Lisa, Exposed

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Hello New Readers!

As a result of the Womansday.com and Yahoo! Health articles I’ve gotten a lot of new readers to my site. The FIRST magazine article brought even more. First, thank you so much for checking out my website after reading the article. Second, I am really happy to be able to share my story with so many people. I know a lot of people out there can relate to wanting to lose a significant amount of weight.

This post is a short recap of my journey and an introduction to new readers who may feel overwhelmed with catching up on old posts.

I’m Lisa, 30 years old and I live in Portland, Oregon. I’m originally from Seattle. I live with my boyfriend Michael and two cats (one is referred to as Fat Kitty–he has a bit of a chubby belly these days).

Despite the recent press and having a blog, I am actually quite shy. It’s a strange feeling to suddenly be exposed for the world to see. Strangers, coworkers, family, friends: now they are all aware of what I’ve done.

Most of my 2o’s were spent being significantly overweight and eventually obese. A wake up call regarding diabetes and high blood pressure was the shake up I needed to make a change.

I counted my calories.

I swam laps in the nearby community pool.

I eventually started using the elliptical machine at the gym.

After Losing 50 Pounds (LEFT)

Those things propelled me forward in my journey to lose over 100 pounds. It was a slow process. I wasn’t expecting to lose the weight over night. But seeing immediate progress on the scale motivated me to keep going!

DO NOT FEEL DISCOURAGED. Make small changes. Join Weight Watchers. Join  a gym. When you see progress, you will be motivated to keep trying!

This blog is partly about how I lost 110 pounds. It’s ALSO about how I am maintaining that weight loss. It’s been over 2 years now since I stepped on that scale 100 pounds lighter and my lifestyle has changed completely.

Instead of weekends spent on the couch, I ride my bike. I hike. I run epic races like Hood to Coast.

I’ve had some ups and downs. I’ve hit weight loss plateaus. I’ve had negative experiences at the gym.

A recent running injury forced me to take a break. I did not give up on my lifestyle faced with this challenge. Instead, I continue to swim and I started lifting weights 2-3 times a week. In just one month I’ve lost 4 pounds and my body has been transformed in ways I didn’t expect.

Sometimes I write about recipes I try. I write a lot about Portland Restaurants I try out. Most of all I want to show that living a balanced, healthy life is a good (and achievable) thing!

I hope you stay and read more. I’m not a nutritionist and I don’t offer a quick fix to losing 100 pounds. My goal is to inspire you. If I could do it, you can do it!

QUESTION: If my magazine article inspired you to want to lose weight, tell me how you plan on making some changes to achieve that!