weightloss: before and after

Growing up and throughout my teenage years, weight had never really been an issue for me. Yes, I went through a bit of a pudgy stage in JR High when I hated all of the skinny girls who could eat those Granny B cookies with that inch-thick layer of frosting every day for lunch and never gain a pound, but overall, I didn't have to worry about it much. I was a girl however, and so of course, I thought I was larger than everyone else around me (what teenaged girl doesn't think they're fat at least once a month, right?), but it was never really an issue.


Flash forward a couple of years:


Jefferson and I had been married for three years at this point. We'd been through a lot together and I found myself in a sort of a rut, a mild depression, if you will. I found my eating habits spiraling out of control (at least, I didn't want to admit to myself that they were in my control, that I had always been in control, and that in fact, I had done this to myself). Seventy-five pounds later and this is a picture of me last year at my younger sister's birthday (I'm on the far right):







It wasn't until mid-November of last year, when this same sister announced to the family that she was marrying her high school sweetheart, that it hit me: I was way overweight. I knew it and it was time to do something about it. Her wedding date was set for the end of February 2014, and that gave me a little over three months. My goal was to try and lose fifteen pounds by that time.


The diet and exercising began. I had been working out with my Mother-in-law off and on since my sweetheart and I were wed, but I stopped missing appointments and made my workouts a priority throughout my week. Also, I got the MyFitnessPal app on my Ipod and began keeping track of my eating habits. I restricted my calorie intake to the lowest amount possible while still being healthy (as recommended by my personal trainer; approx. 1200 calories per day).


It was amazing to me how the weight started to "melt" away. Don't get me wrong, it was hard work and I was cranky more than usual, but by changing my eating habits and exercising more, the weight started to come off. I first lost five pounds, then ten. By the time my sister's wedding rolled around the number was closer to thirty.





This is a picture of me with my sisters again the day of my little sister's wedding (funny, I just realized we're in the same order--youngest to oldest). I didn't want to stop losing weight just because my deadline had come and gone, but I could definitely tell that the weight loss was slowing down. I had to workout harder, eat even healthier, to show any kind of a change on the scale. However, the difference in inches was revealing. I definitely had a waist now, and my boobies, the one place I would've been okay with keeping some of the weight on, were, of course, drastically smaller. This is me on my birthday in April 2014:





Granted, I'm wearing a black shirt and it's difficult to see just how much I've lost what with the big scarf and all (not to mention I look different due to a change in hairstyle, too) but you get the picture. By this point I was fast approaching the fifty pound mark, which was my overall goal (i.e., New Year's Resolution) for weight loss. Now my biggest fear wasn't that I was wouldn't lose the weight, but rather, once I stopped actively trying to lose weight that I'd start putting it back on.


That started a little experiment. Being a psychology major, I've learned all about experimentation, and I thought that if I took a "dieting break" for the summer, still trying to eat healthier and exercising/being as active as I can what with summer classes and all, that I could monitor my weight and see how good I was at being able to maintain the loss. It's been several months now and, while my weight fluctuates and I'm still inputting what I eat into the MyFitnessPal app, I've done rather well on my maintenance goal. This is me this past Thursday, taking impromptu family pictures in front of our new house:





Again, not the best picture for showing the weight loss itself, what with the rather large chalkboard I'm hiding behind and the loose cardigan I'm sporting, but again, you get the idea. I still have more weight that I want to lose, and for my final semester of college in the Fall of 2014, I've signed up for multiple aerobics courses, including Zumba and Raquetball, but I am really pleased with my progress so far.


Anyway, I wanted to share this for those of you who are currently struggling with weight and/or those who are trying to shed a few pounds. Let us be inspirations for each other!

how we found our house

Having been married for the past four years, Jefferson and I have always dreamed about the day when we would own our very first (and very own) house. We had been looking off and on for years, always just keeping an eye out for a good deal, occasionally spending a lazy Sunday afternoon driving around looking for FOR SALE signs in local neighborhoods. The timing was never quite right however (not to mention the lack of finances), and so we stuck with renting and, more recently, "house-sitting" (i.e., living in their previous home, taking care of the yard, etc., rent free) for the in-laws.


Initially, we didn't think we would want to live in Utah for the unforeseeable future, but gradually, we realized that we're going to be here for a little while anyways, and we were down right sick and tired of wasting our moneys on rent that doesn't go towards owning the property. We had been looking in areas surrounding Provo, what with working there and all, and had just decided one weekend that maybe we should start looking further south when the phone rang. It was Jefferson's dad, Jeff, saying that he and Angie had been driving around in SF and had found the cutest neighborhood. We agreed to meet up with them and look around. 

As we followed them around this gorgeous neighborhood, we started to become more and more discouraged. How could we ever afford a house in a place like this? There's no way. Then, we saw it. Well, technically, Jeff and Angie saw  multiple FOR SALE signs on this particular street and so we pulled up to investigate. The one house had a very professional sign in the front yard with flyers and we called the number listed but with no success. The house across the street then drew our attention. A little FOR SALE BY OWNER sign was stuck in the front yard and upon calling, the gentleman on the other end of the line kindly agreed to meet us there and let us see the place in ten minutes.


We could hardly contain ourselves as we wandered around the back yard and attempted to peek through the blinds in the windows. Certainly the outside was adorable, in need of a little TLC, but definitely precious. Both Jefferson and I could feel the excitement building within ourselves once the elderly gentleman arrived and let us into the house. But certainly, you can't buy the very first house that you walk through in an area, right? You have to keep looking...


The gentleman who let us in happened to be the owner's father, the owner and his family were currently living in Ohio, and were struggling to pay the mortgage on both of their homes. They had tried renting for a while and eventually decided that it was time to sell the place. Jefferson and I were trying so hard not to fall in love with it at first sight, but we knew we had to act quickly considering that multiple people had already looked at the house and it wasn't even up on KSL yet!


We spent the next day looking at other homes in the area, walking through some, driving past many, and every single home we looked at was instantly compared to the first: "This is nice, but I like the yard at the other house better," or "The windows are lovely, but the other house had a better floor plan", etc. It was a sign. This was the place for us. We made an offer on it that evening and later went to show a few other family members. When we pulled up to the house, another group was there to see the place! When the elderly gentleman arrived he said that his son had just called saying that we had made an offer and that they weren't going to be showing the place anymore. He tried to give the keys to us then and there (we think he was pretty sick and tired of having to drive over every single time someone wanted to see the place, and since we were buying it, he figured we'd want to see it often). We ended up leaving the keys with the neighbors, who consequently were also related to the owners.


To make a long story short, we bought a house. Jefferson and his friend Matt had the majority of the bigger furniture moved over in a couple of days. We've even had the carpet up the stairs and in the living room replaced. We eventually want to replace the carpet throughout the entire house, but this'll do for now (seriously, next to the new carpet, the eight year old one feels like walking on sand paper). All in good time.





Now for the much anticipated description:


It's a two-story home with an unfinished basement. 4 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, plenty of space to grow. We are in love with the younger area and all of the little kids everywhere, and our puppy is loving having a great big backyard all to herself!


When we get it all set up and just the way we like it, we want to throw a House-Warming Party so keep an eye out for those invites in the near future!