A little more than 6 months has passed since beginning this journey. I decided over Christmas break that I was done putting off beginning a healthy lifestyle. I joined Weight Watchers and have had wonderful success. In March, I rejoined the Y in order to become more physically fit. There have been many ups and downs (many of which have been written about here) but I am happy to say that I finally passed a big milestone! As of Saturday, I have officially lost 27 pounds, made it into my BMI range, and completed my first 10K.
It is truly an elating experience to witness what seemed to be near impossible goals materialize. I have been down similar roads before. The difference between my past experiences and my current situation is the amount of time and the process. Times past I would order meals or over regulate calories/ food groups and quickly watch as the scale drastically dropped. Most times I did not incorporate much fitness and never any type of weight lifting. I also would hit my goal and then slowly revert back to my old habits, with much naivety, thinking that my weight wouldn't return despite not making any permanent lifestyle changes.
This time is different for numerous reasons. Instead of buying special, expensive pre-made meals, I have been buying a lot of produce and incorporating healthier food into my family's cupboards, fridge and freezer. We have also made fitness a family endeavor, going on family walks, swims, bike rides, etc. The results have been great for not only me and the kids but also for my husband, James, who has lost 30 pounds since February. It makes a HUGE difference to have a support system in your own home and not feel like you're going it alone.
Speaking of going it alone, I also am fortunate to have many friends that encourage me to go running or working out with them. Knowing that someone is waiting for you doesn't allow you to opt out of a workout because you just don't feel like it! My awesome running friends have also peer pressured me into a half marathon and relay race not to mention the 10K I ran on Saturday. Networking and finding more friends that can help hold me accountable and vice versus has been a tremendous advantage in this journey.
The final piece to what I know will be long term success is the goals that I have made. I know that making it into my BMI range doesn't mean that I can revert to old ways of eating. I have another 5K in a week and a half marathon coming up. I also want to be comfortably in the middle of my BMI range to ensure that it would take a lot of "oopsie" days to climb back into the overweight zone. I also have bigger goals of doing a triathlon and the Mickelson bike race as well as the week long trek across SD. I would like to make my kitchen even healthier by eliminating processed foods, sugars, and artificial sweeteners. Am I going to do this all at once?!? No!! But I know that these kind of long term goals will help me to stay the course and keep me and my family living a healthier lifestyle.
The new me is VERY happy and excited! The old me would never have thought any of this was possible... which makes me think, what goals will be met in the next 6 months?
James and me last June (2013) and this past weekend before running the 10K
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