I launched this blog on July 4th, 2006… exactly 6 years ago to the day. Unfortunately, I am still migrating my data over so all my old posts aren’t here just yet. Give me another day or two and they’ll be here. 🙂
I’m writing this post today because I want to share with you why the 4th of July means so much to me… why it’s my favorite holiday of them all. For me, it all comes down to 1 word…
FREEDOM
And if you really think about it, that’s what we all want. We want to be free to live life how we want. We want to be free from our struggles with weight, from jobs we don’t like, from relationships that aren’t healthy…
And yet for many of us, we never seem to be able to achieve our goals and our dreams. For me, my big struggle has been my weight. My highest weight ever was 540 pounds, and that was only a few years ago. My best weight ever was 238 pounds, and that was just a few months ago! Well, I guess my best weight ever was 8 pounds 2 ounces… and that was 30 years ago, lol.
Anyway, point is I felt trapped. I felt like a prisoner in my own body. I constantly declined social invitations and shrugged off the idea that any girl could like me. I was living the complete opposite of freedom.
I think that’s why Independence Day always spoke to me so much. It was what I was yearning for deep inside. I’ve received so many messages from so many great people from all over the world since my episode of Extreme Makeover: Weight Loss Edition aired. And I have read every single one of them. I want to reply to them all and I will do my best to make that happen over the next week.
Meanwhile, I want to offer all of you a gift.
Many people are asking for tips or advice on how to lose weight or get healthier. Yes, on the show I lost 255 pounds. No, I’ve not done the best job keeping all the weight off… though I am more than 200 pounds down from my top weight which I am proud of. So, I do know a lot about weight loss thanks to all I learned from CHLI and Chris and other nutritionists I have worked with.
So, I would LOVE it if you would do the honor of asking your questions here on the blog… If you’re not comfortable doing that you can also use the Contact page to email me privately.
On Friday I will gather up all the questions and answer them in a document that I’ll email to everyone on my newsletter list. So, if you didn’t sign up for that yet use the form at the top of the page.
If you have friends or family who want to ask questions you can send them here as well. I will do my best to make a great document that really provides some meaty content and hopefully will get you going on the right track.
See, I firmly believe that today, July 4, 2012 can be your Independence day as well. Today can be the day you take control of your own destiny and begin working on your weight (like I continue to do everyday).
Just remember, I (and all the greatest minds in the world) can teach you all that science has uncovered but it won’t matter until you gain a spiritual (faith) understanding of your current situation. At least, that’s what I believe. I’ll talk about that in the document I’m putting together.
I’d like to thank you for reading this and for standing with me as I face up to my food addiction. I can’t tell you how awesome it feels knowing that people out there understand what I’m going through and are so supportive. I love you guys!
I know what it’s like to struggle with weight and have other people judge you and think you’re lazy or just don’t care about yourself. I have been there! I promise you I will never judge you, because I am you!
Please, ask me some questions so I can share what I’ve learned so far on my amazing (never-ending) journey.