My top 10 accomplishments for 2012!

I saw a post on MyFitnessPal with people listing their top 10 accomplishments of the past year.  I love that idea so I had to do it too!  So in random order, here's mine.

1)  Lost 32 pounds and 5% body fat
2)  Was able to stop taking medication for high blood pressure
3)  Ran my first 5K in February, and then ran 7 more throughout the year
4)  Ran the Warrior Dash, didn't stop once and completed ALL the obstacles!
5)  Had blood work done in March and my cholesterol was under 200 for the first time since I've had it first checked, well over 10 years ago
6)  Was able to leg press 500 pounds, 3 times in a row!
7)  Had my longest run yet at 7.6 miles
8)  Now wearing size 10/12 pants and medium/large tops (after starting at 22/24 and XXL)
9)  Felt good about putting my picture on our Christmas card this year.  First time EVER!
10)  Reached 100 pounds lost

The closer I get to my goal weight, the harder this gets.  So this is a GREAT reminder of what I've accomplished this year.

Now on to 2013!

More progression pictures

Again, the scale is stuck.  Hasn't moved down in almost 2 months.  So I thought I'd go back to my tried and true way of seeing progress...pictures!

This first picture is from about 4 months/10 pounds ago.

This next picture is today.  Quite a difference, I think! (excuse the mess I am...just home from the gym)

Not bad for a 10 pound change!

100 pounds down, in pictures

Today was a BIG day.  I got to the 100 pound mark.  Exactly.  188.4.  Still have some weight to lose, some goals to accomplish, but what a milestone this was.  And I thought I'd post some pictures, mostly to remind myself of how far I've come, and how I don't EVER want to go back.

This first one is January, 2010.  Yes, Jenna is completely adorable.  Me, not so much.

This next one is probably May, 2010.  Helping Jenna at the petting zoo.  Again, not good.

This next one might be the worst picture EVER taken of me.  To me, it's rock bottom.  I hate posting it, but then again, I need to remember how rock bottom looked.  June 2010, right before I started this weight loss journey.

Fast forward about 6 months.  I had lost about 35 pounds, but then we moved and I started a new job.  I think I gained almost all of that 35 pounds back.  This is December, 2010.

In June 2011, I started using MyFitnessPal.com.  That website has been instrumental for me, in being accountable with logging my food and exercise to helping me see exactly how many calories I was eating.  When I started there, I weighed 268 pounds.

November 2011, I was having quite a bit of success with my better eating and exercising.  This next picture, I was around 220 or 225 pounds.

Kept it up, and by February (this picture is from my birthday), I was probably around 210 pounds.

July 2012.  I had finally made it under 200 pounds.

And then this picture is from today.  188.4.  100 pounds lost.

So there's my weight loss journey, in pictures.  So far.  I know there's more to come!

More progression pictures

Just curious to see the differences in workout gear from January of this year until now.

January 2012

July 2012

Not bad.  I'll take it.  :)

Goals

As I continue on my weight loss journey, I'm starting to think about goals I want to attain.  I want to shift my thinking so I'm not so obsessed with the scale and instead I'm focused on my goals.

So first, of course, have to be weight loss goals.  The first weight loss goal will be 188 pounds, because that will be 100 pounds lost.  I'm 4 pounds away.  Sometimes, I step back and think about it, and 100 pounds?  That's unreal.

After 188 pounds, 163 pounds will be the next weight loss goal.  That's 125 pounds lost, and originally, that was my ultimate goal.   I was around that when I met Jason, the last time I was really healthy and in shape.

From there, I'm not sure what my ultimate weight loss goal will be.  Depending on how tough it is to get to 163, I might stop there.  But I'll be honest, I'd love to be under 150.  I'm 5'5", and weighing in the 140s for my body type would be amazing.  Haven't been that since high school.  144 would be truly amazing because that would be half my original weight.  But like I said, not sure if I'll be able to get there.  We'll see.

Then I have fitness goals.  First, running.  I want to run a 5K in under 30 minutes.  That's not very fast but it will be a big improvement from where I am now.  I also want to beat my husband in a 5K.  I'll admit it, I'll gloat when I do.

In February, I plan on running The Cowtown 10K.  This past February, the Cowtown 5K was the first one I ran, so a year later, it makes sense to go further.  And since my birthday is in February, it's a good birthday present to myself.  Then the following February, I plan on running The Cowtown Half Marathon.

Other fitness goals?  I want to be able to actually complete the 30 Day Shred without stopping.  Silly, but I still haven't gone past Level 1, so I need to work on it.  And I think when I get to my original goal weight (163), I'll get the Insanity series.  That thing blows my mind.

Oh, and one more purely self involved goal.  Those who know me well know I LOVE People magazine.  I've had a subscription for years, and the day that I get it in the mail is affectionately referred to as "People day."  Well, they've had an issue every year for people who have lost a lot of weight...regular people whom they profile and share their stories.  I want to be in that issue.  It's a silly little goal, but I'm going for it.

Updated scrub pictures!

I got a BUNCH of scrubs from one of my coworkers who has also lost a lot of weight.  Finally fitting into them well.  The first picture is from December 2011.  The second, from tonight.  I didn't think there would be such a big difference but there definitely is!

Feeling good and planning for the big 100!

Great weigh in this morning...my weight loss total is up to 90.4 pounds!  Wow.  I've been hovering between 85 and 90 for so long that I'm happy to finally get over that hump.  And it makes me more motivated to keep going!

So now I have to start planning on my reward(s) for 100 pounds lost.  And there are definitely going to be some rewards!  Originally, when I first started this, I had said at 100 pounds lost I'd like a makeover and a date night with my husband.  But, I think I'll push that off for a little bit.  Maybe when I reach my original goal, which was 125 pounds lost.  I don't want to spend a lot of money/buy new clothes when I'm still hoping to drop a size or two.

One reward is definitely going to be a BIG bouquet of flowers.  From me, to me.  I love fresh flowers and I had been buying a bouquet for every 10 pounds I lost.  But the last couple times I've lost 10 pounds (gotten into a new 'decade'), I've decided to wait and buy a BIG bouquet of flowers.  What can I say, they will make me smile!

Another reward is going to be some gambling.  Let me be honest, if I lived nearer a casino I would probably have a gambling problem.  I love playing some slot machines.  But I try to only do it once, maybe twice a year.  I went this year on my birthday and actually won, but I think I'm going to have to do it again!

And a third reward will be new running shoes.  The shoes I have now work okay, but they are getting worn. And I want to start getting more serious about running.  My plan is to start running 5Ks again in September, probably run one a month, and then hopefully work up to a 10K in February.  I want to get fitted for running shoes, to make sure I don't have any weird things going on with my feet or the way I run, and then I'll be buying some new ones!

So that's the plan for now.   Exciting times!

Progression pictures

So it's still taking awhile to see the scale move down consistently.  But I've been going through old pictures, and that helps.  I've posted some of these before, but I like having them from beginning to now.  This first one was fall of 2010, I think.  Or early spring 2011.  Close to my highest weight, definitely.

In all the next ones, I'm wearing the same shirt (don't think it would have fit in that one above!)  This next one is at 247 pounds.  Probably last summer sometime, not sure of the exact date.

The next is September 2011, at 228 pounds.

Ooh, this is getting kind of fun!  :)  The next one is March 2012, 205 pounds.

And the last one is this morning...look at this picture, compared to the last and guess how much I've lost in the last couple months!!

Surprisingly, I'm only down to 201.4 in this picture.  What a HUGE difference in appearance, even though the scale only shows a 3.6 pound weight difference.  Pretty dang proud of that, so I thought I'd share!

Look how far I've come

June 21, 2010.  That was the day that I weighed the most I ever have.  288.4.  Dang.  288.4.  And now it's 2 years to the day that I weighed my most, and I thought I'd look back at how far I've come.

My weight now?  200-ish.  Not quite where I was hoping/wanting to be at the 2 year mark, but dang it, I'm still damn proud.  Almost 90 pounds lost in 2 years.  Pretty impressive, if I do say so myself.

I've gone from a size 24 to a size 14.  I've lost 10 inches from my chest, 9 inches from my waist and 11 inches from my hips.  I know I've lost inches other places too, but let's be honest, those are the big 3!

I'm SO much healthier.  2 years ago, I was on blood pressure medicine daily, and even with that medicine my blood pressure usually ran higher than 140/90.  Since March of this year, I've been off blood pressure medicine, and at my last doctor appointment, my blood pressure was 122/77.  My resting heart rate, which used to be in the mid 90s, is now in the mid 70s.  I had a general physical in March, and my blood work was perfect.  Even my cholesterol was good....in the past, it's been as high as 240.  In March, it was 171.

I've started running (again).  I was a runner for a couple years in high school.  I was on the track team and ran the mile and 2 mile races at every meet.  I wasn't very fast but I was still a runner.  But I hadn't run in a long, long time.  Since February of this year, I've run 5 5K races, one of them being a 5K obstacle course!  I don't run very fast and I'm never even close to winning a medal, but I run the whole race without stopping and my time keeps improving.

I work out 3-4 days a week.  The only reason I don't work out more is I refuse to exercise on the days I work 12 hour shifts!  And I joined a gym in December of last year and started working with a trainer.  Thanks to his help, my strength is growing and I'm doing things I didn't know I could do.

Maybe the best change in the last 2 years?  Not so much a change, but a realization.  My daughter, who is just 3, is quickly learning what it is to be healthy.  She enjoys being active and she knows that it's important for us.  If she can grow up with that attitude, I've gotten her a great start in life.

So 2 years in to this journey...it's had ups and downs, but definitely more ups.  I'm the healthiest I've been in probably 10 years, and I'm so proud of myself and happy with how far I've come.  This has really become a lifestyle change for me, and I can't imagine going back to the old life.  No way, no how.  This is SO much better.

It's not all about the numbers

As I've lost weight over the past number of months, I have gotten more and more fixated on the "numbers". I'm obsessed with the scale. I calculate and recalculate the amount of calories I'm eating versus the amount of calories I'm burning. I'm starting to think I've somewhat replaced my food addiction to a weight associated number addiction.

I'm struggling lately. I'm VERY close (less than 5 pounds) to another number, a major milestone...weighing under 200 pounds. But it seems like the closer I get to that number, the harder it is. Or am I sabotaging myself? I don't know.

So I've decided to take a break. From the numbers. I'm not going to weigh myself until March 31st. That's just under 2 weeks away but that date in itself is an important one, because it's my second 5K. It's going to be a struggle to stay off the scale but I need to do it, for my sanity.

I'm also (and this is a biggie for me) going to take a break from logging my calories on myfitnesspal.com. I've become WAY too dependent on that website. I KNOW what I need to do to be healthy. I know how I need to eat. I know I need to exercise. And it's time for me to see if I can do it on my own, without the scale, without the website.

I'll be honest. I'm not sure how this is going to go. I'm not sure if it's a smart idea. But I just feel like I need to make some changes and think about my health, not just the numbers.