This time last year I weighed 159lbs. It is the heaviest I have ever been. It didn’t happen overnight. I was about 140lbs in high school when I was playing sports and under the legal drinking age. When I got to college, working out was a rarity due to my busy schedule (or what I thought was busy then), and little thought when into what put in my body.
That was the first ten pounds. The nine pounds after that came when I began working.
I was commuting 4 hours a day without delays to my commute and sometimes working late and getting home as late as 9pm. I didn’t care what I was eating and my lunch became a reward for making it through half the day. When I would finally get home, I would go to bed.
Then after I moved out and shortened my commute I was able to spend more time focusing on things I enjoyed doing which happened to be going out drinking with my friends and eating dinner out. That’s where the other 9lbs came from.
Last year in May was when wedding season began. I was invited to my cousins wedding and I really want to wear this beautiful dress I had bought, but when I put it on it just didn’t look good. My underarm chub was bulging out, and in my eyes I looked like a football player.
That is when I made a conscious effort to change. Before that moment I would yeah I want to work out, I want to lose weight, etc. But this time I put together a list of things I needed to accomplish to get to my goal.
FITNESS
I set my goal at 140lbs. When I set that goal it seemed unrealistic. I hadn’t been that weight since high school. I just figured I would be able to reach it eventually. My more attainable goal when I started was to lose five pounds.
Then I began the list:
- Work out twice a week
- Start counting calories – find an app that will help
That was really it.
Getting back into running was depressing.
I think I could barely hit a mile before I couldn’t catch my breath.
But, I just kept at it.
I ran and stopped and ran a little more and stopped
I did this every single time I ran until I hit my one mile goal
Then I added another goal to my list, run a little more every day trying to increase the distance I can run without having to stop.
Now I run 2 miles three times a week.
But I still want to push myself, run farther maybe do a half marathon one day
FOOD
My real struggle is with food.
I LOVE food.
Worse, I love sweets!
Calorie counting was my first line of defense because it’s easy to figure out.
You have a set number of calories based off your current weight, weight loss goal, and the rate at which you would like to lose weight.
Let’s say you have a calorie limit of 1300 calories you are not going to want to eat a 1000 calorie Big Mac and only have three hundred left for dinner.
It really helped me personally cut down on snacking and pushed me to choose foods that would keep me fuller longer.
It just makes you more accountable when you have to write down everything you are eating
A food journal has sort of the same effect.
In this department I was doing well, but getting through the holidays and moving I was really put to the test. There is always a plethora of food and snacks available in the office and no one likes working out when its cold.
My Weight Loss Journey Has Not Been Easy
I wrote a post about falling off the horse here and what my plan was to get back on track.
January through April I felt like my weight was going up and down. One day I was 143 the next I was 148. I was getting mad at myself for slipping back into my bad eating habits and sometimes only working out once a week.
I just kept pushing through and following my routine sometimes eating a big lunch or going out for food always keeping my goal in mind.
Every time I did faltered I would work to make sure I made up for it the next day or the next meal, always trying to keep a balance.
As of last week I felt like a really got the hang of it again. This morning I weighed in at 140lbs
I am not at my goal yet, but seeing slow and steady results are pushing me to keep going to the gym, to choose a healthy option, or do those 20 push-ups.
It has been 1 year since I started this journey. It has made me happy and it has tested me, but it’s not over. I needed to make (and still do) a conscious effort to go to the gym and eat healthy because I know the minute I don’t I will gain the weight back. Weight loss is something that you need to think about everyday to be successful.