there with will forever be our friends. Isn’t it crazy to be recognized for doing something for ourselves? Losing weight shouldn’t be that big of a deal because we did put ourselves in that situation.
Besides all those amazing things, my mom finished her last chemo treatment this year and we were able to leave cancer behind. It was a great day in my book because the cancer road was such a long and emotional battle for the family. Having this day come was really great!
And then there was The Rachael Ray Show, which was a complete surprise and earth shattering at the same time. September was a whirlwind! TV producers were taking over a house and we had the quick trip to NYC to be on the show. Makeovers and a trip to China was the biggest surprise out of that trip. I never in a million years would have guessed that would happened. We met some really nice people who completely changed our lives. Thank you!
Just in case you want to watch it all again:
On The Rachael Ray Show: Inspiring Weight Loss Story and 500lb Weight Loss Couple Gets A New Look
But the best thing about this year has been sharing our story with you guys! We’ve met so many nice people, had so many great conversations and shared in the highs and lows of other people’s stories. Without any of this, none of that would have happened. I look forward to connecting with people on social media and hearing the stories. It has opened up a dialogue for everyone to feel safe to share their stories and daily struggles. It has connected us to so many people and will connect us to many more. It has enabled us to inspire and motivate others BUT also allowed people to inspire and motivate us. The one thing I have learned this year is: everyone has a story but not everyone will take the time to listen it! This has allowed us to really hear other people’s stories. We in no way think we’re special, the special people are y’all who read this and share your stories with us! It makes me/us happy! So thank you for taking the ride with us and reading the blog everyday (despite all my spelling and grammar mistakes). I never said I was a writer, I was just thrown into the position. Thank you for inspiring us to be better people and to more forward in life. I blog because of you and I hope to continue to bring you inspiration, motivation and a little help along the way!
