Peeps!

If you’re a regular participant on my Facebook fan page, you probably remember a day not too long ago when a Hot Mess Princess fan named Sarah thrilled us all with the news that she’d finally hit the 100 pounds lost milestone. Badass!

Many of us had a lot of fun patting Sarah on the back that day. It was like a ticker-tape parade on my Facebook fan page. With unicorns…and rainbows…and free kittens for everyone. Whenever one of my readers has a big announcement like that, I always try to share it because I know the power of the almighty “atta-girl”. I’m betting you do too. That moment when you know you’ve kicked major ass and you shout it to the heavens and share it with everyone you know…and everyone you know is happy and excited for you.

Yeah, that moment.

I’ve had a few. I’m sure you have too. We will all have them again…and again…as long as we keep pushing forward.

In a moment of pure genius (I don’t like to brag, but…) I got in touch with Sarah and asked if she would let me interview her for my blog. I’m a big believer in the fact that we all have to stick together. We have to lift each other up. In my case, that’ll take about five of you…but we all need a little help once in a while.

Seriously, though, we can do this. We can do this. Each and every one of us. And we don’t need special pills or diets. We don’t need to shake special crap on our food or buy thigh-master, butt-blaster exercise gadgets or start on a Monday. We need persistence and patience. We need to be as gentle and loving with ourselves as we are with our best friends. We need to realize that there is no quick fix that’s going to get us healthy…and we need to know in our hearts that we are worth all this trouble.

Sarah’s success is walk’in talk’in evidence of what is waiting for each of us just a little farther down the road. All we have to do is persevere one more second, one more minute, one more hour…one baby step at a time. So have faith in yourself, grab a cuppa, and read on.

HMP: How much have you lost?

Sarah: I’ve lost 104 lbs!!!

HMP: Wow…congrats! How long did that take you?

Sarah: I started seriously trying to lose weight right before Thanksgiving in 2011. So close to a year and a half.

HMP: Are you at your goal weight?

Sarah: I wish! lol. I still have another 82lbs to go.

HMP: What was the hard part of the process?

Sarah: Staying focused, keeping my sweet tooth in check, and learning to check my emotions.

HMP: What are your daily challenges and how do keep them under control?

Sarah: I still struggle controlling my eating habits. I have a bad habit of being an emotional eater. I suffer from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) It impacts my life greatly. It can cause me to be very emotional and eat without thinking. To keep my emotional eating under control when I reach for food, healthy or not, I ask myself what are you feeling right now? I will sometimes write down my feelings so I can see I’m not hungry I’m dealing with this other issue. Whether its feeling depressed because something triggered me or anxious. I made a plan to work past my emotional eating and work on my mental well-being as well.

HMP: What was your proudest non-scale victory?

Sarah: When I could look at myself in the mirror naked. I know – gross, right? But when I was at my heaviest I couldn’t look at myself without wanting to cry. I was 326 pounds. I would turn my back to the mirror when getting ready to shower. Now I can look at myself and see the changes that are happening.

HMP: Do you have a support system at home?

Sarah: I have my two best friends. One close by and another a few hours away, they both keep me going when I struggle. Michelle walks with me and celebrates my victories no matter if it’s one pound or ten pounds. Andrew sends me supportive messages and reminds me only I can make the choice to change my body.

HMP: What is the hardest part of an average day for you…and why?

Sarah: When I’m winding down for the night, there is nothing I like more than ice cream before bed. I know have it once a month when I go out with Michelle. we walk for two hours then I get a small cone.

HMP: Ice cream, huh? We may be related. Did you ever back slide and gain weight back?

Sarah: I’ve gained back here and there. The most I’ve put back on was 10 lbs.

HMP: What did you do about it when you gained it back?

Sarah: To be honest at first I cried. I was distraught. Then I realize I made the choices that lead to me gaining the weight back. I worked hard to get it off and if I want to keep it off I had to keep working at it.

HMP: How is your life different now from the life you had at your top weight?

Sarah: I have more energy. I’m happier. I’m working toward being self-confident. I eat more fruits and veggies. I cut out soda all together. I don’t snack on a bag of peanut butter cups a few times a week.

HMP: What is your next goal? How will you get there?

Sarah: My next goal is to be at or under 200lbs by the start of the New Year. I’ve started some light weight training coupled with lots of cardio. My cardio includes walking and dancing like an idiot with my kids (best cardio ever!)

HMP: What is the one piece of wisdom you think your fellow Hot Mess’ers  should take away from this article?

Sarah: That everyone has struggles. Everyone has highs and low. No one can change your body but you!

HMP: Is there anything else…any really great tidbit of advice that you’d like to share?

Sarah: Don’t change your body to be skinny. Change to be healthy. Don’t change for someone else. This journey is all about you! Taking care of you! Loving you! You’re not dieting, you’re making a life style change. Don’t deny yourself the one brownie you would really like to eat. Moderation is the key. Eat a brownie, not the pan. The road is different for all of us but we are all united to change our way of living so we can enjoy life to the fullest!! Whether you want to lose the last 5 lbs or have just begun your journey, know that you have taken the first step (and kicked its ass) by deciding its time to work on you. Again this is YOUR journey. I will cheer you on in spirit the whole way! Keep up the hard work!

I’m pretty sure I speak for everyone (except maybe that bunghole from Abercrombie & Fitch, but more on that later) when I say congratulations, Sarah…your success and bad-assedry are an inspiration to us all.

Let’s have a group hug with Sarah in the middle. She deserves it – and the rest of us could probably use a good squeeze as well. Comment here to post messages of praise and awe for Sarah…or questions. I’m sure she’d love to hear from her fellow Hot Mess’ers. Oh, and if you’re reading this via email, please note that if you reply to the email you’re reading it does not post here to the blog. Please click through to the blog and post a comment so Sarah hears you loud and clear.