I Made IT!!! I REACHED MY GOAL!!!

14 months ago I decided to take charge of my health. I had had enough of being so over weight.  Of feeling bad about myself.  Of being ashamed of how I looked. And that was enough of that!  I started at 280 pounds and my BMI was 51.21. After several months I only lost 3 pounds but I didn't give up and today I reach my goal weight of 150...in fact I surpassed my goal! That's 131.4 pounds lost, a 46.93% weight loss, and my BMI 27.18. It wasn't easy, but it was totally worth all the hard work. 

  

After being so frustrated for those first 3 months I really needed to take a good close look at what I was doing and mainly what I was eating.  I decided to start to keeping track of everything I was putting in my mouth. I had my food scale and I would weigh what I was going to eat, but one day I was wondering exactly how many calories were in the banana I was going to eat, I did a search I found a site called fatsecret,  http://www.fatsecret.com/ and I started an online food journal and logged every single thing I ate and drank.  On FS you can even keep track of your activities.  And find lots and lots of support.  I really truly turned the corner when I found fatsecret.  I even downloaded the app to my phone and my Ipad. So I can have it with me everywhere I go.  And FS is not the only website dedicated to helping people lose weight.  I know some of my friends use spark people, http://www.sparkpeople.com/landing_free_plus2011.asp  I'm sure there are many sites and apps out there to help you keep track of what you are eating.  Besides you might as well keep track of your food, because even if you don't I promise you, your body is.  Another thing that helped me start to really lose the weight was that I completely quit sodas, sweet teas, and all those sugary drinks. I wasn't a big soda drinker to begin with but just stopping the occasional one I was drinking made a huge difference.  You can't even imagine how much sugar is in one of those cans.  It's pure poison.  Quit them, they are slowly killing you.  And I know, I've heard it before, you have to have that Dr. Pepper, but you really don't need it.  Would you eat 22 packets of sugar?  Then why drink them?

One day I was looking on Pinterest and I came across an idea to make a weight loss chart.  I thought it would be a good way to gauge my weight loss.  So I got myself a poster board and a ruler and got started.  At this point I had already lost 40 pound and I considered starting the chart at that weight.  But I had already worked so hard to lose those 40 that I realized that I needed to start it at my original weight of 280.  This is when I really had to think about my goal weight.  Where did I want to end up?  I thought that maybe 160 would be a good goal.  So marked off to 160 and I put the chart in my bedroom where I would see it every day.  Because this journey is an everyday mission.  It's not just Monday to Friday, it's the weekends too.  And every pound I lost would get crossed off.  I sure did get a lot of satisfaction crossing off those numbers.

When I finished crossing off the front of the poster board.  I started to think that maybe I could actually make my goal weight 150. I discussed my new weight goal with with my family doctor and he said that 150 would be an ideal weight for me.  Especially factoring in my age, and that I had a baby.  He said 150...perfect.  When people asking me about losing weight and exercising, I tell them what I had decided for myself but to always discuss any questions they have with their doctor.  I went ahead and added those last 10 pounds to the chart and kept on plugging away. When people would tell me, that I had lost enough weight and I should stop.  I would just smile and think, NOPE I'm going to reach my goal. And today I got to cross off those last few pounds.  Talk about a feeling of accomplishment and satisfaction!     

Over the course of this past year I have done all kinds of different exercises.  I started with one of my friends who is an instructor at our local gym.  Her class is called Healthy Beginnings, and she had us doing different workouts.  We did weight training and cardio and pretty much anything that would get us moving.  I learned how to use the free weights, the weight machines, the medicine balls, the stability balls, and the kettlebells.  After I started losing more weight I would try different things or use just a bit heavier weights, to make sure that I wouldn't not hit a plateau.  And I never hit a plateau. In July I did my first 5K powder run...well I had to walk it, but I finished it!  In August 2014 my friend brought in a PiYo DVD.  PiYo = a combination of pilates and yoga.  At first it was pretty hard.  But you do get stronger as each week goes by.  It's an 8 week program, and if anyone hasn't tried it, I recommend it.  It's a fantastic program.  After the 8 weeks I sent my results to beach body, http://www.teambeachbody.com/ and I got a free PiYo t-shirt.  In fact at the beginning of this month, we started our second round of PiYo, and now I'm seriously considering becoming a certified PiYo instructor.  After PiYo we did T25, challenging.  But it was fun and the workouts are only 25 minutes long.  Then came P90.  The prequel to P90X.  I really loved it.  Weight training and cardio and Tony Horton showing us how to punch and throw elbows. Fantastic! I have also done a couple of zumba classes but I'm not very coordinated so zumba is kinda hard for me.  I walk on the treadmill and the elliptical.  I still work all parts of my body.  My advice is don't get stuck in a rut. Your body will get used to the routine and that's when you can hit a plateau.  Always listen to your body it will tell you when it's ready for more.  And you will be surprised as to what your body can do.  In March I was hired to have my own workout class at the gym.  I was so surprised and honored to become an instructor and I named my class Total Tone. Talk about going places I never even dreamed were possible 14 months ago.  

 

I took me years to put on 100+ pounds, and so I knew that it was going to take a while to lose it.  And it took me almost exactly 14 months. Time well spent. Tears and sweat and frustrations, it was all worth it! Was it hard?  Yes, but like I say, hard does NOT equal impossible.  Losing weight and getting fit and health is something that we can all do.  YOU CAN DO IT!