It’s something I started back in January, 2008 for personal accountability with my health.

You see, at that point in my life, I’d gained 50 pounds since getting married and was just plain miserable.  I knew it was time for drastic measures. So, I started sharing my weight loss journey online.

I asked people to join me and it was glorious

Well… by the third installment of the healthy train, I asked that our readers to take it a step further… I asked them to send in their “before photos” and six months later I asked them to send in their “after photos”.  The person who’d lost the largest percentage of weight won a session with me.

For healthy train 3.0 before and afters, click here. For 4.0 before and afters… here.

With your encouragement, after three years of being on the healthy train… I’ve lost more than 20% of my total body weight.

So, now you know.

AND NOW…. HEEEEERE THEY ARE!!!!! The MUCH anticipated healthy train v5.0 before and afters! BOOOOOM!!!!!!

I’m BEYOND proud of each and every single one of you! Absolutely proud. Thanks, from the bottom of my heart, for putting yourselves out there. Many of these transformations are unbelievable. High fives to you all!

Be prepared to be motivated…

Angie’s been on the healthy train since v4. Here is her total healthy train progress. Jodi has been on the healthy train since v3. Here is her total healthy train progress. 30.9%?! WHOA!

And our winner…. APRIL JOHNSON! Absolutely BLOWN away by this! April and I went to middle school together… so I’ve known her for a long long long time. She looks better than ever! So incredibly proud of you April!  As for my personal healthy train… hm… well… in the midst of this round, I gained back like… uhm… well… uhm… okay… I gained back TWELVE pounds… TWELVE!!!!! Trust me, I was SUPREMELY disappointed in myself. My stress levels were through the damn roof! The good news? I’ve since lost ALL of it and am RIGHT where I started at the beginning of round 5. Whew.

Many of you have asked about “the next round” of the healthy train. Well… this is officially going to be the last round. That is… the last round that has a competition. It’s time for me to focus on me and not worry so much about the managing of it. To be honest with you it’s just too much pressure, takes a LOT of time and… bottom line, I already have a lot on my plate.

I think that in the future I’ll still post about my personal healthy train here on my blog as the accountability motivates me And if you’d like to do it along side me, I would welcome and encourage you to send in a before photo to healthy train email… you know… for your personal accountability. I’ll definitely keep you updated on that!

To all of those who’ve done this beside me… I cannot thank you ENOUGH for all of the encouragement and motivation. I couldn’t have done it without you. And that’s the 100% truth!

Much love friends

~bobbi

CHOOOOOOO CHOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!

Our top five

Katherine Inskeep  17.78%
Jodi Pfunder 15.2%
April Birkenkamp Johnson 13.65%
Emily Taylor 13.62%
Patti Miller  13.3%

Holy shipoopie batman! Seriously… wow… WOW!

With the halfway point, I encourage our healthy trainees to send in progress pics… I got 11 back… and I’m BLOWN away by them!

Are you as absolutely speechless and motivated as I am right now?! I couldn’t be more proud of each and every single one of you!  OH HELLLLLL YES! Jodi, your transformation from 09 to today is unbelievable. You are the definition of determined!

As for me… I’ve gained back some of the weight I’ve lost. Stress, traveling, workload and schedule have sucked me right in. I’m not making excuses… trust me, I’m disappointed in myself. It’s been a roller coaster these last few months. I feel like I’ve let so many people down Needless to say, no progress pics for me But, I’m kicking it into high gear.

Enough of my pity party! Let’s celebrate the people who are working this shiz out… BRING ON THE CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES! Oh… wait… uhm… strike that… BRING ON THE BROCCOLI!!!!!

Much love friends!

~bobbi

First…

Our top 5:

Jodi Pfunder – 14.7%
Katherine Inskeep – 11.11%
Calla Evans – 10.62%
April Birkencamp Johnson – 10.16%
Rich Foster – 9.92%

SO freaking proud of you guys!!!!! And Jodi… ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! CHOOOO CHOOOOOOO!!!!!!!

How’d YOU do?! Did you survive Vegas without gaining? I gained 2.5 lbs while there… but lost most of that within a few days of being home.

My total loss, since the beginning… 1.48%. Impressive? No. Am I happy with that? No. Am I giving it 110% of myself right now? No.

I can’t be disappointed in that number given the lack of focus. I assure you I’m not eating like a barbarian. But, I’m not going to the gym like I should. I’m not eating as many veggies and drinking as much water as I should.  And yes yes yes… if I’m being honest… I’m a bit disappointed in myself.

Okay, enough of that! …and completely off topic.

Here’s a little piece of trivia for you Today is the 5th anniversary of the first wedding we photographed. So, happy 5 year wedding photographer anniversary to us!

A couple of photos from that wedding:

…both were taken with a Nikon D200 and a banged up Sigma 24-70 f2.8 that we bought on eBay.

Five years ago today… March 4, 2006.

In the past five years we’ve worked our asses off, we’ve given our clients 10000% of us, we’ve sacrificed a ton, and we’ve spent a lot of money. That being said, we’ve had INCREDIBLE people to take photos of, met the best friends we’ve ever had, we’ve had an amazing time doing it… and we couldn’t be more proud of where we are today.

BOOOOOYAH!

K, that’s all from me for now…

HEALTHY TRAIN… CHOOOOOO CHOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!

~bobbi+mike

PS. DO NOT FORGET TO WEIGH IN! Oh and FYI, and your weight loss % is your TOTAL weight lost since the beginning.

I’ve always wanted to be fashionable. I don’t think I’m incapable of it. I’ve just had body insecurities my entire life. Well, strike that… I’ve had body insecurities since I was 9 years old. You see, I was the first girl in my grade that had to wear a bra because I was growing boobs. Yes, BOOBS in the THIRD GRADE! Yeah, maybe this is TMI for some of you but come ON… I’m a girl… and girls have BOOBS!

Soon after that, my Mom married a country guy. You know… home-cookin’ country guy. We lived in what felt like the middle of nowhere where we ate fried chicken and drank whole milk. That was during my pre-teen years… The years you start to turn into a woman. Well, it was then that my battle with weight started.

Well, now I’ve lost weight. Strike that… I’ve lost a LOT of weight!

Now, I’m not where I want to be.  I still have about 20 lbs to go.  But the stink of it is that I still see allllll of those problem areas I had 50 lbs-ish ago when I look in a mirror. Insecurities aren’t something that just go away. I SO wish they would. I’m sick of not feeling great about myself! I feel like I’ve earned confidence. But, as many of you know… it’s just not that easy… it’s not a light switch that you can just turn off and on.

I was hoping to lose an extra 10 lbs before the photo convention in Las Vegas that’s in 1.5 weeks (AHHHHH!) and have been putting off buying clothes until that happened. Well, my stress levels leading up to it haven’t helped in that arena. Again, not gaining was enough to make me feel victorious!

This is where you come in… IT’S A CONTEST!!!!!!

I, sadly, am not good at dressing for my body type… and was hoping that some of you out there would be much better at it than me. I essentially need four outfits for Vegas.  You send me what you think will work… if I pick yours, you’ll receive a $10 iTunes gift card!  I’ll pick between one and four winners.

I warn you now… I’m TOUGH to buy for!

Things you’ll need to keep in mind:

• I’m quite frugal. But, will spend on staple wardrobe items (jeans, jackets, etc).
• My bust and hips are the exact same measurement. My waist is about 6.5″ smaller.
• Problem areas: belly, breasts and arms (I’ve always carried a lot of weight in my arms. That’s why I don’t wear tank tops )
• I’m convinced that the size of my chest adds the appearance of 20 extra lbs.  I VERY much struggle with finding clothes that flatter me because of this.
• Also, I have cleavage in everything… and not on purpose! It’s just the way it is. In high school I wore a turtle neck with everything.
• Speaking of that… I’m pretty modest. I suppose that comes with the territory!
• I like quirky stuff. I don’t like looking like everyone else.
• I have very strong calves. Strangely strong. Taller boots don’t fit me. That makes me jealous of those that can.
• I still have 15+ lbs to lose before I feel great about myself.
• clothes from stores like Anthropologie, J.Crew, ModCloth, etc. don’t usually fit me because of my aforementioned large chest.
• I have very short legs… even for a short person. Petites still have to be altered to fit.
• I struggle in uncomfortable shoes. I SO wish that weren’t the case! I think that to wear uncomfortable shoes, you have to have been wearing them since you were very young. Your muscles and feet form to fit them. I went from waiting tables in Shoes for Crews to combat boots in the Army… Now all of my shoes look like they were made for old nurses. Not that there is anything wrong with being an old nurse!

Here’s a recent photo of my body. A confession… because of bullet point 4 (that my chest adds the appearance of 20 extra lbs), for my healthy train photos, I use a chip clip to pull my shirt back so that I can see the changes in my waist better Don’t judge me!

See, told you it’d be a challenge!

If you’re up to it… send me an inspiration board with what you think will be an amazing outfit. Also include where I can buy it and how much it costs. I’ll pick a winner (or four!) on Friday morning. Email me at style(at)bobbiandmike.com

Oh, and… a quick disclaimer: Because I’m doing this with online shopping, that doesn’t guarantee that I’ll love the outfit once it gets here or I go try it on. So, if you see me in Vegas and I’m not wearing the winning outfit… you’ll understand.

Thank you all SO much for being such a big part of my life. I would be absolutely honored to wear an outfit that our incredible blog readers picked out for me.

~bobbi

PS. I won’t be surprised if I get zero contest entries… my list of “things to keep in mind” is a bit intimidating!

The numbers are blowing my mind…

Our top 5:

Stacey Dickey – 7.88%
Rich Foster – 7.74%
Rebecca Dryer – 7.57%
Kristi Livingstone – 6.75%
Kayla Joy Hurst – 6.51%

WOOT WOOT!!!!!!

I’ve been LOVING the #healthytrain twitter accountability stuff… it’s so motivational. Thank you to those who are participating.

Now, as many of you already know… there is a Healthy Train Facebook group. You also know that I’m not the best at keeping up with it. I noticed that one of the healthy trainee’s had taken the reigns of the page… so I asked her to be an admin! She was a bridesmaid in a wedding that we photographed… and she’s from Awesome City, USA.

I went through the archives and found a photo of us from that wedding. Meet Stephanie… she’s on the far right. January, 2007… Oh, and that’s me… pre-healthy train

She’s an incredible motivator… and I’m excited to see what role she falls into with the healthy train.

This week she asked me if it’d be okay to start a spark people page for us… I said HELLLLL YES!  Just do it and tell me what to tell our blog readers and we’ll make it happen. Here’s what she wrote:

A handful of people on the facebook group have mentioned their use of the Web site www.sparkpeople.com.  This site is a completely FREE resource committed to healthy living through goal-setting and lifestyle changes.  They use a positive approach and emphasize the difference that small changes can make toward building momentum and reaching your goals (it only takes a spark to start a fire…I think that’s kind of the notion behind the name).  It has a nutrition and fitness tracker, fitness videos, optional meal plans, and TONS of articles and other resources on health, fitness, nutrition, weight loss, goal setting, etc.  In addition to the many resources, they have a very active online support network made up of millions of members.  When joining, members have the option to create their own “SparkPage” and network with others on the site via message boards and “SparkTeams.”

Here’s where Healthy Train comes into play!  :)  Due to the interest expressed on the FB group, we have created our own healthy train SparkTeam (“Bobbi’s HealthyTrain”).  At this time, the team is co-lead by Spark members/Healthy Train participants Kayla Joy Hurst and Stephanie Beck.  There’s a link to it on the fb wall, but the team is set to private (keeps random Spark members from accidentally joining if they aren’t familiar with Healthy Train).  If anyone doesn’t belong to SparkPeople but is interested in the team, it’s as simple as heading over to the site and creating an account (free like mentioned before) so that we can send an invitation.  The fab thing about SparkPeople is that you can use the parts you like and disregard the parts that you don’t.  They don’t push diets.  The site provides a whole lot of autonomy in tailoring it to your own needs.  When I joined, all I was interested in was the free nutrition tracker, but then I got completely addicted and started using pretty much everything on the site…and it’s been COMPLETELY worth my while given that I’m closing in on a 30-pound loss since I joined!  :)  There’s something about the site that just gets me excited and helps me stay motivated.  Even when my momentum wanes (as it does for anyone on this journey), I still find my way back because I really just enjoy being a part of the site – I’m constantly learning more about myself along the way.  Yup, did you hear that?  I’ve actually ENJOYED weight loss thanks to this site!  Who knew????  :)  [You'd think they're paying me to promote...but NOPE.  It's just great, and I love telling others about it.  They call it "Spreading the Spark." ]

So, in a nutshell… to join the SparkTeam: Create a SparkPeople account and then message Stephanie there to request access. Here’s her Spark profile

As for our personal healthy trains I’ve lost 0.78%. and Mike lost 1.33%. CHOOOOO CHOOOOOOO!!!!!!! Not a lot but certainly no gain.

A couple of b*tchy business things to get off of my chest:

• For those who haven’t weighed in… that needs to happen first-ish thing on the Friday of a weigh in.
• I mentioned this when I announced the healthy train… if you don’t weigh in within two weeks of an official weigh in date…. I’ll unfortunately have to remove your name from the list. No exceptions. This healthy train is something that I, along with many of you out there, take VERY seriously… and those that aren’t taking it as seriously needn’t weigh us down. Pun intended.
• If you’re not already on the healthy train, please do not ask if it’s too late. I extended the deadline more times than I’m embarrassed to admit. No more.

That being said, just looked at the google doc and less than half of you have weighed in…. many of those that haven’t weighed in were the ones BEGGING me to extend the deadline. This takes a lot of time for me to organize and put together so… time that I don’t really have. Please please PLEASE do not let me down again… because if you do I’ll send Jack Bauer to punch you in the belly. k? k.

I’m SO sorry to be such a hard ass… if you knew the big picture of all of this, you’d understand. (wow, two “bad” words in one post… I’m on a roll!)

Alright, back to being positive.  Remember… it’s allllll about big picture, not week-to-week. Don’t let yourself fall off of the train for one or two bad decisions. This isn’t an all or nothing kind of thing. Just keep heading in the right direction… that’s all you can ask of yourself.

Much love friends… and keep on chugging! CHOOOOOOO CHOOOOOOO!!!!!!

~bobbi

PS. Vegas in two weeks… wish us luck!

First and foremost: I am BEYOND proud of each of you. Seriously, you have NO idea how proud of you I am! Can’t wait to see your after photos. It took guts to send those photos… and I’m REALLY proud of you. To swallow your pride and take that photo… (ESPECIALLY of the scale!!!!) I KNOW that this is going to be our most successful train yet. I just KNOW it!  This time is going to be different, I have 100% faith in it.

Official final number of healthy train participants: 209.

TWO HUNDRED AND FREAKING NINE! AKFKM??!?!!!!?!!?  YAHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSKI!!!!!!!

First, some business.

What does that mean?

Get your “before photos” ready betties! IT’S CONTEST TIME!

Wait, what’s the healthy train?

It’s something I started back in January, 2008 for personal accountability with my health.

You see, at that point in my life, I’d gained 50 pounds since getting married and was just plain miserable.  I knew it was time for drastic measures. So, I started sharing my weight loss journey online.

I asked people to join me and it was glorious

Well… by the third installment of the healthy train, I asked that our readers to take it a step further… I asked them to send in their “before photos” and six months later I asked them to send in their “after photos”.  The person who’d lost the largest percentage of weight won.

With your encouragement, after three years of being on the healthy train… I’ve lost more than 20% of my total body weight.

What exactly do I need to do to compete?

Send in your photos!

1. photos of your front, side and back.
2. a photo of your starting weight on your scale (yes, I know this is a new addition to the contest, and it’s an incredibly sensitive thing to send… but I need a way to keep everyone honest. I PROMISE you I don’t care how much you weigh, I’ll love you regardless.  I also promise to never show ANYONE… not even when the healthy train concludes).
3. Your goal weight. I’m asking for that simply because sometimes telling someone else what your goals are is an incredible motivator and it will keep you accountable.

Send those to me before next Friday. (for 100% clarification… I’ll need them before 11:59 on January 13th) I PROMISE not to post it!  In the end, only those who send in your “after” photos will be shown. Send all photos to healthytrainbobbi@gmail.com

DO NOT WORRY… JUDGMENT FREE ZONE!!!!   PLEASE know that I’m not a judgmental person in THE LEAST.  I think you’re all beautiful and love you regardless! We all have to start somewhere, right?! I’ve showed you all my before photos, photos of me as a sweaty mess, hair lookin’ all crazy, etc… so, please know that I will NOT judge you! :D  So, swallow your pride and send it over!

BEFORE PHOTO TIPS

• wear something that is easily comparable to another outfit for your “after” photo. For example… I wear a black shirt and blue jeans… that way, as I lost weight… I could just wear smaller jeans and a smaller black shirt so that it was easy to compare.
• DO NOT  wear super loose fitting clothes. I know it sucks now to see yourself that way but trust me… you’ll thank me later!
• stand somewhere that has a clean background… a white wall works perfectly.  Standing in front of clutter makes it difficult for you to see your outline.
• if space allows, take the photo with your camera more zoomed in rather than zoomed out. also, try to place the camera level with your belly button.  (Mike takes mine from about 10 feet away with a 50mm lens on a 5D mkII)

If you don’t want to compete… but still want to be on the healthy train… PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE JOIN US… The MORE THE MERRIER!!!!!!

When does this contest start?

IMMEDIATELY!!!  Start making healthy choices RIGHT NOW!  Lunch plans to go to Cheesecake Factory are going to have to be canceled.  It’s a NEW YEAR!

Weigh yourself first thing tomorrow morning… that’s your official “start weight”

Unfortunately only the weight you lose during the current healthy train time period (Jan 7 – July 1) will be counted towards your percentage lost. This also goes for people who’ve already lost weight

When does this contest end?

July 1st (25 weeks… about 6 months)  Progress pic

What is the prize?

An “after” photo session taken by yours truly…. in Indianapolis… within 4 months of the finale date. If you don’t want a photo session or aren’t local… oh well… jump on anyway! Doesn’t matter… JOIN JOIN JOIN!

Oh, and if you were in the last healthy train… you’re more than welcome to join up again! We’d love to have you Unfortunately, to keep things fair, only the weight you lose during the current healthy train time period will be counted towards your percentage lost. This also goes for people who’ve already lost weight

Where and when do I weigh in?

We’ll weigh in the first Friday of every month. You’ll not report how many lbs you’ve lost but instead your percentage lost. Total loss just isn’t fair… As some people only have 15 pounds to lose… while others have 100.

Once I get all of the competitors info… I’ll be setting up a google doc where people can enter their percentages lost in an Excel style format.

FIRST WEIGH IN: February 4th.

The following weigh ins will be March 4, April 1, May 6, June 3, and finally July 1.

Uh-oh, I can’t compete right now… can I hop on the next one?

Bittersweetly… This may be the final installment. (is bittersweetly even a word?!)

So, why may this be last one? Well… for a few reasons.

1. I have about 20 more lbs to lose to reach my final goal. Hopefully I’ll be able to knock that out this round.
2. Maintaining the healthy train is incredibly time consuming. There are changes I need to make that give me more time to spend with my husband… this is, unfortunately, one of them.
3. I’m turning 30 in June… seems like the perfect finale date!
4. It’s a lot of responsibility and pressure… and I take that very seriously.  Sometimes when I’d be too busy to blog about it this last time, I felt some serious guilt. I knew I was letting a lot of people down. Over the last couple of years irrational guilt has become something that I struggle with.  (I’ll talk more about that in a future healthy train blog entry)
5. Last healthy train, we received 144 “before photos.” I was BLOWN AWAY!  How many “after photos” did we get? ELEVEN! If you’re doing the math… that’s less than 8%. While I was SO proud of those 11, I was also incredibly disappointed in the success rate. Bottom line, it’s a lot of time and work to keep track of people who aren’t following through. Not trying to be a jerk… just letting you know how I feel.

Now, all of this may change by the end of the summer… We’ll see. But for now just know that this could be the last one.

Anything else I need to know?

1. I canNOT stress this enough… MEASURE YOURSELF!!!!! When the pounds aren’t coming off… sometimes seeing the inches fly away are FABULOUS for the motivation.  I measure my waist, arms, thighs, bust and hips. Mike measures his waist, chest, arms, thighs and neck.
2. If you’re a twitterer… And you’re on the healthy train… and you happen to twitter ABOUT the healthy train.. be sure to tag it with #healthytrain  K? k. If you’re interested, here’s my twitter feed.
3. I started a “bobbi’s healthy train” group on Facebook… ANYONE can join… not just the people with the before pics. My trainer is also a member… so if you have fitness questions, ask ‘em there!  It’s already been a great place… as it’s SO much easier to do this in a group than by yourself. We’d love to have you there… Though, to be perfectly fair… I’m not a super active contributor. However,  many of our members are fantastic at giving good advice, feedback and encouragement.

Your support and encouragement means more to me than I could ever express… and I can’t thank you all enough.

I’m pumped up… hope you are too!

LET’S DO THIS!!!!!!!!!!!

Love!

~bobbi

To the people in this post… I adore and respect each and every single one of you.

Angie Livesay | 6.79%

Jennifer Hughes | 10.57%

Chelsea Moore | 11.4%

“Since Healthy Train… I have completed my first half marathon, wore a shirt that I loved but was too small (it’s actually too big for me now!), and been in more photos with my friends and family! I walk taller and smile bigger. I feel amazing! I can’t wait to board the next Healthy Train….choo choo!”

Jerrie Haskin | 12.22%

“I wrote in my first emai, that I will probably be the one who ends up pregnant!  Well….I’m 12 weeks pregnant!! haha!!   I am so happy that I got to start this pregnancy with 12.22% less weight than I would have at the beginning of this year!  At my first prenatal visit, I asked my Dr about my weight because I dont want a high risk pregnancy.  He told me “your weight is fine!”  It meant the world to hear those words!! I havent heard those words from anyone besides my husband in 6 years!! I still have plenty more to go, but I wont be able to for another 6 months.  But I started this pregnancy healthier (thank you Bobbi), so I intended on keeping it that way!”

Kelly Ritter | 17.33%

Krystie Hill | 4.52%

Marta Von Grey | 8.7%

Kim Robinson | 15.5%

Alison Douglass | 6.37%

“I am not where I hoped to be but I am so much farther than I thought I could ever get! This round I have lost 6.37 percent, which I am proud of.  The last year and a half has been the hardest time in my personal life ever and I have fought hard to keep going.  I have given myself permission to just maintain for  a little while when things were really rough and I just didn’t have the energy to focus on continuing the loss.  So far, since September 2009, I have lost 22.54% of myself!!! That just blows my mind!  When I reach my goal, I will have lost 1/3 of myself, which is amazing and also a bit sad to realize how much I have carried around all of these years!”

Since the last healthy train | 22.54%

Chris Rivera | 21.09% (he was our winner the last time )

“I want to thank you sooo very much for the train.  As you know from the start of this second round, that I am here to lose weight and watch and congratulate someone else for doing something outstanding.  You have helped a bunch of folks do some very great things and in the process, you have also lost a great deal of weight.  I applaud your ability to motivate and inspire and share your passion of photography along the way.  I have done well this round.  I am pleased in the size 34-36 pants and size Large shirts I can fit into.  It is quite odd to not have to buy shirts that have “X”‘s in it, much less XXXXL that I originally wore.  For me it is about not feeling tired and needing to always take breaks.  It is about taking my children to amusment parks and riding on the children rides with them.  (I have a 9 and 4 year old)  I am so happy with myself now it is crazy.  I just can not wait to see the pics of everyone!! and congrats in advance to the winner!!”

Since the last healthy train (starting in October, 2008) | 45.26%

:::::::::DRUM ROLL PLEASE:::::::::

Our winner

Jill Pollitt | 21.64%

“I lost a total of 37 pounds and I am so proud of myself even if I don’t win your awesome contest.  I am hoping to lose another 10 to 12 pounds in 2011 to be at the weight I was before I had my first baby who will be 12 in January.  I just want to thank you again for doing this.  It really helps to be held accountable!”

21.64%!??!?!? ARE YOU KIDDING ME??!?! Now THAT’S impressive!!!!! Jill has been in the number one spot since the beginning!

High fives Jill!

Now… My turn.

Bobbi Sheridan | 8.02%

I could tell that I’d lost weight in the front view photo… but wasn’t feeling like there was a huge difference. THEN I put THIS together. I 100% see it most in my butt. BTW, don’t mind the jersey shore jeans I’m wearing… they just fit me best when I went jeans shopping last month

Since the last healthy train (starting in October, 2008) | 23.54%

I hardly recognize that Bobbi.  I’m not the same person I was then… and I’m not only referring to physical changes.  Self esteem is a powerful thing.

So… where do I stand now with the healthy train? I still have 15 lbs to lose to feel 100% healthy.  Healthy train 5.0 here we come! It’ll start in January… so stay tuned for that

I love our blog readers.  Can’t thank you enough for your support, love, friendship, encouragement and high fives.

From the bottom of my heart, thank you.

Love.

~bobbi

You see, I’ve been so insecure with how I look for so long that the idea of getting in front of a camera has driven me to near panic attacks.  So, I just avoided it… and avoided it like the plague!

After making my mom’s book for her 50th birthday back in March, I complained about how few family photos I had growing up. I asked my mom about it, she said… “I just didn’t feel good about myself then Bobbi.” My response… “But Mom! I thought you were beautiful!”

BUT… who am I to complain!? I’m JUST as guilty!

Then, about a month ago when I was trying to make excuses for avoiding it again… Mike put his foot down, “Bobbi, my favorite photos of my parents are from before they had kids… and they have VERY few… we’re getting our photo taken, dammit!”

SOOOO… I started making plans.

I called my friend Stefanie… “can you do it… on a tight timeline? What if I do the editing so that it doesn’t add to your already major to do list?”

Her response, “YES! WE’D BE HONORED!”

I didn’t think about it again until the day before the session.  Why? Because I didn’t want to drive myself crazy.

Though, shopping for clothes when you still don’t feel 100% about great yourself, with a ridiculous amount of pressure for a photo session, and a husband who’s losing patience after 4 hours of my frustration while shopping…. I still drove myself and everyone around me absolutely crazy.

Being on the other side of the camera is a LOT harder than I ever imagined it to be. From the planning to the shopping to the windy/dreary weather to my ridiculous insecurities… MAN OH MAN do I have a WHOLE new respect for our clients.

My conclusion: before getting my photos taken next time, I’m drinking a bottle of wine!

All of that being said, Stefanie and Brock did an amazing job of dealing with my ridiculousness… and we couldn’t be happier with the photos!

These were taken at our favorite parking garage in Indy on the gloomiest of days with crazy wind.

So, here they are… photos by our great friends Stefanie and Brock Childs… processed by me.

Mike’s favorite

My favorite

As cheesy as it sounds… when we take photos of young couples I always look at them through the eyes of their future children/grandchildren.  This time, I’m looking at photos of US through the eyes of OUR potential future children.  I can tell you this, if these were images of my mom and dad and there was a fire in my house… The first thing I’d think to grab was this album.

Stefanie and Brock, we seriously can’t thank you enough for all you did for us that day. Thank you thank you thank you. It’s your turn!

Now, onto some healthy train business!

SOOOO… How did YOU do?!?!?

Time to get me your official “after photo” !!!!! You HAVE to get that into me before December 14th to be eligible to win. Email it to healthytrainbobbi [at] gmail.com (do not send it to my work email address please ) I’ll be sending out a mass email to all of the healthy train participants this afternoon to remind you. For the “losers” out there… please keep your % lost to yourself… and only send it to me in an email. I’d like to keep the winner a surprise

Weight loss percentage calculator here.

I can’t TELL you how excited I am to see these new after photos!!!!!  I’ll be posting mine along with yours next week.

For the losers out there… please keep your % lost to yourself… and only send it to me in an email. I’d like to keep this a surprise

Here are my final numbers:

% lost since April 2nd: 8.02%

Total lost since October, 2008: 23.54%

Healthy train winner will be announced in one week from today! BOOOOYAH!

Much love friends!

~bobbi

A personal healthy train update:

% lost since April 2nd: 7.7%

Total lost since October, 2008: 23.3%

I’m almost at a quarter of myself GONE-zo :D

(Weight loss percentage calculator here.)

How are you guys doing??? This is the time to kick it into high gear…. “last chance work out” style! Start getting that hot body of yours ready for your “after photo” (which, by the way, need to be sent to me by December 14). No extensions this time… this is the END! We’ll be announcing the winner December 17th.

Personally, we’re traveling to Texas for 8 days for work between now and the finale… so… if I can just maintain for the finale, that’d be victory enough. HOWEVER, if I could get to 25%… I would NOT be upset about it! I’ll definitely be working out while we’re there You know… LAST CHANCE WORK OUT STYLE!!!!!

Okay, you know I don’t like blogging without a photo…

I promised you guys that, at the end of the healthy train, I’d practice what I preach….  and get photos taken of Mike and me. Well, we were in need of some photos of us for promotional stuff anyway… so, what better timing?! Now, I know it’s not THE end of the healthy train… but, let’s face it… we live in the good ol’ midwest and it’s not getting any warmer!

Taken last week by our good friends, who also happen to be oh so talented… Stefanie and Brock Childs I can’t thank you two enough… you did an INCREDIBLE job. More on those two later, too

I have lots to say about being on the other side of the camera… but I’ll save that for when we post more. For now… just one

I am in LOVE with this photo. I’m the luckiest girl I know. Mike’s so damn hot! He’s like a fine wine… gets better with age! Okay, that was cheesy… Shushing now.

More later, promise

In the meantime… get those asses in gear! IT’S NOW OR NEVER BETTIES!!!!!

Finale: December 10.

“After photo” deadline: December 14 (my half birthday! )

Next healthy train: January 7

See you again in LESS THAN two weeks!

Much love friends!

~bobbi

PS. sorry for being a bit late… it just wasn’t fair to me or to you to healthy train blog the DAY after Thanksgiving!