Cayla - Week 1

Week 1 - Everyone Has to Start Somewhere!

Weight Loss This Week:  Since January 7th I have lost 14 pounds 

Total Weight Loss So Far: 14 pounds

Eating Plan:I am currently following the Paleo plan which has been eye opening for me. I plan to dive deeper into this as the weeks unfold as well as share tips and Paleo friendly recipes. 

Exercise Plan:  I joined a gym this week and signed up for 52 sessions with a personal trainer. I am forcing myself to get up and go to the gym at 5am Monday - Friday. This week I have worked out every day so far and plan to finish strong.

New Weight Loss or Diet Knowledge to Share:  When joining a new gym if you plan to shower there and get ready for work...make sure you know if the provide towels, or be sure to take your own. I learned the hard way Monday when I was left to dry off with paper towels! :-)

 Recipe's to Share: Cauliflower Poppers (These taste almost as good as french fries and are super easy to make) My husband even liked these!

        What you will need:

• 2 heads of cauliflower
• 1/4 cup of olive oil
• 1 1/2 teaspoon of salt
• 1 teaspoon of pepper

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees
2. Wash and clean the cauliflower. Cut off and discard the stem. Cut the cauliflower up into small pieces.
3. In a large bowl, combine the olive oil, salt and pepper. Add the cauliflower pieces and thoroughly coat each piece.
4. Place cauliflower pieces onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake for one hour and turn 3 times during cooking until each piece has a nice brown coloring. The browner they are the better.
5. Remove from oven and enjoy!

Goals This Week: Work out 5 days a week and lose 3 pounds.

Little Victories: I had a serious addiction to Starbucks Chai Tea Latte. I went every single day with out fail for months. I have gone 18 days without my Chai Tea Latte as well as all Soda. Not to mention how much money I have saved!

Overall Goals:   I have found that it is good to have an overall goal and then break it up into smaller goals. My immediate goal is 50 pounds....I have 36 more to go.Total Goal 125 pounds...111 to go (I'm looking forward to this number getting much smaller!).

My History: My Name is Cayla Conley. I am a first time blogger. Thank you for joining me on this journey. I live in beautiful, sunny Tampa Florida. We moved from Ohio a little over a year ago because I had a new job opportunity. I am an Ohio girl at heart but had to get out of the cold. :-) I  have a loving husband who I have been married to for a little over 6 years. We do not have any children yet...but we do have a fur baby Gizmo, my 5lb ferocious Yorkie. I work as a Director of Sales for a major hotel chain. I have a bachelors degree in event planning and I have a Masters Degree in Business.

I have been very successful in my career and goals that I set for myself. One thing that I have never been able to get is control of my weight. My weight loss journey has been a long one. As a kid I was "chubby". I wasn't extremely over weight, I was just a little heavier than the rest of my friends. Looking back now...I wish I was the weight that I was in high school. My parents tried to help. They supported every weight loss fad, or kick that I was on for the moment. They tried to motivate me by offering me shopping spree's and various other things to get me to lose the weight. But to no avail.

When in college I met an amazing guy who would later be my husband. We fell in love and got fat and happy together. I remember my senior year of college stepping out of the shower and getting on the scale and it read over 200lbs. I was in shock. Unfortunately it didn't stop there. I continued to let it spiral out of control.

 I've tried programs such as "The Great American Slim Down", Visalus, Advo Care, diet pills, and i'm sure many other things that I cannot recall. At one point I asked my doctor for help with something to control my appetite. She quickly gave me information and suggested gastric bypass surgery. Not only did this make me furious, but she then became my former doctor. Like anyone else my battle with weight has effected me mentally. Anyone that has fought this battle has spent hours crying constantly, becoming anti social at times and depression. I always hoped and prayed that one day a doctor would figure out that my weight issue was strictly medical such as a thyroid problem that could be fixed with a pill. My weight struggle has taken me to some very dark places. I am hoping to put all of this behind me.

Two years ago, I reached the highest weight that I have ever been. I knew then that I needed to do something. I got on a program called Medifast and it was a very quick and effective fix. I lost 50 pounds in three months. I kept most of it off until the recent holidays and several pounds quickly came back on.

In December I celebrated my 30th birthday...which was hanging over my head. So I set goals for myself. One of which was to complete my first 5K before I turned 30. Not only did I complete my first 5K on November 10th 2012, I also completed my second 5K on Thanksgiving Day. My goal for 2013 is to be able to run the entire 5K and complete it in 30 minutes or less.

Throughout this journey I plan to be honest and real about the highs and lows about my weight loss struggle.

I hope that you will join me!

New Years Eve 12/31/1NNew

New Years Eve 12/31/2012