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.