Hi! My name is Devin.
Here's some bullet points...
25 years old
Work in Accounting
Love to write, draw, doodle, dream
Elmhurst College graduate
Bachelors of Science in Business Administration, minor in English
Former avid golfer, now just a casual golfer
Girlfriend to the amazing dude that authors this techie blog
Indie music obsessed
Small-town girl [but not in that honky-tonk, hillbilly way]
Casual: biker, hiker, runner, yogi
Addicted to coffee
Not to mention, the thing I write about most:
Between 2010 and 2015, I lost a total of 62 lbs.
[start 217lbs]
[current 155lbs]
What's my story?
Well, in January 2010, I had my A-HA moment while bridesmaid dress shopping for my oldest sister's wedding. I was one of 7 bridesmaids, and of course, I was the biggest one. While trying on the dresses, I found out that sample sizes for bridesmaid dresses at most wedding boutiques are a size 10. I did the tight squeeze to get it up, and then had the boutique assistant clamping me in using extenders. Hours of squeezing and clamping, and too many minutes of hiding and crying, I had never felt worse about myself. When the dress was finally chosen, I was measured, and told to order a size 22. I thought I would MAYBE be a size 16, so I was devastated. For months, I went through cycles of self-hatred and shame. My mom saw my pain, and after hearing good things from a friend, suggested I try Jenny Craig.
Reluctantly I joined in April 2010.
I only say that I joined reluctantly because, at the time, I felt so defeated, I thought that there was absolutely nothing I could do to change my situation.
Boy, was I wrong.
Within the first 6 months, I lost over 25 pounds, just by following the nutrition guidelines that Jenny Craig laid out for me. I discovered that in the past, I was simply an ignorant eater. I had no concept of how to track calories, or that pop/soda had mega-calories and mega-sodium, or that protein was important, or pretty much anything at all. Jenny Craig was my biggest educator in the beginnings of my weight-loss journey.
Since I was still a college student at the time that I started Jenny, I obviously had a lot of pressures and bad influences, and I went through a lot of struggle in the first year. Being back at school in the fall of 2010 gave me the opportunity to add in exercise, which was exceptionally important to helping me maintain my progress. But even with Jenny and exercise, I got stuck with my weight loss, and discouraged. I was hovering in the 30-35 lb weight loss mark, and couldn't get myself to lose much more. I gave up Jenny right after graduation in the spring of 2011, which was a poor choice as I faced several long months of unemployment.
Once finding a job, and rediscovering my self-worth, I went back to Jenny in the beginning of 2012 after regaining 20 lbs. Jenny helped me get back on track (down to a 35-40lb overall loss), and after a few months I decided to strike out on my own. I struggled with my nutrition, and used the MyFitnessPal app to keep myself accountable. I had a gym membership, and was trying my hardest to stay on track.
I rollercoaster-ed for a while, but was determined to never go back to what I was before. I never saw 180 lbs again. In 2013, I maintained my weight in the 170's. I had started my relationship with my now-boyfriend, and I was in the love-haze where nothing (not even my weight-loss) mattered. In 2014, my boyfriend and I both expressed our frustrations with our health goals. [He was looking to bulk while I was looking to shrink]
We decided together to refocus ourselves on our health. We both struggled for a while, but I found myself hovering in the 160's throughout that year.
In 2015, my best friend texted me out of the blue telling me to look at the Tone It Up website. She wanted to try committing to the 2015 Bikini Series Challenge, but wanted a partner. While we did not commit to the nutrition part of Tone It Up, we both committed to their workout plans. We both did our own healthy nutrition guidelines, and I found myself at the end of the challenge at my original goal weight of 155 lbs!
I continue to work on losing weight, having adjusted my weight goal to a little bit lower 140 lbs. When people ask me what I've done, I cannot even begin to put into words everything that got me here. I had to change my entire lifestyle. I view food completely differently now. I exercise more than I ever did, even when I was in golf throughout high school and college.
I'm not perfect. My motivation and determination wavers all the time. I have binge days. I have lazy days. But when I set my mind to it, I know there is not a single thing that I cannot do.
