A Bombshell In Progress

Let me preface this post by saying I AM FREAKING TERRIFIED TO POST THIS PHOTO. I wear clothing that hides the areas of my body that I'm not happy with, and 'accidentally' forget sunscreen so I can swim with a t-shirt to hide my torso, yet here I am, posting pictures of me in my underwear on the INTERNET. BUT, after a long and heartfelt chat with a close friend, and HOURS of soul searching and personal development, I've decided WHO CARES.

I am a mom- I have stretchmarks. 

I am a junk food lover- I am overweight. 

I am a work in progress- Progress is progress no matter how small. 

I am not perfect- I eat cheeseburgers and cookies more than I should.

I've tried starving myself, I've tried the fast five diet, I've tried that INSANE lemonade cleanse from Dr. Oz. I've tried weight watchers. I've tried a LOT of UNHEALTHY options. I've tried to exercise more and eat healthy foods, but that didn't last. I had no support. Sure weight watches has meetings, but eating smaller portions of crap food and counting points is NOT something that is healthy nor is it something I want to do for the rest of my life. But then I found challenge groups.

I found a group of women who had gone through incredibly similar struggles, and who were there to support me through EVERY SINGLE STEP of my process. When I fail, they are there to encourage me to put it behind me and keep going. When I succeed, they are there to celebrate. I used to focus on the number on the scale. While that IS something I need to pay attention to, it's not ALL I should focus on. These pictures are proof. No editing or blurring them out. No filters (though I REALLY wanted to use them, believe me). They are just me. Authentically, apologetically me.

There are SO many people that have lost more weight in less time. And that used to drive me nuts!(still does a bit, if I'm being honest) But this is MY journey. MY project. I've mistaken slow progress for no progress in the past. I'm still working on me, but these photos? These are what makes all the late night workouts and turned down cookies worth it. I'd rather be covered in sweat in front of T25, than covered in clothes at the beach.

Pour your heart and soul into EVERYTHING you do, and you will find ANYTHING is possible. If I can do it, you can too. And as nauseous as I am thinking about hitting 'publish', if this helps even ONE person, then it'll be worth it. Email me if you want to change your life, share my story if you know someone who will benefit from it.

xo,

Erika