Buh Bye 40lbs!

     I've been maintaining this blog for well over a year now, and by maintaining, I mean posting sporadically and switching my font colors. You'd think that since I treat this as my online journal that I would have had some type of breakthrough. By now I should have a huge success story about creating a new fitness/diet plan that would inspire a number one best seller, a spot on Dr. Oz, a shout out from Jillian Michaels, a commercial that shows computerized before and afters, and a body that would make Jessica Biel self-conscious. But, alas, a year later, and I'm still me just trying to find the perfect solution; I'm getting there, though. Realistically, everyone has their own solution. What works for one person won't necessarily work for another, but that one person inspires others to find what works. Who doesn't love a great success story, eh? They're moving and inspiring. They are just what some people need to hear to motivate bandwagon jumping. Let me introduce to you who I am dubbing the Star of February, Lytisha Shuler. She has been a friend to the family for years, and she now has an incredible success story. As I watched her transformation, I thought to myself, "People need to know about this." Not everyone has a camera crew and personal trainers to thank for the positive change; I know, I know, it's hard to believe. Lytisha did this herself as a full time mom and employee, and frankly, I think she deserves a shout out. But I am going to step back and let her tell her own story...

Lytisha Shuler

January 2012

This is me:
Hello! My name Lytisha Oliver Shuler. I'm almost 31 (Feb 20th is the big day...haha), and I live in Western, North Carolina. I'm a realtor at Prudential Great Smokys Realty located in the Great Smokys. I am married and have two wonderful kids: Cayden, 8 years old, and Hadley, 2 1/2; they are truly the loves of my life. I know Abigail from previously working with her mother for five years. I enjoy playing with my kids, doing Zumba, going to the lake in the summer, and playing in the snow in the winter. I feel very blessed with my life, and I believe in living life to the fullest.

My breaking point:
At the end of March 2012, I went to the doctor when Hadley was about 18 months old. I had only lost 10 lbs from the 45 that I gained with her while I was pregnant. I was 159 lbs and busting out of a size 12. I thought, "I'm tired of nothing fitting and feeling like I'm about to bust out of my clothes! My hips are just getting wider and wider. I have to change this!!!!" SO...I did just that! I was going to pigout that weekend and start on Monday, sound familiar?...and I did! I downloaded an app on my iPhone called My Fitness Pal. You plug everything in, and it tells you how many calories you consumed, burned, and how much is needed to actually lose weight. Along with the app, I also stopped drinking soft drinks. After a couple of weeks, I had only lost about 3 lbs, so I wasn't very happy. I had to remind myself it took 9 months to gain it, and it wasn't going to fall off over night.

My solution:
I had a friend that was doing Herbalife Shakes, so I started those. They are high protein meal replacement shakes. I drank two a day and would end the day with a healthy meal. The first week was difficult, giving up chewing for drinking, but once I saw results, it became much easier. At Thanksgiving, I weighed 133 and was wearing a size 8.

November 2012

As of February 1, 2013, I weigh 119 lbs, and I am wearing a size 4!!! I'm beyond happy! I've not been this small since I got married 12 years ago!!

February 2013 

Maintaining:
I continue to watch my calories and drink Herbalife Shakes as a meal replacement. What really worked, and what I continue to do, is snack on high protein foods and lots of salads. Let's not forget WATER, WATER, WATER!!! I didn't workout like I should have, the weight probably would have come off faster, because I'm a busy mom and a full time realtor, so it's not always easy to leave for a workout. I do need to be better about doing it, though. Since January of this year, I have been going to Zumba 2-3 times a week.

The New Me:
I feel wonderful, and I've learned to eat in moderation. It's okay to splurge every once in a while, just not all the time. I'm not letting myself go back to the old me. I read a quote the other day: "I'm not losing weight. I'm getting rid of it. I have no intention of finding it again." This is the new me!!

My Advice to You:
Put your mind to it, and you can do it. Hold yourself accountable for it; the app on my phone was wonderful. I knew I needed to do this for myself!

Do you have questions about Herbalife Shakes? Contact Lytisha who is now a representative for Herbalife. If you'd like to make an order or hear more about her success, contact her at lytishashuler@gmail.com.

***Disclaimer: Abigail Newton has not used Herbalife and cannot speak for the validity of the product. However, I do support Lytisha and her weight loss methods. I'm not trying to advertise a product, I'm simply supporting a friend.

Way 2 Go (Insert 1 in front of 2) Abigail!

“You can’t have your cake and eat it, too.” Why is that true? Who says we can’t eat our own cake? In fact, anytime there is cake that has the dubbed title as “my cake” I pretty much get to eat it. People would be offended if I didn’t eat my cake, “What’s wrong with the cake? Are you too good for the cake? Did we not cater to your liking enough for you to humor us with trying the cake?” If I followed the adage, I’d just sit there, like, “Well, I can’t eat it because it’s mine. That’s the rule.” That rule is bogus. First of all and the best part of my argument: cake. Second of all, that doesn’t always apply, so why do people just throw it around like it goes with every scenario. For instance, my husband is gorgeous, and he just so happens to be someone I like hangin’ around. Bam, two good things. My marriage is an example of me eating my own cake. However, there are those moments when the adage is too appropriate, like when I’m trying to teach a screeching five year old an important life lesson, when I’m trying to decide between purchasing the shoes or the dress, when I’ve already eaten someone else’s cake so I may not need to eat my own, or when I’m in my current situation. (Insert transition music…)

This time last week, I was singing my praises to the world, and that’s something that I’m not exactly famous for doing. I don’t walk around with the reputation that when people see me they say, “Oh, you see that girl? That’s Abigail…she totally loves herself.” Nope, that’s never been included in any of my descriptors. But I’ve been working on that and last week I was thriving with the Abigail-self love. I’ve been trying to be healthy overall, and for the first time in my life, I’m not following a plan. I’m not even following a plan made up by me that worked years ago; I’m just being me, and it’s working. Well, it was.

 Do you know what’s more difficult than being an overweight female? A female who is losing weight and knows she is. It’s like I broke a rule of womanhood. “Thou shall not boast about bodily accomplishments. Thou shall cower timidly in front of other women. Thou shall cast away and deny any positive remarks.” Because I spent more time saying thank you to those who have been noticing, I’ve become more disliked.

I’m guilty of being the giver of the evil eye, but maybe only one or two…million…times, no big deal. I wasn’t able to celebrate someone’s accomplishments, so I didn’t. I bashed them in my brain and sulked. I still do that!! I girl who looks like Barbie came into yoga this past week, and I rolled my eyes...why did I do that? And then when I'm telling Reuben about her, he asked why it mattered, and of course, I didn't have an answer. It doesn't matter. I'm just sitting there, giving her the evil eye because...dunno...I'm a girl, that's what we do. 

I’ve been getting that a lot this past week (the evil eye), so you know what I found myself doing? Eating. I ate incessantly last week, bad things, like things I don’t eat on a cheat day: icing (literally, spoonful’s of icing), cookie dough, blocks of cheese, a pan of brownies, and the list goes on in a ridiculous way. It’s easier for me to be a girl struggling to lose weight than a girl who is losing weight. That’s who I know to be; that’s the easiest person for me to be. I fall into that roll beautifully, so that’s what I did: I sabotaged myself. And now as I sit here on a workday due to snow, all I can feel is anger. I have so much anger and hurt that I can’t even focus on work. I’m mad at myself because I am taking away my own accomplishments. No one else did that, just me. If someone gives me the eye, that doesn’t take away the fact that I lost twelve pounds. Responding to the eye by consuming 14,000 calories in an hour takes away from a twelve-pound loss; I did that, not them. Now, it’s more like a twelve-pound loss with a five-pound gain, “Not cool, Robert Frost.”

In all of this, I learned a valuable lesson. I will never take away someone’s happiness. It’s that simple. Also, I won’t allow others to take away mine. Now, that one is easier said than done, but recognizing my reaction when it happens is part of adopting that mentality. Is it so hard being happy for others? No, it’s not. Sometimes, that’s the best gift you can give: happiness and support. Referring back to the adage, I will have my cake and eat it, too. As in I will live a healthy life and be supported for it. There’s no rule against celebrating weight loss. We should be able to shout it from the rooftops!!! But instead, we have to wait until someone notices and we just nod demurely. Heck , no, not anymore. With that being said. These are my pants that made me celebrate last week; they used to cling to me like me on anything edible.

If I’m looking for the evil eye, than I am more apt to find it. But I am going to direct my attention to the positive comments and quit being brought down by those who can’t share my enthusiasm. This is a new week, and I’m in need of some massive damage control, starting with weeding out the negative…and eating a salad for lunch.