Friday, February 7, 2014

Ladies' Home Journal and The Doctors (finally, the BIG NEWS!!)

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OMG OMG OMG OMG!!!!!

I'm so excited. Not only for the experience, but to finally be able to share it with YOU!

The big news and what Big Day #1 and Big Day #2, It's a Wrap! were all about is...

Ladies' Home Journal magazine included me in a feature article about maintaining weight loss! Myself, Roni Noone from Roni's Weigh and Erika Kendall from A Black Girls' Guide to Weight Loss are in the March edition of Ladies' Home Journal, about to hit store shelves any day now!


Ack! Can you stand it?! I can barely stand it. It's so surreal. I can't wait to get my hands on the actual magazine. It hits newsstands Tuesday and I'll be there to buy a copy (or thirty).

The three of us had so much fun at the photo shoot, and I think it shows. As you can imagine, we had a lot in common. I was so inspired and impressed by my two fellow bloggers, what an honor to be in this group!


When I walked into the photography studio and saw that giant poster of myself I couldn't help but cry. I felt the full weight of the transformation. A changed body, but more important, a changed me. But also the same me. I've always been a bit stubborn, or, let's call it determined. I've always been able to laugh in adversity, pick myself after a fall and, when all wrapped up in the messy details, step back and see the big picture. Those traits and more have been invaluable on this journey. I'm not a flashy before and after picture, I'm a real person just like you, who simply chose - and continues to choose - to never give up.

I think it's important to point out that I'm normal. I wrote about this in my Santa Cruz Triathlon race report. The fit, trim, (mostly) healthy-eating person I am now is not the person that started this journey. I said it best in that post so I'll just quote myself here.
Sometimes I meet people who say, "Oh wow, Michelle, I could never do what you've done, you're amazing! Look at you, you're so strong and fit, great job." They think the me they see now is the me that did this. And they think they're not like me. But this isn't the me that did this. The Michelle you see in front of you is not the woman that got me off the couch. Fat Michelle did that. Fat Michelle picked me up and carried me along the first difficult steps of this journey. And I thought of that phrase, on the shoulders of giants. Fat Michelle was my giant, my hero that picked me up before I was me. That brought me here. And I almost started crying. Any twinge of embarrassment or wincing that I ever felt when I saw my "before" pictures is entirely out of line. That is the woman that started this journey, not the me you see now.
And that is the feeling that caused me to burst into tears when I saw the poster.


Like I said. Oh. My. God. How could I not cry?

But now...let's have more fun!


We did group shots but we also did individual shots. Here are a few of my favorites.


Bam!


 Want to read the article? It's available online now!


Please stop by, give it a "like" and if you love it, please share it. Ladies' Home Journal will see that you want stories about maintenance and about real women. Of course, they're already focused on real women, one of their hashtags is #womeninspiringwomen. I love it.

They also did a short video of us sharing our favorite tips.

Click here to watch the video.
But wait...that's not all!


Do you know that hunky guy? He's Travis Stork, from The Doctors. We're going to be on TV! The show will air on Monday, February 10th. It's a syndicated show so you'll have to check your local listing for times. I was SO nervous during the filming I couldn't stop wondering if the audience could see my knees shaking! The whole segment was just over five minutes so at least it went fast. I can't wait to see it. Cannot. Wait.

I want to once again thank the amazing women of Ladies' Home Journal who were involved in putting this together. It was an experience of a lifetime.

Susan, Moi, and Julie

That's Susan Pocharski on my right, the woman who dreamed up the article. She's the one who chose us, who sent me this email back in July of last year, and got the whole ball rolling (and written!).
Hi, I am an editor at Ladies' Home Journal and am a big fan of your blog. I'd like to talk with you about a feature story we are working on in hopes you may want to be a part of it. - Many thanks, Susan Pocharski
Many thanks to YOU Susan! Thank you for being interested in this story, for writing it, for being such an amazing support during our time in Los Angeles, for bringing out the best in us. Thank you!

Next to Susan is Julie Bain, one of the health editors at Ladies' Home Journal. Another fun, energized, supportive woman. She co-hosted our segment on The Doctors with Travis. Having her on-set helped me feel a bit more comfortable. Thanks for everything Julie!

Finally, I want to thank Clare Lissaman, the director of photography. Ironically I didn't get a picture with her but she was right there too, making sure we were shining our brightest. Thank you Clare!

Well, that's a wrap! I'll be on my couch at 3pm on Monday watching myself on TV, at the store waiting for it to open on Tuesday so I can buy my March copy of Ladies' Home Journal with Amy Poehler on the cover (love her!) and sharing everything with you until you can't stand it. Thank you for sharing in the excitement of this experience with me. It wouldn't be the same if I didn't have such cool readers to share this with. I'm off to cry now. Tears of joy, people, tears of joy.

24 comments:

  1. Beyond awesome. Congrats lady. Well deserved! !!!

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  2. This made me smile big smiles. Now we need to convince them to bring us back for a reunion every year!!

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    1. Thank you! You are an excellent partner in crime! Let's make it happen!!

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  3. OMG OMG OMG - I skimmed through and can't wait to read it ALL!!! Congratulations to you and your success!

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  4. Wow - so exciting!! I will have to pick up the magazine!

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  5. Michelle...that is so exciting! I don't comment on here all that often, but I have read your entire blog over the course of the past year and follow along on Facebook as well. You should be so incredibly proud of yourself for not only achieving what you set out to do, but for being open enough to share it with the world and inspire so many people.
    For me personally, you have inspired me to get out there and run and to sign up for my first (sprint distance) triathlon. I will also be doing my longest road race so far this October when I do a 10-miler. Reading your blog made me remember that just because I was no longer in school or on a team didn't mean I wasn't still an athlete and that I should get out there and challenge myself again.
    Great work and keep it up!

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    1. Thanks Jayne. I am always so touched when someone reads all 7 years of my blog. Even I haven't done that, though I probably should - I might learn a thing or two. But most of all, thank you for sharing that I've inspired you. It's an honor, one that I feel humbled by. Thank you. Great work and keep it up to you too!

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  6. Great photos and great story too. Congratulations to all three of you!

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  7. I'll be sure to pick up a copy of the magazine and I do enjoy watching the Doctors so I'll see you on tv! it's like I know someone famous now ... sort of!
    :-)

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    1. Thank you Susan. Send me a pic with you and the magazine, I'll be posting them here for anyone that wants to join in the party!!

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  8. Very cool Michelle!! I have been wondering for awhile now what the big news was and thought maybe I'd missed the post. So glad to see I didn't and WOW that's some crazy awesome news. Congrats!!

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    1. Thank you Kris! I know, crazy, right?! I'm so excited!!

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  9. FUN!!!! Congratulations. I can't wait to buy the magazine.

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    1. Me too! I'm going to be buying a ton of them!! Thanks Kari!

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  10. Congrats ladies hard work & discipline does pay off....thanks for my tips, I just need a better network so maybe the blogs thing is better idea to a successful weight loss .Im excited about picking up march new issue ..I am inspired 2014

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  11. Congratulations! You deserve it! i'm gonna go and get a copy of the magazine now :)

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  12. The photos look amazing - you all look so happy and fun, it's inspiring :) and the way you talk about your old self, so accepting and proud, is truly amazing and commendable. Great job!

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    1. Thank you Lexy!! My old self got me off that couch, not this new fit me, this is just the outcome :)

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