Thea’s Journey

So I found it fitting to post this considering July marks 2 years since I decided to lose weight and live a healthier and happier lifestyle.

Backstory: Senior year of high school I decided I wanted to lose weight for prom and even got my prom dress a size smaller than my normal size to guarantee that I lost the weight. I lost 14 lbs and was so happy and felt amazing, for the first time in years I had seen a number I was unfamiliar with. However, when I started college that year I gained the 14 lbs back and more. I was at my highest weight ever. I ate terribly, thinking that if I ate bad food it would help me deal with the stresses and new changes with starting my first year of college. Well, let me be the first to tell you, it DIDN’T help and only made things worse. I was so unhappy. My weight was high, my body looked terrible, my skin was awful, I felt like crap and was so tired all the time. I was using food as a coping mechanism and that absolutely was NOT the answer.

My first summer after college I decided enough was enough. I was committed to losing the weight and NEVER gaining it back. I finally stepped on the scale and remember crying because I couldn’t believe what the scale said, seeing how much damage I had done. I didnt let that stop me though. I decided I can’t focus on what I did, only what I am GOING to do moving forward. I started eating clean and running maybe 2-3x a week. I remember getting through my first week and felt so good and happy with the results I was already seeing.

Fast forward 2 years, I’m down 30 lbs and have kept it off. I love to eat clean and exercise. I see how much happier I am. I see how I have changed mentally and physically for the best. Weight loss is a journey, not a race, and it is a journey I have learned a lot from. Enjoy the journey, you learn so much about who you are and discover characteristics you didn’t know existed within yourself. Certainly, there are times where it will feel easier to give up. If this was easy, nobody would have unhealthy habits and everyone would be thin. But I can guarantee that it in reality, giving up will only make you feel worse about yourself afterwards. Food DOESN’T make you feel better or solve the problems in your life. Food is just fuel for your body, don’t abuse it or use it as a coping mechanism. If you fall off or have a bad day, just get right back on. I learned that I’m happiest when I’m eating well and exercising. This is my way of life. I changed my mindset about weight loss. I stopped making it about an event or a dress, I made it about me and my life. While losing weight for an outfit/trip/event is a great short term goal, it’s not a long term goal. What I learned is that I made it all about the dress and once I wore the dress, I was way more relaxed with my diet. What I should have been thinking was, “I’m gonna lose weight to feel better about myself in this dress and then focus on keeping it off after.” I lost sight of my long term goal and only focused on a short term goal. Don’t lose sight of your long term goal. I love the person I’ve become while on this journey. I’ve not only made this my way of life but I’ve been so blessed to help other people along the way be the best version of themselves and learn to love to live healthy. If it wasn’t for Innovation, I wouldn’t be where I am right now. I wouldn’t be my happiest and healthiest version of myself. Thank you to my family for always being my support system throughout all this. Thank you for encouraging me and reminding me that I could do this. I’ll never forget weighing in and telling Josephine (my mom) and her ALWAYS celebrating with me. I’m overjoyed and excited to live in this balance of a happy and healthy lifestyle, and I couldn’t imagine it any other way.

This is what happens when you LIVE the Innovation Program

Thea Loves the life she lives and lives the life she loves!

~Love to Live Healthy with Josephine Fitzpatrick

Innovation Weight Loss and Fitness

8031 Jericho Tpke Woodbury, NY 11797

211 E 43rd Street Manhattan, NY 10019