One Accomplishment Down.... Many More To Go!!!

It has been awhile since I have posted... and I have some fun stuff to post. So, now that my computer is virus free... I shall update you on my life the last couple weeks. On Saturday, May 21st, Weight Watchers held a 5K Walk-It Challenge. They really wanted everyone possible to participate in this great event, they want people to become more active. That's the nice thing about Weight Watchers... they don't just tell you to eat right, they also tell you to exercise to look better. I read this quote in my booklet by them that I must share... "Losing weight helps you look good in clothes. Exercise helps you look good naked." I just laughed so hard when I read that, but it is so true! Exercise helps tone your body up... I know we have all seen those who have saggy skin because of drastic weight loss, but I believe it can be better with exercise. Anyways, now that I am done with my rant, I will continue on with my 5K experience. When I heard about the Walk-It Challenge, I knew I wanted to do it! I was looking for some way to get me more active, and this seemed like the perfect opportunity. I am one who likes to set goals and go for them... that is how I accomplish things that I want and need. So I got a training guide and trained away 5 days a week for 6 weeks... in the end this is what happened...

I finished the 5K at the fastest time I had so far... now, I did not run it! I didn't feel like I was ready to start running first thing, so I walked at a decent pace the whole time. Next year, my goal is to run the whole entire thing. I always thought I would never be a runner, but I am actually really enjoying a quick run! So let's hope to that! Here are a few more pictures from the 5K... my little brother and dad walked it with me. They have been awesome supporters through my weight loss journey and I have greatly appreciated it!

Just before we started walking.

Me and My Dad walking away.

At the Finish Line with our Certificates.

Well, not much more has happened the last couple of weeks, I feel like I have been more busy since school has been out, and it is kind of killing me. I want to enjoy summer! I want to bask in some sun, enjoy the great stuff Utah has to give outdoors. Most of all, I really want to see if I can get a tan this Summer. My family loves to compare arms and laugh at my whiteness all the time, so I am wanting to spend more time outdoors and see if that helps! Sadly, the weather in Utah right now sucks! Rain, Rain, Rain... and Snow in some parts today! Crazy weather needs to stop! I am ready for the sun!

The Shrinking Of Carli

So the last couple of weeks have been much better! I did the 5K and have continued to exercise when I can. Sadly, I injured my foot at the 5K and have a hard time walking and running, but I did pull out my bike, and have enjoyed riding it! I feel in love with my bike last year, and can't wait to see what more I can do this year with it! I have been eating better. I have been packing my own meals for work and have noticed a difference when I am not eating at the cafeteria... even though IMC has the best hospital cafeteria I have ever experienced! I have had some bad days, but I am finding them fewer and fewer as time goes on. The biggest thing I have noticed recently is how hard it is to lose weight! I really have looked back and seen how hard I am working at this and noticed that when I work the hardest, I see the biggest results! I know I am getting healthier and looking better, but I sure am struggling at the moment. I have really felt down on life and how some things are going at the moment. Some of those that have attended with me or at the same time as me, have started giving up and not doing so well. I feel that this is taking a huge toll on me! I don't feel that I have the same support system that I used to... I kind of feel lost at the moment, but then yesterday... out of nowhere I snapped! I realized I could do this, and the only one that could change it for myself was me! I realized I had the will power to say no to those bad things and to go to the good things! I was at a point that I knew that I could continue on and do well... so here I am, starting with a new drive! I deserve this, I deserve a good life, a happy life! The only way I am going to be happy is myself! I will never receive full happiness from others... I have to be happy with myself first! So here is my promise to myself. I will strive to better myself and be happy with myself at all times! This I shall work on!

Week 17- I lost 1.2 lbs this week. I have lost 29.4 lbs total!
Week 18- I lost 0.8 lbs this week. I have lost 30.2 lbs total!

Forgetting The Past Is Hard To Do!

Let me explain my title first... I have had something I believe to be pretty amazing happen in my life recently, I have really enjoyed what has happened, but I am afraid of things because I have been hurt multiple times in the past through the same type of thing . I am afraid to let myself go because I am so afraid of getting hurt, I know I don't show it to people, but it constantly runs through my head. I have this really bad habit of always thinking of the worst in every situation... I always think first of all the things that can go wrong, way before I think of all the great things that can come out of things. This is the worst curse, I hate it! So I have resolved today in forgetting the past and hoping for the best in the future. I believe that in this situation if I focus on my past that I might actually do more harm than good. I have had to learn more patience, but it has paid off beyond my expectations!!! I am going to embrace this new journey with a new view and enjoy it for what it is worth!!! Maybe one day I will share more about this story if things go well in the future, but for now I am content with just sharing this. On an end note, I have been listening to the new song "Just A Kiss" by Lady Antebellum and have fallen in love with it... so enjoy it!

The Shrinking of Carli

Well this week's update is going to be short... I had a horrible week! I ate like crap the week before weigh-in and didn't count or track points at all. I know I didn't make the best choices on what I ate and to top it all off, I didn't work-out as much as I should have. I cut the bottom of my foot and it was pretty sore to walk on, so I gave up. I shouldn't have and paid for it at the scale. I am now back on track, so let's hope I lose more than I gained last week!

Week 15- I gained 0.6 lbs this week, with a total lost of 28.2 lbs total!

I Did It!!!

Well this week hasn't had too much excitement except for school being done. YAY! I turned in my group project about the negative affect that nuclear power has on us and our future. Doing this project has put a new thought in my mind about nuclear power and just to sum it up quickly... I don't think we are doing ourselves any good using this kind of power, it is harmful to us today, but even more harmful to our future generations. That's all I will say, I am in no mood to debate or drag on today. There really is no more to post for this week, except something really exciting in my next section... so read on!!!

The Shrinking of Carli
Well shall I share the great news??? Why not? This week I hit a big accomplishment and goal for me. I have officially lost 10% of my starting weight!!! I have worked very hard to get to this point and am very proud to say that I have lost that much of my weight! I have also hit the mark of having less than 100 lbs to go before I hit my goal weight of 150 lbs! I am so excited to have gotten this far and to have accomplished this much. I have seen my life style change... I have become more active and choose better things for me. Yes, there are those times I splurge and have so-called "naughty" stuff, but I do that in moderation and balance it out with healthier foods or increased activity that day. I am loving all the comments I get from people who know I am losing weight. I especially love the word diet... I don't feel like I am on a diet, I can eat whatever I want, just in moderation. I have told myself from the beginning that I am not on a diet, but I am making a lifestyle change. This is a permanent change for me, not just one I will do until my goal weight is hit and then go back to the life I had. When I first started Weight Watchers I was at the heaviest I ever remember myself being, I weighed 274.4 lbs. I remember thinking I need to straighten my life or I am going to head down a road of absolute misery and my life is going to be lived without accomplishing the things I wanted to. The other day I was with a friend that asked me when I was going to stop Weight Watchers, was I going to get to my goal first? Was I going to go a little after and then stop? Well the answer is neither of those, I have decided that Weight Watchers is a life long thing for me. I don't want to stop this journey at all! I have enjoyed doing this and have even thought about the possibility of becoming a leader when I hit my goal. I love the change that Weight Watchers has brought to my life. It has helped me accept myself as me and to really accomplish more than I thought I could. If it wasn't for Weight Watchers I don't think I would have the drive to do the things I am coming to do. I am just loving this transformation in myself and can't be more grateful for this wonderful experience. Please remember that I am an open book and anyone of you reading my blog can ask me anything, I want to put my story out there to help other people!

Week 14- I lost a total of 2.8 lbs this week, making my total loss so far 28.8 lbs!!!

Another Year Older and Wiser...

Yesterday was my 23rd birthday and I had an absolutely great day! My friends Amy and Ashley took me out to lunch at Seigfried's, which is a fabulous german deli, we then got gelato and walked around Liberty Park for awhile. It was so much fun spending time with them. I then went with my family to dinner at Ruby River Steakhouse. My aunt Lorie and uncle Rod joined us along with my cousin Clarissa and her boyfriend Joe. We had such a fun dinner together, everyone was nice and relaxed and laughing together. The best part of the night was my uncle Rod comparing Weight Watcher points to everything he was eating and seeing how funny he would make things. He is a great uncle!
So for this blog I wanted to do something I have seen many blog friends do... put up a random fact for each year you are old. So here are my 23 random facts of life...

1. I eat gummy adult multi-vitamins every morning. It makes me feel like a kid again.
2. I always coordinate my socks with my scrubs at work. I am obsessed with matching.
3. I used to hate to read in my spare time, now it is one of my favorite past times.
4. I will never pay more than $25 for a concert ticket. Maybe if it was my favorite artist, but even they don't charge much.
5. I am not good with technology at all. I still struggle with iTunes... and can't own an iPhone because of this.
6. My dream job would be an Interior Designer. I love to decorate homes.
7. I have never been kissed before. I still hold the keys as President of the VL club!
8. I have become addicted to tracking everything I eat, and it truly works with weight loss.
9. I used to sing for money at Cold Stone Creamery in high school. That's was our thanks to a tip.
10. I always wished I would have kept up with playing soccer, I played when I was little.
11. I am not a redneck, but I love NASCAR! Actually, I like a lot of forms of racing.
12. When I was a baby, my nickname was Baby Moose, all because I weighed 9 lbs 9 oz at birth.
13. I still share a room with my little sister, that's what happens when you live in a small house, and I still love her.
14. I would love to move out, but can't because I will only work part-time while in Nursing School.
15. This blog's web address is dedicated to my Grandpa Tucker, who always called me Carli Darli.
16. I used to be terribly shy and have just recently decided to break out of my shell and be more outgoing.
17. I love to cook for others. Cooking has become one of my favorite hobbies.
18. I hope to serve a medical mission once I get my RN degree.
19. My favorite food is garlic bread in any form. I love bread sticks, cheesy bread, any bread with garlic.
20. I sing out loud in my car. People probably laugh at me all the time, but I don't care, I am having fun.
21. I have been to Las Vegas a few times since I turned 21 and have never gambled, I can't waste money like that. I am just too frugal.
22. I set my alarm earlier than I need to get up because I hit the snooze button a lot in my sleep.
23. I wanted to be able to rescue pit bulls in the future. I have fallen in love with this breed of dog.

There you have it, 23 completely random facts about me. I stress the random part... I had to pull hard for some of them. Hope you enjoyed! I will post again at the end of the week with my weight loss and other fun stuff!

A Change Is Coming My Way...

Hello all! So I mentioned last week that I was going to post about all the changes, so here I am blogging about change in my life.
So as most of you have heard, they made HUGE changes to the Young Single Adult wards in the Salt Lake Valley and they took affect today. I am now part of the Magna YSA Ward in the Taylorsville YSA Stake. My ward consist of my home stake and all the Magna Stakes. This is a hard change for me! I have grown to love my ward that I have been in (Hunter YSA), I have loved getting to know the people in this ward, and I had a Bishopbric that knew me personally and I loved it. I felt like I belonged in the ward, people knew me and I knew them. Well, lets just say that I have the opposite feeling at the moment... I went to Stake Conference and had an overwhelming feeling like I was swimming in a sea of craziness. The ward I am in now is really big and REALLY young. At almost 23, I felt old! We filled up the whole gym just for an open house mingle. So my initial reaction is thinking that this is going to be just like the student ward I was in. I was in that ward for 2 years and still got asked on my last week there if I was new to the ward. I hated that feeling and I fear it again. I know that the church is still true either way, so I will tough it out and see what happens. My testimony is still strong and I am still grateful for the gospel in my life. I will just continue to push my self to be outgoing and enjoy life and what it has in store.

There are also many other changes happening, and I am kinda done with change. I like change, but not all at once.The way my work schedule is being done is changing to being on the computer instead of someone doing it and I don't know how I feel about it because it may not always work with my school schedule. This makes me nervous as school is important to me, as I am achieving my ultimate goal through it. So let's hope that works for me. There is also my weight change that I get anxious about at times, I want to look good, but sometimes I struggle to be patient enough to wait for those changes. Life is just fun at the moment. I feel like I am on a roller coaster. So to end this post, I want to share with you one of my favorite quotes. "Life is like a roller coaster, so hop on, buckle up, and enjoy the ride!"

Can we say that this looks abosolutely awesome!!! I want to ride this roller coaster one day!

The Shrinking of Carli
This week was a good week. I felt good about what I did. I am still training for my 5K and I am starting to look forward to my walks more and more each day! I have grown to love "working out!" Let me reassure you that I still hate the gym, but I have found many other fun ways to work out. I love playing volleyball each week, taking walks, playing basketball(which I am horrible at  and will only play with my brother so only one person with laugh at me) and other things. I have come to a conclusion that I will never accomplish anything in a gym, but I will accomplish things why I find them fun! So this week I hit another milestone on my weight lose journey, I have officially lost more than 25 lbs since January! This is awesome! I just have 1 lb to go until I have lost 10% of my body weight from start. I am hoping to reach that this next week, so hopefully I will have some good news in a week. It will be a great week!

Week 14- I lost 1.2 lbs this week! My total amount lost is 26 lbs even!

What a lucky girl I am...

I wanted to post about the changes that are happening in my life, but next week will hold even more so I will post about those later. So I decided that I wanted to post about awesome friends and how grateful I am to have been lead to a ward where I have met one of my greatest friends! I feel pretty lucky to have met her and become so close to her. She has been there to comfort me, to cheer me up, and many of times to laugh with me. We have had some great memories in just the short time we have known each other. I just really can't express how grateful I am to have met her. I hope by her reading this post she will know how awesome she is and how much I truly love her! So Ashley.... your are AMAZING!!!
I have so many other great friends as well, works friends I treasure, those I have met in my ward and many others. I used to always feel like I never had friends and that no one wanted to be my friend, but my life shows differently now. I feel my friends have shaped me into who I am today, and for that I am grateful. So to all my friends Thank You for being awesome!

The Shrinking of Carli

So this week I hit a huge milestone!!! I was beyond excited at weigh-in as I found out this great news. I worked hard this week. I ate better, passed up on things I didn't need, tracked better, was more active, and just felt better all around. Anyways, my big milestone I hit... I am officially under 250 lbs! This is amazing... I don't think I have weigh this light since my Cold Stone days, which is why I gained some of my lbs, but I am super stoked! I have worked hard to get here, now just 100 lbs to go and I will reach my goal weight! But for now my next goal is almost hit, I need to lose 2.2 lbs to hit my 10% and I know I can do that soon...

Week 13- I lost 2.8 lbs this week, with a total loss of 24.8 lbs!

Why do I love the Artists I do???

I have had many people ask me why I like the bands I like and so I wanted to post about my favorite "Band" of all times, Runner Runner, but let me make it clear that I still like Secondhand Serenade a smidge more, but I don't think of him as a band because I feel in love with John's music when he wrote "Awake" and his voice is the only voice. He did the backups the recording and the producing, all from his bedroom, he is a true artist!

Anyways, sometimes when people ask me who I am going to go see at a concert, they most likely say "I have never heard about them." Which I secretly like, because being underground and not as well known is something I really like. I know that bands need to succeed and do well to continue, but I don't want my bands to turn into bands like Bon Jovi or Green Day or other BIG bands. I want my bands to still appreciate their fans and to be so open to them. So to explain my title... I love artists that are far more concerned about their fans than any amount of money. I love it when I go to a concert and a band knows I am a fan and appreciates me for that. So let me introduce you to Runner Runner... they are the best and most personal band I have ever met!!! I feel like we are all just close friends now and that every time I go to their shows, I am going to see a group of friends perform! They have dedicated this whole musical journey they are taking to their fans, but to them they are not fans... they are friends! I just can't tell you guys how much these guys mean to me... they truly have made a difference in the way I view music and the bands behind them. Hence the reason I have problems with artists(dare I say that, because some don't produce art!!!) like Lady Gaga, Rihanna, Snoop Dogg and many more. I bet you would never catch Lady Gaga out hanging with her fans or out in the crowd when another band is performing, she is "too good" for that. I don't want to bash on other "artist" but I want to show people why I love what I love. I don't want to come across as a music snob, I just want to share my love and passion. You may love whoever you would like but I will always love and look for artists like Runner Runner!!!

Okay enough with my rant... I had a great time at the concert, I feel that me and Katie needed that! It has been far too long since we have done anything together, just us two. There were some really heavy bands that I really had no enjoyment in seeing, it was funny to see those crowd surfing and then have a tragic fall or lose a shoe, not my idea of fun. Even though I didn't enjoy them, Runner Runner and A Rocket To The Moon made up for it. It was fun to see ARTTM again, I haven't seen them seen 2008, far too long!!! They are just as good as then... Let's hope both bands come back soon! Here are some pics from the show...

Ryan, the lead vocals for RR! Sadly, he is engaged... but he wrote the most amazing song for his wife to be... "I Can't Wait." Maybe one day someone will sing this to me...

James, the drummer for RR! I love his "Mad Men" inspired haircut!

John, the bassist for RR! He is so funny, I love how serious his is sometimes!

Nick, the guitarist for RR! He is just super fine! Good eye candy!

Peter, guitarist and vocals for RR! Peter is my favorite! He is just so cute and cuddly.... and that voice just melts you!



Runner Runner Performing



A Rocket To The Moon Performing

 The Shrinking of Carli

This week was pretty good... I can't complain about much! I felt good at the concert because I was able to purchase smaller shirts and while dancing I had to hold onto my pants because they wanted to fall off instead. I feel like this is the first time I have seen my body change since I have started this program. I know some people can see differences, but I haven't till now. I started training for the WW 5K this week and had fun with that. I am excited to do my first 5K, this will be another Bucket List item. I was able to bounce back and get more on track and on target to continue losing. That's it for this week.

Week 12- I lost 2.8 lbs this week. Making my total lose at 23.4 lbs.