Oh What A Difference a Year Makes

from hasfit.com

Well I did it, I pretty much completely changed my life in a year.  it’s funny (or not funny) but it literally took me until today to realize that while yes, I did say that one of the reasons that I didn’t start this sooner was because I wasn’t completely miserable with myself, but now I realize I secretly was.  Why do I say this now?  Because trying to find a full length photo to compare myself to was IMPOSSIBLE!  I have like none, I went through my entire computer, and my iPhone and only found a few.

Today was an awesome day, started out with the gym, then I headed over to Manhattan to do a screen test for a cool opportunity I got offered to try for, then I headed over to Soho to meet up with my good friend Bianca Alexis to shoot my 1 year of working out anniversary photos.  Bianca is a cool chick, we used to party together way back when and then got reconnected at a photo shoot a few years ago.  We really bonded over the past few years and she is another one of my cheerleaders as well as also a person that has been there.  She has even been working on her own blog talking about her weight loss journey so you should totally check it out! www.BiancaAlexis.com/blog

Well back to me!

It’s hard to say if I thought that a year ago I would be where I am now.  I made some tough choices to do all this, one being slowing down my hair career for it.  Do I regret it?, I thought I actually might have, but I don’t.  I mean lets face it, if I didn’t do something, sooner or later it would have actually slowed me down. So I just took the bull by the horns and did it now.  I feel like me taking this year off of working constantly was needed, I needed to help myself for a little bit, and concentrate on getting myself healthy and happy in my own skin.  As I have said a million times this year has not been easy at all.  I changed my entire sleep schedule, I stopped drinking, watched what I ate, and worked out 6 days a week an hour to 2 hours each workout!  I cried, I pleaded, I got discouraged, and then a switch went off and I actually loved it…. all in only one year.

late 2011

I feel like this photo is the perfect example of who I was.  This was me getting ready to go clubbing.  When I was at this point of my life I was staying up until about 4 or 5 am and sleeping in until at least noon, I drank, I partied and I worked.  That was it.  That was my life in a nutshell.  When people would ask me to describe what I did I pretty much just said i worked and would go clubbing.  Now my list of things I do, or have done is so much bigger and well, a lot less destructive to myself.  I am not only a happier person in life, but I am a happier person all around.  And even more important, happier with myself.

Jan 29, 2013

In a year I have lost 43.6 pounds.  I tried so so hard to get up 45 but I am still satisfied with that number.  I worked my butt off to get to where I am now and I still am.  Am I done?  Not in the least but at least now its not work.  Now I want to do this everyday.  I want to lose another 40 pounds.  I would like to say that I can do that by next year but I am not going to be disappointed in myself if I don’t make that.  Every pound that I have lost in the past few months has been worked double as hard as the first 30 or so, and I can only imagine it is just going to get harder.  I have times where I don’t lose anything and then other weeks where I loose a couple pounds at once.  It sometimes gets discouraging, but then a photo from my past will pop up on facebook, or a client I haven’t seen in a while will come in and be amazed and it will remind me how far I have gotten and keeps me going.

Bianca told me to smile so I did my “Dimples” pose

realized i forgot to paint my nails… no close ups for me!

can’t forget the shoes! Jeffrey Campbell Damsel Spikes in Pink

I can honestly say that this year has been one of the best years of my life.  And this is a year where I didn’t do hair for a huge music video, or film a reality show, or anything huge like that.  It was a year where it was just me (and Jake hehe) working on ourselves and doing things we always wanted.  I got to go skydiving, I am about to go snowboarding for the first time, I did mud and obstacle races… I even got my family involved in some.  I’d say that even though I didn’t have a year where I did things in my career for my parents to brag about to everyone they know, I still had a ton of successes in other ways and they can still brag if they want… but it’s okay if they don’t because I will haha!

Well here is to the next year!