My story....

My name is Julie, but if you're reading this then feel free to call me Jules (everyone else does).

This is my weight loss blog.

It all started after my son was born in July of 2009. After you give birth (for those of you that don't know) there is a 6 week period of healing. After this initial 6weeks is up, you go to your doctor for a nice little visit with your legs in those damn stirrups. Well, it was at that doctor's appointment that I received my biggest wake up call yet.

Have you ever had a wake up call in life? I think we all have small ones. When you see that your bank account is in the negatives and you overdrafted for about the third time, you kind of sit back and say, 'wow! I really need to budget and get my spending under control.' and there you have it, you just had a wake up call. Well, mine was similar to this, only......bigger. Much bigger. Literally. (haha)

At the beginning of this doctor's appointment you go to the nurse and she takes your blood pressure and then asks you a whole bunch of annoying, personal questions: "Have you been having regular bowel movements?" "Have you been feeling significant depression or self loathing?" " Have you and your partner (husband) been sexually active?" blah blah blah! Oddly, these questions weren't what bothered me. What was bothering me was that nasty, old-school doctor's office scale which was eyeballing me from the corner of the room. 'Please don't make me weigh in.....please don't make me weigh in'. I kept repeating this in my head like a mantra because I just didn't want to face the facts: I had gained way too much weight with this pregnancy, I was obese and unhealthy. Sure enough, the nurse looked at me with a sweet smile and said, "Okay, lets hop on the scale!" Hop? HOP?!?!?!?! Lady, there are many things that I don't feel like doing right now, and on the top of that list is "hopping" of any kind. Nevertheless, I obediently stepped on the scale and closed my eyes as the the nurse moved the weights over to the right.

What did I weigh?

260 lbs!!!

I was embarrassed. I didn't want to look the nurse in the face. I was about to cry. How did I let myself get this big? I know I had just given birth and a little weight gain is expected....but 260lbs???? What made it worse? When I went in for the actual examination my doctor talked to me about my weight. I remember him saying that if I continued at the weight I was, I would be at a high risk for diabetes and heart issues. Not to mention the fact that running after this baby when he got to crawling and eventually walking around would be none too easy with all this extra weight on me. I love my doctor. He's no bullshit, and he doesn't sugar coat things. I remember he said, "Jules, you're young and you have a lot of life ahead of you. Treat your body well and it will reward you later on in life. Do yourself a favor and change your life. Lose the weight."

WOW!!!!!!!!!!

Talk about a wake up call? I mean, DAMN! lol So, with the go ahead from that doctor I went home and talked to Rob (my husband). I told him what my doctor had said and I told him (more like begging in a way) that I wanted to spend a little extra money each month on a gym membership. I promised him that if he paid for this gym membership on top of all the other bills, I would definitely use it. I promised him I would lose the weight and I would NOT waste his hard earned money on a gym membership by not using it.

And so, my weight loss journey began.

But wait! There's more!

One day, I was talking with my best friend Bronwyn on the phone. She had seen this awesome young girl (only a few short years older than us) who was doing weight loss videos on youtube. Youtube? I thought to myself, 'who would have thought that youtube would have a weight loss community?' Well, Bronwyn and I discussed it and seeing as how the two of us have always struggled with our weight, we decided to form a weight loss partnership (her in Florida and I in New Jersey) and through our youtube videos we would hold eachother accountable and encourage eachother on this mother of all journeys. And thats just what we did.

As I sit here typing this first blog today, its been 1.5 years since that doctor's appointment and I am officially 75lbs less!!! Thats right, I'm down to about 185. How did I do it? Hard work, determination, motivation, self love, and a whole lot of help from all the wonderful and beautiful people I have met within the Youtube Weight Loss Community. Its simply amazing, perfect strangers holding eachothers' hands, encouraging one another and spreading love via the internet. Its something so inspiring and special to be apart of.

So here I am, with only 45 pounds to go. My goal weight, or I should say my 'healthy' weight for my height is 140lbs. I'm almost there! This past New Years I made a very bold statement to all of my Youtube friends and subscribers, I said, " By my son's 2nd birthday, July 25th, I WILL BE 140lbs." There is no "I hope to be" or "I want to be" there's only, "I WILL BE". So, I have 7 months. 7 more months to get there. 7 more months to push myself harder than I've ever pushed myself before.

Can I do it?

Yes.

Wanna follow along with me?

Then follow this blog.