Start of My Journey

Did you ever see the show Extreme Weight Loss with Chris and Heidi Powell? The basis of the show was Chris and Heidi would surprise someone who had a lot of weight to lose at their home. They would bring them to Colorado and the show would follow this person on their journey of losing weight for a whole year. I used to dream of being able to be on the show. I loved that they were realistic in how long it takes to lose so much weight. I loved how honest and caring and compassionate they were with the people on their show. I dreamed of being able to be one of the people they picked. That they would show up at my house one day and whisk me away to Colorado and I could learn from the masters. Well, that didn’t happen. Why, well for one I never sent in my application. Sure there were lots of reasons. I could not afford to be out of work for that long. I didn’t know if I could be away from my family for that length of time. But honestly, I was scared. What if they did pick me? What if they didn’t?

Eventually the show ended and the thought of being on the show faded. Time went on, but then in December of 2017, during one of my lowest points, I happened to see a video on Facebook called Transform Nation that showed Chris and Heidi surprising a fellow Texan, Mary. Mary had been using their new app called The Transform App. The app is based on all their teachings from the show. They talked with Mary about her journey and her success with the app. For some reason it struck a cord with me. I was so excited to find out what this was all about. I kept feeling God nudging me to make a change, a drastic one, but I had no idea how to start.

Like Mary, I had tried Weight Watchers over and over again. Before I had my first child 15 years ago and we were trying to get pregnant, I did Weight Watchers and lost about 30-40 pounds. It was successful enough that I got pregnant. Afterwards, I tried it again, but this time I stayed the same, only to find out I was pregnant again! The hard part with Weight Watchers, was when you went off the program, you had no idea point values for anything. So this made it very hard to maintain without paying for their membership. Around 2015-2016, I even tried their coaching program, but with that I only gained. I was at my last option.

So, I went and looked at their website for The Transform App and found out how inexpensive it was to other plans I had tried. I thought, “Well, what they heck. If it doesn’t work, then that is it. But, I need to try one last thing.”

My husband, Scott and I had planned a trip at New Year’s 2018 to Disney World without our kids. We went with friends and we had a fantastic time. I had told Scott about the app, had signed up and planned to start as soon as we got home. I was excited to start, but also excited to have this one last “free for all” at Disney. While on our way there, it really hit home how much weight I had put on. As we got to our seats, I could not fasten the lap belt. It was mortifying. Here I was going to the happiest place on earth and I had to ask for a belt extender…in front of my husband. It was a low.

Now, don’t get me wrong. We had a great time in Disney, but it just stuck with me. Every ride…am I going to fit?

When we got home, I could not wait to start. I started my transformation on January 8, 2018. I will never forget it. That is the day I changed my life forever.

Starting the app was SO EASY! Being a working mom who hates to cook, I knew I needed something that would basically just tell me what to eat, how much of it, and how to prepare it. And that is exactly what The Transform App give me. It tells me when and what to eat, what days to make high carb and low carb, and I get a reset day! Woo Hoo! The app also tells me what exercises to do, showed videos of how to do them and even has alternate movements if you aren’t quite to that level. What I love is that it is designed specifically for where you are in your journey. At the beginning, I was lucky to be able to run for 30 seconds at a time without falling over and burpees??? What the heck were those??? The app walked me through everything.

However, the BEST part of the app is not the nutrition or the workouts…it is much more important and something that no other program I have tried talks about and something I didn’t expect. Life Lesson videos. These videos are of Chris and Heidi talking to you through life changing topics. From keeping your integrity, to finding you Why, to being beneficially selfish. These are a game changer. Not only does it “kind-of” call you out on the carpet, but it taught me things I had never thought about.

When I started my journey, I weight exactly 290 pounds. Now, putting this out there for the whole world to know is NOT easy for me, but I think it is important for you to know. Some of you may be at this weight or close to it and think the only answer is either staying the way you are or bariatric surgery. You are not alone. I felt the same way. But let me encourage you…those are NOT the only answers. There is a better, healthier way and YOU CAN DO IT!! After just a few months on the app, I was down to 262.8 at the beginning of April 2018. It was working, and continues to work to this day.