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There have been so many changes over the last 19 y

There have been so many changes over the last 19 years since I lost 243 pounds. I’ve changed my hair color countless times and I’ve gone from tanning to not-tanning to tanning again.

Yes- many things have changed, but one thing that never changed was my desire to maintain the 243 pound weight loss that I achieved following weight loss surgery in 2002.

Don’t believe the people who tell you that weight loss surgery doesn’t work long term. It does…if YOU do.
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#weightlosssurgery #weightlosshelp #weightlosscoach #weightlossstory #weightlossdiet #weightlosssuccess #weightlossprogram #extremeweightloss #kelleygunter #youhavesuchaprettyface #homecomingqueenofcrazytown #wlssupport #wlstransformation #wlsfamily #vsgfamily #beforeandafterweightloss #beforeandafter #fatlosstips #fatlossmotivation #rny #rnycommunity #maintainingweightloss #fattofitjourney #facetoface #sidebyside #bariatricsleeve #bariatricsurgery #bariatric #bariatricbabes #bariatrica

This is such a powerful question and one that most

This is such a powerful question and one that most people ignore or refuse to answer. While losing weight most of us, (MYSELF INCLUDED), only focus on the number we see on the scale and the pounds we want to lose.

We tend to ignore the reasons that we use food as comfort in the first place, because we think that becoming thinner will magically fix every problematic situation in our lives.

I can tell you that after losing 243 pounds and having numerous skin removal surgeries….the same unresolved issues that were the catalyst for my original emotional eating, were still there staring me in the face each time I looked in the mirror. That unfortunate truth lead to one cross-addiction after another, which eventually landed me up in treatment to address the issues that were there from the beginning.

My issues stemmed from a childhood riddled with sexual abuse that had never been acknowledged or allowed to heal. I realized that food was my band-aid and I needed to take care of my wound.

You owe it to yourself to consider if there is something weighing you down that doesn’t register on the scale. If there is, you deserve to be free from it. You deserve to heal.

Don’t just lose pounds and not lose the weight that’s suffocating your soul.
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#weightlossgoal #weightlosstransformations #weightgain #regain #weightlosssurgery #bariatricsurgery #gastricsleeve #bingeeatingrecovery #bingeeating #bingeeatingrecovery #eatingdisorderawareness #eatingdisordersupport #eatingdisorderrecovery #emotionaleating #emotionaleater #kelleygunter #youhavesuchaprettyface #homecomingqueenofcrazytown #overeating #overeatersanonymous #oa #sexualabuse #selflovery #healingtrauma #makingithappen #mystoryoflight #nonscalevictory #nonscalevictories #nsv
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It is painful for me to look back and remember whe

It is painful for me to look back and remember when I actually wanted to end my life. I was searching for a foolproof plan to end it all. I had written my good-bye letter to my son because I thought that he would be better off having the money from my life insurance rather than having me.

I was a mess. I was trying my best to put the shattered pieces of my world back together, but I was so broken and beaten down that I didn’t feel that I could ever recover. I was at the beginning of my treatment and I was engulfed in darkness and I prayed, begging God to let me die.

Eventually I realized I couldn’t do that to my son and it slowly sunk in to my mind that I didn’t really want my life to end, but I desperately needed the pain to stop. There were so many obstacles for me to get through and I had no idea how to make that happen.

One day, sobbing, I fell to my knees and promised God that if He got me through it, I would speak about the abuse, addictions, mistakes, and all of the ugly, painful parts of my past. I would share my story to help others who were trapped in the same pain and darkness that was consuming me.

If you are currently in that same dark place, please read every word of this message. I have been where you are—I promise if you look around you will see my footprints—and if I can find my way out, so can you. You can’t believe anything you hear or think in the darkness because the darkness is a liar—it distorts and magnifies everything. The darkness isolates and makes you think that you are alone.

BUT YOU ARE NOT ALONE. I am here shining my light trying to reach you. You are a child of God and if your heart is still beating, then He is not done with you yet. There were days I had to focus on just getting through the next five minutes, and if that’s what you have to do, then do exactly that. Keep pushing, fighting, and holding on.

It only takes the smallest ray of light to destroy the darkness. Better days are ahead and even if you don’t believe in yourself, I will believe in you until you discover your own belief. I am praying for you and believing that you will find your way.

Your voice and your story matter.
YOU matter.
It. Gets. Better. ❤️

If you’ve read my book, then you know that I tho

If you’ve read my book, then you know that I thought losing weight would be the magic eraser for all of my life’s problems. I never came right out and said that, but deep inside I thought that’s all I needed to do for things in my life to improve. I lost 243 pounds and some things DID improve. The trauma I was running from, though, the pain that fueled my need to use food as comfort in the first place, was still there controlling every decision I made.

It’s not an exaggeration to say I made some colossal mistakes—mistakes that caused me to lose everything and almost everyone I loved. At that point I went into treatment and finally disclosed the sexual abuse I had experienced my entire childhood—abuse that had never been disclosed, acknowledged, or allowed to heal. It was then that my healing journey began.

That was nearly 4 years ago, and I can tell you that healing is not an easy path to walk. It has been painful and difficult, and there have been times I didn’t think I could survive one more day. But the pain we experience in healing is different than the pain of suffering—this pain led to something beautiful. This pain led me to peace. Allowing myself to heal has lifted a huge burden from my soul.

Is there something weighing you down that doesn’t register on a scale?

Read my story of trauma, hope, and the joy that follows survival in my memoir, You Have Such a Pretty Face. Available on Amazon, Kindle, audiobooks, and also my website www.youhavesuchaprettyface.com. Link in bio.
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#successcoach #dailyinspiration
#supersoulsunday #thereal
#girlchat #refinery29
#traumarecovery #rapevictim
#redtabletalk #schoolofgreatness #extremeweightloss #vsgcommunity #losingweightjourney #fattofit #facetofacefriday #facetoface #obesetobeast #gastricsleeve #keepgoing💪 #losingweightfeelinggreat #itgetsbetter #weightlossinspiration #weightlosscoach #youhavesuchaprettyface #kelleygunter #trustgod #beforeandafterweightloss #soberissexy #ptsdawareness
#sidebyside

There were many times I wanted to give up. Life ca

There were many times I wanted to give up. Life can be hard and sometimes it felt like I had just survived one catastrophe when another one hit.

It’s easy to look at someone’s pictures and think their life is perfect. I hid my pain so well that when I finally self-destructed, ended up in treatment, and disclosed the sexual abuse I’d suffered throughout my childhood, lifelong friends questioned how it could be true because I had seemed to have it all together.

Those closest to me regularly said, “Kelley works hard and she plays hard.” But what they called “playing hard” was addiction and there was nothing fun about the devastation that resulted. Achieving sobriety isn’t easy and taking responsibility for my mistakes was both humiliating and humbling, but also a necessary component of my healing.

I lost everything and almost every person I loved. Those people had every right to walk away because no one was required to deal with my addiction and healing.

What I never understood, though, were the people who attacked me, seemed determined to destroy me, and who refused to stop kicking me when I was down. People went to extraordinary lengths to try to prevent me from rebuilding my life.

So please don’t look at my pictures and think my life has been easy or perfect.

I’m a survivor and survival isn’t pretty, but I survived because God gave me a warrior spirit and filled me with strength to fight. He never deserted me. He sent new friends and when I was overwhelmed, He reminded me to focus on Him. God has repeatedly shown me that there isn’t a human being strong enough to close a door He wants open.

I may have been a victim, but don’t make the mistake of thinking I’m not a fighter. I will claw my way out of any hole someone tries to bury me in because my story is not about me. I survived for a reason and I will continue to shine my light for those who still feel trapped in the same darkness that tried to destroy me.

“And the light shines in darkness; and the darkness cannot overcome it!” John 1:5.
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#christianblogger #christianblog #recoverytodaymagazine #sexualabuse #rapevictim #whyididntreport #rapesurvivor #rapeculture #lovewhatmatters

He grew up and got bigger and stronger and I got s

He grew up and got bigger and stronger and I got smaller. My son, Alec, told me when I wrote my book, You Have Such a Pretty Face, that even as a little boy, it always bothered him that after I lost 243 pounds, I took down all of the pictures of me when I was heavier. He said he loved those pictures because he loved that woman, that woman was his mom.

It made me stop in my tracks. He loved me exactly as I was.
— he didn’t need me to look a certain way, drive a certain car, make a lot of money, or be someone I wasn’t—he just loved ME. That amazing, pure, genuine love of a child was something I had never experienced. I had always felt as though I had to be someone different than who I was to be accepted. I never felt as if I was enough.

My story includes a 243-pound weight loss, how I’ve maintained that loss for 19 years, crisis, chaos, heartbreak, abuse, trauma, suffering, faith, many miracles, and the undeniable truth that being broken doesn’t mean you can’t heal and become your very best self.

My memoir, You Have Such a Pretty Face is available on Amazon, Kindle, audiobooks, and if you’d like a signed copy, I’m signing all copies ordered today and tomorrow from my website. (Link in bio).
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#memoirsofmotherhood #memoirs #memoir #weightlossinspiration #weightlosssurgery #extremeweightloss #extremeweightlossmotivation #fatlossjourney #fatlosstips #weightlossbeforeandafter #beforeandafterweightloss #wlstransformation #vsgsupport #bariatricsurgery #sidebyside #facetoface #dailyinspo #dailymotivation #gastricsleeve #gastricbypass #fattofit #fattofitjourney #obesetobeast #youcandoit #bookstagrammers #booksonbooks #shedidthat #traumarecovery #addictionrecovery #weightlosscoach

Many times we think that we have nothing to offer

Many times we think that we have nothing to offer the world because we have our own problems we are trying to overcome. We think to ourselves, "I'm no one to give advice, look at the mess my life is right now." I believe just like the moon, we can shine whether we feel whole or not.

In fact, the moon is ALWAYS whole, it's wholeness just isn't visible all the time. Part of the moon doesn't suddenly dissipate and then regrow each month—the truth is we can only see the part that is shining.

Consider the fact that maybe, just maybe, the shine that emanates from one of your broken pieces, might just be the light that allows someone else to keep walking through their darkness. Don't make the mistake of thinking you have to be perfect to add something beautiful to this universe.

The world needs your light--shine precisely as you are.
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#shineyourlight #shinebright #shinebrightlikeadiamond #shinebabyshine #brokenquotes #beautifullybroken #beyoutiful #beyourbestself #beyourownhero #beyourbest #beyourbestyou #kelleygunter #youhavesuchaprettyface #homecomingqueenofcrazytown #riseup #shewillrise #sheisnotlost #shedidthat #shedidit #myway #happinesscoach #selflovecoach #believeyoucan #selfloveclub #havehope #havefaith #trustgod #proverbs31woman
#shebelieves #womanofgod

My friend, @sarahfinite, has a tattoo of a poem by

My friend, @sarahfinite, has a tattoo of a poem by Andrea Gibson that says, “It hurts to become.” I don’t think the truth gets any more accurate than that. While pain is something we all typically try to avoid, life doesn’t usually offer that option.

Pain encompassed my existence for decades and as a result, the path of my life was littered with mistakes and regrets. I was born with a stubborn soul though, and even when I was trembling in fear and trying desperately to figure out a way to die, somewhere inside of me the warrior would awaken and whisper, “Don’t you dare give up.” I’m so incredibly grateful that I no longer fall asleep crying, wake up in the middle of the night crying, or begin crying the second my eyes open in the morning.

Healing is a powerful process, and unfortunately there will always be people who want to point out your mistakes. Eventually you have to make a decision to stop looking back and ruminating over things you can’t change. Leave the past where it is and move forward. Your future is waiting on you.
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.#dontlookback #lookingup #lookingforward #kelleygunter #youhavesuchaprettyface #homecomingqueenofcrazytown #nolookingback #standupforyourself #yourstory #yourvoicematters #addictionrecovery #recoveryjourney #recoveryispossible #recoverywarrior #ptsdrecovery #ptsdawareness #rapeculture #rapesurvivor #cptsd #soberliving #soberissexy #healingtrauma #purposedrivenlife #findyourtribe #findyourwhy #findyourstrong #findyourhappy #speakyourself #speakyourtruth #speakup

This is a big one and it’s a test I failed many

This is a big one and it’s a test I failed many times throughout my life. When someone rejected me, hurt me, or betrayed me on some level, I lived for the moment when they would regret what they had done. Inevitably, it always happened. The person would contact me and that’s when the dance with my demons would begin.

It was never really about the other person. It wasn’t about their friendship or love. When someone rejected me, it reinforced what I already felt in my soul: I would never be good enough.

I never truly stayed upset with someone for long, because I was too busy trying to find my worth by winning this person over for the second, third, or fourth time. In my mind, if they came back into my life after having previously rejected me, then that proved that I wasn’t really “rejectable,” right?

It never crossed my mind that perhaps this person returned because they wanted something from me. They knew I would break myself in half trying to win their friendship or love back. My insecurities caused me to be drawn to people who were takers, so this scenario played out over and over again. Plain and simple: I never thought I was enough, so I gravitated to people who reinforced that opinion by consistently treating me poorly. Then I would launch myself into a mission to prove I was worthy. It’s a complex situation, but one I struggled with for most of my life.

After going into treatment and discovering my self-worth over the last five years, I know today that the best thing to do when approached by someone who mishandled me in the past, is just to let them remain there.

The woman they knew no longer exists. The connection we once had, a connection born from my low self-esteem and insecurities, has been completely and forever severed. I’m not that woman anymore. I no longer need the last word. The really beautiful thing is that I don’t have to prove that to anyone, especially them.
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#selflove #selflovejourney #selflovetips #selflovefirst #selfloveclub #selfloveisthebestlove #selflovecoach #selflovery #selfworth #selfesteem #selfesteemboost #kelleygunter #youhavesuchaprettyface #homecomingqueenofcrazytown #youmatter #yourstory #yourvoicematters

There can be two faces to trauma, (acknowledged or

There can be two faces to trauma, (acknowledged or unacknowledged), and from the outside, they can appear eerily similar.

Five years ago I was diagnosed with PTSD as a result of sexual abuse I suffered during my childhood. That trauma, which was never disclosed or allowed to heal, affected every single part of my being. To the outside world I appeared as though I had it all, but just because a wound isn’t visible, doesn’t mean it isn’t slowly killing you.

Unhealed childhood trauma plays out in our adult lives in different ways. I hurt people who had nothing to do with my original pain. Innocent bystanders were caught in the crossfire of my addictions or hit by the shrapnel of my self-destruction. Sadly, there could be no peace treaty signed with myself, because I didn’t even comprehend why I was at war with my soul.

Here’s how tricky trauma is—I was a licensed social worker for 27 years and couldn’t see my own dysfunction or need to heal. The shame that accompanies sexual abuse obliterated any possibility that I would ever speak up about my pain. As a result, I suffered in silence for over 40 years.

The battlefields of my life are strewn with injured victims who didn’t realize they were walking into the middle of an invisible war. Those same battlefields are also blood-soaked from my own hemorrhaging heart, even though I was oblivious, at the time, to how significantly it was injured.

As victims, we deserve to find peace, but it’s also our responsibility to heal. I needed to stop attacking the innocent civilians in my life, who were never part of the evil forces that originally stormed my soul. I desperately needed to lay down my sword.

Please don’t allow your unhealed trauma to cause collateral damage. Is it time for you to remove the armor and let your heart begin to heal?
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.#traumacore #traumarecovery #traumahealing #traumaresponse #traumainformed #traumasurvivor #traumatologia #rapesurvivor #rapeculture #rapevictim #sexualabuse #kelleygunter #homecomingqueenofcrazytown #youhavesuchaprettyface #ptsdawareness #ptsdrecovery #ptsdsurvivor #ptsdsurvivor #ptsdwarrior #addictionrecovery #metoo #metoomovement #whyididntreport #recoverytodaymagazine

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