Time to face the music

Well Biggest Loser, my new favorite show, has completely inspired my new blog post and boy this couldn't come at a better time. I think it is time for me to face some of my fears to move forward with my life and to be happy.

Fears:

Being Alone

Pushing Away My Loved Ones

Failing To Reach My Goals

Gaining All My Weight Back

So let me address my fears. They all kind of tie in together but I will try to address them each.

1. Being Alone

    -I feel like I have never been the pretty girl or what not. I have been teased a lot in my past, but I mean who hasn't though? It is awful and it really is something that has stuck with me for as long as I can remember. But now I am ready for it to go away for good. I know it holds me back from trusting others and letting someone in to love me. I have always watched my friends have boyfriends here and there and I have never experienced that. I remember this one time I was told "Well Kelly you have a great personality and a lot of love to give, just an all around catch, but you need to lose weight if you want a boyfriend" Well...let me tell you how much I enjoyed that comment. I mean it was something that was always in the back of my head but for someone to say it to me was so heartbreaking. I guess between the teasing, rejection and etc. I turned to food to fill that void. I also came to the conclusion I will never find love. Maybe thats why I put so much time and effort into my friendships and family. 

2. Pushing Away My Loved Ones

    -I feel for the ones closest to me because I know I can be a holy terror at times. I find its easier to push people away because it is my way of testing them to see if they actually care for me (I'm aware how crazy that sounds). I know I put my all and give too much sometimes. I feel like I have to make up for not having the most wonderful of personalities by treating my friends and family to material objects. I tend to go above and beyond sometimes. Now do not get me wrong you should do nice things for the ones you love. But also know when enough is enough. I am taking this time in my life to learn to be more selfish (in a good way) as in doing for myself and others in a nice balance. I have to constantly be around my friends and family. I am not a fan of alone time because I am scared it will stay that way forever. 

3. Failing To Reach My Goals

    -If you know me you know how much I love New York. Ever since I was little I knew that I was going to live there and have this fabulous life of the rich and famous. Well I know one day I will get there. It may not be tomorrow or next year but it will happen! Sometimes when I see someone following the path I thought I would be going down I get sad. But instead of getting sad I should support them and continue to work hard on myself and how I can achieve my goals.

4. Gaining All My Weight Back

   - This should not be a huge shock as one of my fears. I know I am not the best dieter in the world. I do not workout every day and sometimes I have cheat moments. I am human, I can't be perfect all the time. But I have to remember the only way to live is being healthy. I am constantly working on myself and seeing what works for me and I would hate to fall back into old patterns of sodas only, fast food on the regular, and the most exercise I'd get be walking to the fridge. The old Kelly is just exactly that. OLD! I am a new and work in progress Kelly. I won't say improved yet but a work in progress. I am discovering this new confidence. There are certain tools I need to stay on track for life and I plan to explore those such as trying out a trainer to help me with my working out because I have the healthy eating down to an art but I need a push in the gym. 

So what are some of your fears? I am putting mine out there to get them off my chest. I feel a lot better especially after the hellacious past week I had. I felt alone, sad and many other emotions. But now I am working on myself and the things I need to do to be completely happy. Oh and I am 3 pounds away from losing 70 pounds!!! Eeeekkk!!!!

and then there was Spaghetti Squash....

Hello my loyal readers! How is everyone doing on this monday? ehhh It's monday...no one likes mondays. But I do! I think because I get so excited for Biggest Loser to come on and it just gets me motivated for the week! If you haven't watched tune in to NBC on Monday nights 7-9pm (central time) !! Plus follow me on twitter because I love to live tweet during it and actually have been tweeted or re-tweeted by the contestants on this season and the specialist. (ALL I really want is for Julian Michaels to take me through a workout. Can you imagine? She's a tough cookie)


Anyways.... I posted this super yummy dish on my instagram because I was inspired by a fellow instagramer (someone who instagrams) Skinny Time  who posted a picture of spaghetti squash and spinach. I have been dying to try the spaghetti squash for some time now and after researching how to make it, it didn't seem too difficult. It is a nice refreshing substitute from pasta and I am the biggest pasta lover so take my word on it!

So here is my first creation with spaghetti squash....

Spaghetti Squash w/Spinach and Parmesan Cheese

WW+= 3 Points

Serving: 5 

Fat: 6g, Carbs 10g, Fiber 3.1g, Protein 6.4g

-1 Spaghetti Squash

-1 packet of frozen spinach (thawed out)

-1 tbsp of olive oil

-1 tbsp of minced garlic

-1/2 cup of parmesan cheese (shredded)

Directions: 

1. Preheat oven to 350 

2. Cut squash in half then peel out the seeds (just like getting ready to carve a pumpkin)

3. Place both slices of squash on a baking dish and sprinkle a little salt and pepper 

4. Bake in over for about an hour or so until very tender

5. Let it cool off for a minute or two then gently fork out the squash and place in a bowl and set to the side. Should look like this.

6. Then in a skillet put the olive oil and garlic. After a minute add in the spinach and saute that for about 5 minutes (not too long or the spinach will dry out) 

7. After the spinach is ready add in the spaghetti squash and put in about 1/3 of the parmesan cheese and mix it all together (be careful when stirring because it could get mushy)

8. Then garnish the dish with your leftover cheese and there you have it! Super easy and yummy! 

Hope you guys like this dish! Try it out and post your creations on instagram using the hashtage #kellysjourney I would love to see how you liked it!!!

What motivates you?

Well we are officially a little over a month into the new year. Is everyone sticking to their declarations or resolutions so far? Thus far, I have lost 8.2 pounds in January! Pretty good if I say so myself. After the holidays I had gained a few pounds so I finally passed the mark I couldn't seem to pass. I know the first month is pretty easy because you are super motivated. I know I was and kept losing weight. The moment my weight loss slowed down, I felt like I would slack a little bit such as not working out as hard as I could. Losing your motivation can be easy but then again your motivation SHOULD push to go a little further.

So what motivates you? What helped you decide to make this change in your life?

Let's see for me my motivation was to gain confidence in myself and to live a happy healthy life. I think  for a long time I let the negativity of my past hold me back. I always worried what people thought of me and I just wanted everyone to like me. From grade school to college, heck even now. I like to be well liked and try my best to keep that going. I have also struggled with many issues and I learned that holding them on my shoulders is only making itself worse. I would deal with illnesses or death in my family by turning to food. I knew that life was an up and down battle of good times and bad times and I knew that life would throw me curveballs but I couldn't turn to laziness and food to make myself feel better. I knew if I start losing weight I would be on the road to being confident in myself.

I am now 63 pounds down and I am so happy with where my life is going. I completely got rid of all the negativity that was holding me back and starting a new life. I am growing up into the person I know I was suppose to be!

So I hope you think about the things that may be holding you back and completely get rid of them. Write them down then throw it in the trash! Or the things that are motivating you continue to drive your success.


Anyways I wanted to show you the past two weeks of my instagramed pictures! I have breakfast, lunch  & dinner covered! Make sure to follow me on Instagram: Kmccollum124 and if you make a healthy meal or want to share your success use the hashtag #kellysjourney I would love to see what you guys are doing!

Top Left: Grilled Chicken Salad w/Skinnytaste Blue Cheese Dressing

Top Right: Pork Chops w/Shallots & Mushrooms, Spinach, & Risotto

Bottom Left: WW Spicy Curry Chicken, Carrots & Yellow Rice

Bottom Right: Steak, Spinach & Asparagus 

Top Left: Whole Wheat Waffles w/Strawberries

Top Right: Chicken soup, Cheez-Its, Turkey Sandwich

Bottom Left: Leftover Teriyaki Chicken, Risotto & Green Beans

Bottom Right: Bella Monica Gluten Free Pizza (8pp) Very YUMMY!!

Anything you would like to see me make for you guys? Let me know! and Check out my instagram!!