ALL ABOUT ME

My name is Connie, and I am on a journey.  My journey is the same as millions of people around the world. 

Lose weight and get healthy.

I have been overweight since I was 20 years old.  But after having my two beautiful children, my weight ballooned, and at the start of this journey I weighed in at 430 lbs.  OUCH!  My highest weight ever was higher than 440 lbs.  How much higher?  I don't know.  My scale would just error out rather than weigh me. Those were good times.  **NOT**

The term yo-yo dieting describes me to a T.  I have lost and gained weight too many times to count.  But, in January of 2013 I decided it was time to make permanent, long term change. I knew that in order to do that I would have to make real, sustainable changes that I could live with for the rest of my life.  No more fad or gimmick diets for me.  I also decided that I would NEVER pay another cent to the multi-billion dollar weight loss industry...that capitalizes on what is truly a disease and an epidemic.

I knew that three things were going to have to happen in order for me to be successful: 1) I had to give up soda...FOREVER.  2)  I had to give up eating fast food...FOREVER.  3) I had to commit to food journaling - EVERY. SINGLE. DAY. for the rest of my life.

And that's where I started.

On January 1, 2013 I gave up soda & fast food.  I knew there would be no moderation where either of those things were concerned.  I am a food addict, they are two of my triggers, and they had to go.

On January 27, 2013 I signed into Sparkpeople, set my calorie range, and started food journaling.  Something I accept will have to happen every single day for the rest of my life.  I haven't missed one day since, and it has made all the difference in my journey.

I am working on embracing exercise - and feel strongly that it must be one of the life long changes I incorporate.  I am pretty hit and miss...but every workout is one step closer to that permanent, life long change I need to make.  I'll get there.

I have been on this journey for 3 months...and yesterday I reached my 50 pounds lost milestone!  I still have a long way to go...215 lbs. to be exact, but I know that I will get there.

If you stop by my little corner of the internet, and spend any time reading through my blog, you will see a lot of posts from 2012.  A failed attempt at weight loss.  I decided to leave those posts because the truth is, most obese people fail over and over and over again on this journey.  It is truth - plain and simple...and it's OK.  It doesn't mean we can't get right back up and try again.  WE CAN.  We CAN get back up, and we CAN move forward, and we CAN have success...no matter how many times we have failed in the past.

ON A PERSONAL NOTE...

I live along the Wasatch Front in the beautiful Salt Lake Valley in Utah.  I was born and raised here and it will ALWAYS be home to me.  I live here with my husband, Chris, who is my best friend, my partner in crime, and the best damn support system a woman could ever ask for.  We met each other 16 years ago in San Sebastian, Spain and have been married for 12 glorious years.

This is Chris.  He will kill me for using this picture.  I don't care.  Look at those come hither eyes!

Together we have two beautiful daughters: Amaia & Ella...

Amaia (left) & Ella (right) with Grandma Jo (my beautiful, sassy Mother in Law)

And two feisty chihuahuas: Javier "Javi" & Dozer...

Javi (left) & Dozer (right)

As a working mom, life can get pretty crazy!  Trying to maintain a household, raise two daughters and work full time can make a gal want to pull her hair out.  But, we manage.  Chris and I share responsibilities in every way two people can - and somehow we make it work.  I will never say its easy, but it is definitely worth it.

A FEW FACTS ABOUT ME...

I was born and raised on a small farm in rural Utah. I moved irrigation pipe, helped bale hay, did daily farm chores, and learned the value of hard work.  I hated it when I was a kid, but today I am so grateful for the work ethic it instilled in me.

I lived in Spain for a year and a half and met my husband while there.  It was a fantastic experience and I miss Spain and the people I grew to love there every day of my life.

I lived in Boston, MA for just about a year.  I wanted to try something new and had a very dear friend living there who encouraged me to get out of Utah and try something different.  Ultimately, city living wasn't for me, but I will always have a soft spot in my heart for Bean town.

I have a love / hate relationship with photography.  Love to take pictures, hate to look at them afterward.  I love photography, but my images never live up to my expectations...which apparently aren't very realistic.  My husband and I actually own our own photography business (Chris has been in the biz since he was 19 years old), but because I am so insane about how the images turn out, we have had to take a break from it - yeah, I may be a little crazy.  

My next door neighbors are my older sister on one side, and my younger sister on the other.  My brother lives two houses down, my aunt and uncle next to him, and my niece lives just through the back field, in my mom's house.  I love living with family close and wouldn't change a thing about that. 

There are few moments in life that truly change a person. For me, I can count them on one hand:  marrying Chris, the birth of my daughters, and the death of my father.  My Dad died in 2001 after a short and aggressive battle with pancreatic cancer.  The experience of watching the man who loved me, raised me and helped to make the person I am today die, changed me forever.  I have never been the same since.  I miss him every day.  I hate cancer and can't wait for the day when medical science is able to wipe it from the face of the Earth.  I am blessed to know that families are an eternal unit and that one day we will be reunited.  I cannot wait for that day.

Nothing matters more to me than family. ABSOLUTELY NOTHING.  They are what it is all about.