Finally Alive After 25 Post!!

If any of you haven't heard of Kate from Finally Alive After 25 you are seriously missing out.  

Kate is definitely one of my favourite weight loss blogs to read. It's refreshing to stumble upon a blog that doesn't act like she has all the answers to losing weight, and that it has been the easiest time for her.  Kate addresses when things get tough, or don't go the way that she had planned. Kate has always been upfront, and with over 12,000 Facebook followers, she's obviously doing something right.

I've been an avid reader of Kate's for over six months, and have not stopped talking about her since! Whenever I'm having a bad day, or feel like giving up, I read her blog and it definitely motivates me to stay on track. Her posts are inspiring, and are often hilarious. Kate has a very active Social Media presence, and it allows her readers to come together and work on their goals , while learning from Kate's different tips!

I was fortunate enough to be able to contact Kate and ask her some questions about what she's learned on her journey, how she feels, and of course, her favourite music to work out to!

Hi Kate!

Thanks so much for doing this interview for A Healthy Thought! I am not sure how I stumbled upon your Facebook Page but I am so happy I did.  I’ve seen so many healthy eating/living blogs over the last few years, but you’re one of the few that actually seems to stay true to who they are. Do you find it hard to not get caught up in seeming to have it all together like a lot of other bloggers try to come across as?

I don’t get caught up in it, just because I know I don’t have it all together! Haha The reason that I started sharing my journey was because I wanted people to know that there are people out there that struggle just like everyone else does, but still make it happen.  I never wanted to come across as “I lost this weight and it was easy and I NEVER had a bad day!” and it literally drives me crazy when people do act like that!  That’s not real life!  I’m all about having a positive attitude, but even the most positive people have days that they just want to lay around and eat a carton of ice cream haha.  Not saying that they do that!  But, everyone has those days, and people want to know that they can connect to them. 

I always find it so hard to start working out and becoming healthier, but when I do I feel so great.  What caused you to work towards your goal of becoming healthy?

I had just finally reached an all time low.  I was 24, about to be 25, almost 300lbs and had a body fat percentage of nearly 50%!  I was sick and tired of being sick and tired.  I was tired of pushing myself to the sidelines and putting everyone else in front of me.  I was tired of not feeling good in my own skin, and tired of being depressed.  I want to live a long life, with lots of babies (one day! Haha) and the only way that can happen is if I start taking care of myself as soon as possible.  I’ve lost too many people in my family to complications with obesity, and I refuse to be another statistic. 

It’s definitely true that when you are trying to lose weight, you have to make a lot more conscious decisions when eating.  Do you have any suggests for swaps, or recipes that you love?

My biggest thing is to just try to eat as “clean” as possible!  The less processed foods the better!  I used to be a pasta eater, I felt like a meal couldn’t be completed unless pasta or rice was included.  So, we made new options!  Instead of having pasta, we made my mom’s famous spaghetti dinner with spaghetti squash!  Instead of having rice, we make cauliflower rice!  People ask me all the time “what to eat to lose weight”, I’m not a nutritionist or dietician by any means, but I know my body runs better on real food.  Stay away from the Lean Cuisines and make your own! 

I know you are still in the process of losing weight, but I really have to say that you do look AMAZING.  It’s obvious that you’ve worked very hard to get to where you are today.  How does it make you feel knowing how far you’ve come?

It’s honestly mind boggling.  I look at pictures of myself, and I don’t even recognize myself.  I always knew that I was big, but seeing pictures of myself before baffles my mind.  I never FELT that big.  I have really great friends and family that continuously told me I was beautiful.  I took pride in the fact that I “dressed for my body” and made sure my clothing was always “size appropriate” in my head.   But the greatest feeling of all is knowing that I did it.  I pushed away all the negative thoughts that ever entered my brain that told me that I wasn’t good enough, strong enough, or capable to be happy.   That’s the most amazing feeling on earth.  

What is your favourite workout to do? Do you have any exercise tips you’d be willing to share?

My favorite “workout” is probably running, just because I never was able to before.  Well, not that I wasn’t able to, but I wouldn’t ever do it. Haha I was the girl that barely passed high school because of gym class, and would WALK when we had to do the mile run.  Running meant sweaty-ness and embarrassment so there was no way that I was going to put myself through that while I was in school.  Running is a kind of freedom for me, a freedom from my old self and a freedom to be the person I’ve always wanted to be.  The only tips that I’ll give is that when you haven’t worked out, you need to remember to be gentle with your body, but also to remember that your mind is going to give in WAY faster than your body actually will.  If you’re overweight, things will hurt.  Your knees may crack or your body gets sore quickly, that means you’re doing something right!  Don’t give up!

I know that you have hit some plateaus over the last few years. How do you stay sane when you work so hard but don’t see any results?

I have a battle with my head on this subject daily.  It’s immensely frustrating.  When you go from losing anywhere from 2-6lbs a week to a dead stop, saying that “it sucks” would be an understatement.  The thing that keeps me sane, is that I’m no where near where I used to be.  I still have some habits that I need to kick, but I’m so much stronger than the girl I once was and I never want to go back there.  I never realized how unhappy I was until I gained the confidence and strength to do what I have done.  I refuse to go back, so that’s what I stay focused on.

I love when you pop up on my Facebook newsfeed or Instagram feed and I see your #operationloveyourself and #team175 hashtags.  It makes me feel more motivated to get off my butt, and it makes me feel like we are all a team, encouraging and supporting one another.  For people who aren’t familiar with you, could you explain what these phrases mean, and why they are so important to you?

Team 175 to me is just my next short term weight goal.  I am aiming to hit 175lbs in order to see a doctor regarding my excess skin surgery.  That number marks that I’ve lost 142, a little less than half of my starting weight, so I just want to go to a doctor to see how much more I would have to lose, or what we’d have to do in order to have skin removal surgery.  Operation Love Yourself means A LOT to me.  When I was overweight, I didn’t believe that I was worthy of love.  I was attracting horrible men into my life, because as an overweight person, I didn’t think I was “worthy enough” to have someone treat me right. I wasn’t treating myself right, so why should anyone else?  When I finally decided to start losing weight, it was like a light switch turned on in my head.  I saw the strength that I had, I saw the kind heart, the great sense of humor, and the amazing friend that I know that I am, I was worthy.  I was worthy of being loved, most of all by my self.  This is going to sound cocky, and frankly I don’t care, but I’m pretty awesome. (YES SHE IS AMAZING!!!!!!) Haha A lot of people would have given up not even half way through their journey, but I made the decision, I stuck with it, and I carried through.  Operation Love Yourself to me is making sure that no one else ever feels that way that I once did.  I don’t want anyone, no matter what size or shape they are, to ever feel like they don’t DESERVE to be loved. 

It’s so great to see that you have the support of your family and friends, and that you and your sister Kristin are both working on becoming healthier.  Have you found that most people in your life have been accepting of motivating you and keeping you on track? What do you do about the people who insist, “one bite won’t kill you”?

I am honestly blessed in the fact that I have nothing but supportive people around me.  They have done nothing but cheer me on the whole way.  Kristin, my family, my boyfriend, friends, co-workers, they want to see me succeed.  Don’t get me wrong, there have been plenty of times where I’ve heard that exact line “one bite won’t kill you” or “but you’ve worked so hard!  Enjoy yourself!”.  What they don’t realize is that’s exactly how I got to where I am now, by not having that one bite, because that one bite turns into 10 and I can’t seem to stop myself.  There are days that I give in and say “you’re right! I DO deserve it!” and days that my brain is smart and says “you are wrong, I don’t need that to be happy”.  It depends on the day.

Lastly, what are some of your favourite songs to workout to?

Oh goodness this changes monthly, sometimes even weekly!  I’m a sucker for my old “pop punk” bands like Finch and Taking Back Sunday, mix in a little Britney Spears, some hip-hop dance music and some Red Hot Chili Peppers, it’s definitely an interesting mix! 

I just want to thank Kate so much for taking the time out of her day to answer some questions for this little blog.  It just makes me love her even more! Finally Alive After 25 means more than losing weight to me.  It's watching someone who deserve everything get her goal, and inspires people daily!

Check out Kate's Facebook here for some great videos and motivational pictures, Finally Alive After 25.

Or if you want to feel some serious hair envy, look at her Instagram here.

Lastly, as you can see Kate's #operationloveyourself is such an inspiring project.  It's obvious it is a project that comes straight from her heart, and it is an issue that a lot of people are trying to face.  Before you can make any changes to yourself, you need to learn how amazing you are, and how to love yourself.  If you don't love yourself, you won't get very far.  Please check out  Operation Love Yourself to find out how you can help Kate meet her goals.