Kelly Brown Says: Take it off

Our friends Dan and Wendy were married over the weekend!

I totally stole this from their Facebook page. Thanks to whoever snapped it!

I've known Dan since college (holy crap, roughly 16 years!). We had fallen in and out of touch over the years but finally reconnected last year. (You might recall a little incident with nudity.) I'm so glad we did. I was even happier when Wendy and Dan got engaged and they invited us to the wedding. I always enjoy seeing old friends move on to new stages of life. Especially when they are moving onto that next stage with such a lovely person.

Isn't Wendy such a beautiful bride?!
Also, do you like my grizzly man's beard? Its a sports thing. He's not shaving it till the end of the football season.
And Wendy is totally touching my butt in this photo. True story. ;)

I love weddings. The flowers, the clothes, all the love and duh, cake. This wedding was different for me though. Since starting Medifast I have an extra dash of anxiety added to any social situation - especially those that include food and alcohol. Will I be able to enjoy myself without over-indulging? Will I make good choices? How will I track what I eat?

Thankfully the spread was so huge, I had no trouble finding foods that helped me stay on track. I won't claim to have stayed on plan. But I ate in moderation, took two-bite samplings and tried to keep my choices as low carb as possible.

This event was a double whammy of social anxiety for me. It was also a reunion of sorts because I'd have a chance to reconnect with another college friend, Ralph. Dan, Ralph and I were part of a larger group of friends but I'd say of all the people in the group, I was closest to them. I was excited and anxious all at once to see both of them. It was so nice to be in the same room with two of my favorite guys again.

Trouble makers.
Thanks to this crew there is an official club of angry former roommates (and one ex-girlfriend)
that dedicate their time to hating us.

If you've been following my journey from the beginning, you may have noticed that I try to not focus on the vanity aspect of losing weight. For me, to do this for vanity would be doing it for all the wrong reasons. But let me tell you, when you walk up to an old friend to say hello and practically have to re-introduce yourself because they knew you when you looked like this:

Size 24 jeans.
You know you want that hat.

Well, that feels pretty awesome. And it's just a tiny ego boost when you are told 'I can hardly believe it's you!' and the words 'fantastic' and 'stunning' are sprinkled into conversation. So even though I hesitate to focus on the vanity of losing weight, I won't deny that it was so nice to be presented with such lavish compliments.

Since losing weight encompasses so much of my life I often find myself looking for more inspiration in each situation. On Sunday, while listening to Wendy and Dan exchange vows, not only did I think back to my wedding day but I also thought about the new commitment I've made to myself.

It all started with a promise, a commitment, the urge to take care of someone because you love them so much. I thought about how breaking my promises could cause it all to fall apart and end a really good thing. I chuckled to myself when I realized that I am still very much in the honeymoon phase of this marriage. I'm getting to know this new person that has moved into my house. And we argue sometimes because they don't do things they way they are supposed to be done. But I want to keep my promises so we work past it and move forward. I thought about how some days are harder than others but how the good days are really good and completely overshadow the hard days. And how I sometimes need to seek advice outside of this coupling to regain perspective. This commitment, like my marriage, is a labor of love and completely worth it for the lifetime of joy it will bring me.

Here's to commitment, hard work and the results that makes it all worthwhile!

• • •

Are you ready for progress pics?

I wanted to reshoot this in workout clothes. But I think we all know how lazy I am about pictures. Plus I look awesome in that dress. :P

I have 38lbs to go to meet my goal of 100lbs lost. But I have decided that I will re-evaluate once I hit 90lbs lost. I'm not trying to bail out or anything - there are a few factors at play. People are already commenting that I shouldn't lose too much more. Well, first of all it's none of your beeswax. I'm just kidding! I appreciate the concern, I really do. However, I am still technically overweight and will be until I hit 154lbs and then I will be on the high end of a healthy weight. But I certainly do not want to get to a point that I look emaciated (can you imagine? I sure can't!).

The second issue is again, the floppy skin. If I had to guess, between arms, legs, backside and tummy, I probably have nearly 5-10lbs of skin that will account for some extra weight. I don't want to torture myself trying to get to a goal that isn't attainable without surgical intervention. But I will cross that bridge when I come to it.

I'm about to finish week six of the C25k. From here on out, no more intervals. I only have 13 days till my first 5k. So I will be pushing for time now. I'm hopeful that I will be able to finish in under 40 minutes. My dreamy goal is to be closer to 30 minutes but I will be pleased with under 40 minutes.

Oh! I lost one pound this week. Not terribly impressive but its also TOM. Yay for water retention! I took measurements (finally!) last week. I think I will report on those every other week from here on out.

• • •

Last and certainly not least, I want to share the success of my friend Michelle with you. I met Michelle on Twitter and we've become friends over the past few months. She started using Medifast shortly after I started. She's such a sweetheart and doesn't brag about her accomplishments nearly enough. So I am going to do it for her! (With her permission, of course.)

This is where Michelle started:

267.2lbs

And this is where she is now:

Not many people can distract from the natural beauty of the Grand Canyon like Michelle can!

182.6lbs

Michelle doesn't have a public blog but you can follow her on Twitter to track her success and cheer her on!

Month One: -16 lbs

Month Two: -5 lbs

Month Three: -6 lbs

Month Four: -6 lbs

Month Five: -6 lbs

Month Six: -8.5 lbs
Month Seven: -7.5 lbs
Month Eight: -5 lbs

Week thirty three: -0 lbs

Week thirty four: -0 lbs <insert sad face>
Week thirty five: -1 lbs <insert happy face!>
Week thirty six: -1 lbs

Total: 62 lbs gone forever!
Current weight: 178 lbs
Distance from goal: 38 lbs!!

If you're interested in trying Medifast, I have a great deal for you! Use the code TURNIP50 to get $50 off an order of $275.

*FTC Disclosure: Medifast provides their products for my personal use for free. I am not paid or compensated in any other way for mentioning their products. All thoughts written here are mine. I love complaining so I would tell you if I didn't like something in the program. :)