A comparison: July 26, 2009 vs August 14, 2010
I finally got around to taking some "one year later" shots in my exercise clothes and I thought I'd share the progress I've made. It's been slow progress, but progress none the less.
Here I am just over a year later from starting my healthiness journey. I've dropped almost 20 pounds. I had to adjust my starting weight because I use the Wii Fit and in the beginning I was convinced my clothes were adding 2lbs - so I used the -2 setting. I did an experiment immediately after being weighed at the doctor, turns out they didn't. So I bit the bullet and have now officially recognized that I weighed 190lbs! Yikes!
Though I would have loved to be one of those glory cases, you know the ones where the person is able to lose like 100lbs in a year and keep it off, I'm not. I still have a ways to go before I reach my goal weight, but really I've only made a few lifestyles changes, none of which involved drastically changing my diet or going on one of those crazy fad diets.
Besides the number on the scale, I have been working on just becoming healthier in general as well. I'm now more conscious of the food I eat, and in the last couple months even more so. Soda is almost completely gone from my diet. I can count the number of times on one hand I've had one since mid-December. Processed foods rarely make an appearance in our meals (though I must say I will never give up the recently discovered MorningStar Veggie Burgers, yum, yum). I'm consuming fruits at a record rate thanks to the addition of a fruit bowl on our dining room table filled with apples, peaches & oranges. My water consumption is most likely up to recommended levels again, though I'm not 100% sure because I just drink out of a big cup at work and don't track the ounces via a Nalgene anymore, all I do know is I pee A LOT these days.
But perhaps the biggest accomplishment is…
I now run.
Shocking, I know, but I run at least 3 days a week and on average 3 miles at a time. I can run 4 miles without walking, though it's tough. I've participated in a 5k and a 2-mile event (yes I finished both), and actually am getting ready to run a 10k next weekend! Isn't that crazy?! Only a month and a half after running in my first 5k, I will be running in a 10k. My goals are a bit more lax, but I know I can run the majority of the race and finish in a reasonable time. Besides running, I also bike a couple times a week (though according to Mike, I really need to work on getting my speed up there) and am signed up to participate (note how I don't say compete…I'm not delusional, I know I have NO CHANCE of ever placing in these events) in the local Women's Biathlon in mid-September – 20k bike & 5k run.
All these things are shocking to me. Had you asked me at the beginning of last July if I had ever thought I'd be able to run 3.1 miles straight, I would have said "Hell No! Are you crazy!" If you had even mentioned a 10k or a biathlon, I probably would have rolled my eyes and not even answered you.
I'm not the fastest runner, or the strongest cyclist, but you know what…I'm out there doing it. I'm making an effort. I'm making progress nearly every time I go out there. I'm not giving up. And more importantly, I'm making becoming healthy a priority. I wake up at ungodly hours to get in a 4 mile run with a friend before work (I used to be the one to roll out of bed 30 minutes before I had to leave for work). I squeeze in a bike ride in the time I have between getting home from work and going to my weekly craft group meeting. I ride my bike to work carrying a laptop across my back (though I must admit the riding to work thing has died out as of late with the extremely hot weather we've been having). Yes, the dishes may be stacking up in our sink to comically large proportions and the house might need a good vacuuming, but for now that's ok.
Here I am just over a year later from starting my healthiness journey. I've dropped almost 20 pounds. I had to adjust my starting weight because I use the Wii Fit and in the beginning I was convinced my clothes were adding 2lbs - so I used the -2 setting. I did an experiment immediately after being weighed at the doctor, turns out they didn't. So I bit the bullet and have now officially recognized that I weighed 190lbs! Yikes!
Though I would have loved to be one of those glory cases, you know the ones where the person is able to lose like 100lbs in a year and keep it off, I'm not. I still have a ways to go before I reach my goal weight, but really I've only made a few lifestyles changes, none of which involved drastically changing my diet or going on one of those crazy fad diets.
Besides the number on the scale, I have been working on just becoming healthier in general as well. I'm now more conscious of the food I eat, and in the last couple months even more so. Soda is almost completely gone from my diet. I can count the number of times on one hand I've had one since mid-December. Processed foods rarely make an appearance in our meals (though I must say I will never give up the recently discovered MorningStar Veggie Burgers, yum, yum). I'm consuming fruits at a record rate thanks to the addition of a fruit bowl on our dining room table filled with apples, peaches & oranges. My water consumption is most likely up to recommended levels again, though I'm not 100% sure because I just drink out of a big cup at work and don't track the ounces via a Nalgene anymore, all I do know is I pee A LOT these days.
But perhaps the biggest accomplishment is…
I now run.
Shocking, I know, but I run at least 3 days a week and on average 3 miles at a time. I can run 4 miles without walking, though it's tough. I've participated in a 5k and a 2-mile event (yes I finished both), and actually am getting ready to run a 10k next weekend! Isn't that crazy?! Only a month and a half after running in my first 5k, I will be running in a 10k. My goals are a bit more lax, but I know I can run the majority of the race and finish in a reasonable time. Besides running, I also bike a couple times a week (though according to Mike, I really need to work on getting my speed up there) and am signed up to participate (note how I don't say compete…I'm not delusional, I know I have NO CHANCE of ever placing in these events) in the local Women's Biathlon in mid-September – 20k bike & 5k run.
All these things are shocking to me. Had you asked me at the beginning of last July if I had ever thought I'd be able to run 3.1 miles straight, I would have said "Hell No! Are you crazy!" If you had even mentioned a 10k or a biathlon, I probably would have rolled my eyes and not even answered you.
I'm not the fastest runner, or the strongest cyclist, but you know what…I'm out there doing it. I'm making an effort. I'm making progress nearly every time I go out there. I'm not giving up. And more importantly, I'm making becoming healthy a priority. I wake up at ungodly hours to get in a 4 mile run with a friend before work (I used to be the one to roll out of bed 30 minutes before I had to leave for work). I squeeze in a bike ride in the time I have between getting home from work and going to my weekly craft group meeting. I ride my bike to work carrying a laptop across my back (though I must admit the riding to work thing has died out as of late with the extremely hot weather we've been having). Yes, the dishes may be stacking up in our sink to comically large proportions and the house might need a good vacuuming, but for now that's ok.
2 comments:
Congratulations! You rock!
Great work! So impressed with you and mrs s! You girls have really put in some hard time. Good luck this weekend!
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