I started this year deciding I wanted to change. On January 1, my husband and I challenged another couple to a weight loss challenge. We all decided we would go until April which was the date of our Submarine Ball.
I started out by taking my gym membership more seriously. I worked out 4 days a week religiously. If I couldn't get a workout at the gym, I made sure to pop in a Jillian Michaels video..it didn't matter...where it was...I had to get my heart rate up. The other thing I did was download the app Myfitnesspal. It helped me track calories and I was quickly learning how much I overate when I realized how fast my calories would go with just one meal. I eventually got more dedicated and bought a food scale and a heart rate monitor. I wanted a very accurate account of my calories in and out.
Here are my day 1-70 photos. In this time I had lost about 30 lbs.
By the time April had come around, I was down 39 lbs. I was feeling so good and had the energy I haven't had in years! My confidence was bursting out of me. I would take hikes on my own, which before I never would do because I was so tired, lazy and insecure. I started enjoying the outdoors with my children and I even started cleaning my house more...I was always a pretty tidy person but these past few years I noticed I was even too tired to do those things. I had issues with my legs and feet hurting from my weight. Around this time my snoring had stopped as well...I guess all that extra weight was causing me to snore so badly, one night my husband recorded me and it was pretty horrific. Anyways, my husband and I won the competition although to me..it really was never a competition with them...it was a competition within myself. It was kind of stupid because sometimes I felt bad for "winning" ... I sometimes wish we never entered a "competition" because our relationship became strained with our friends but over the year i've realized this: When you are successful there are two types of people in this world, the ones who are happy for you and the ones who aren't, the difference in those people are those who care for you and those who do not. I don't like to focus on the negative and I look back at that experience as a tool we needed at the time...no regrets. After the competition ended, I found myself asking, why would I stop here? I was horribly overweight, so why would I stop when I've worked so hard? I kept going!!
Here we are before the submarine ball. I had went from a size 22 from the year before and now in a 16 by this point
During the summer I had seen so many people posting about color runs, color me rad, ect. I decided what a great way to do my first 5k. I was a horrible runner. When I first started adding the treadmill to my workouts, I could only run a tenth of a mile before I was EXHAUSTED and hurting. I signed up for the Color Run NYC for August. I was so scared and nervous. I began wondering if I would ever be able to run a full 3.1 miles...Even in high school I was a terrible runner. Everyone thought these long legs would make me fast...haha, the exact opposite. I've always been slow, even a slow walker.
Ran my first 5k! I was slow but I did it!!!
August came around and I had by then ran at least 3 or 4 5k's on the treadmill but never outside. Oh well. Ready or not!!! I was excited to pick up my packet and get my hotel room. Another trip to the city was always welcome in my mind. The night before...my running partner backed out...My heart sank...because had I known she wasn't going to be there, I would've made sure my husband would've been there with me. I gathered myself and dusted myself off and said, I still have to do it! I was proud of myself b/c the old me would've backed out. I was so scared to run out in public...but I knew I had to do this. I shed a few tears but moved on. The next day I went to Brooklyn and almost missed the entire thing. The line for the bus was INSANE!!! Finally vans started pulling up and we crammed inside...I swear I think there were about 40 people in a 15 seat van. It didn't matter...I was on my way. I got there, people had already started in their waves. It was a sad feeling sitting there by myself. Everyone around me was with a friend or a group of friends. I ended up tagging along with a group, trying to look like I blended in so I didn't look like such a loser. It was kind of an awful feeling. But once again, I like to focus on the good things...and in this lesson I learned..I found myself stronger than I ever realized. My wave finally begun...and I was on my way. I ran the entire thing, took pictures and was so incredibly proud of myself. I will never forget seeing that finish line, knowing that my life had completely changed. I was strong!
My proudest moment in 2012!! I even walked around Times Square all colored!
In November we moved from Connecticut to California. I was so stressed about the road trip because I wasn't sure how I was going to keep eating as healthy as I had been. After 2 weeks of traveling and even some cheating, I came to face my scale and hadn't gained a single pound. I think I was keeping track more than I realized and was staying pretty active.
On our road trip, maintaining my weight
Here it is..the end of the year. It's been a great year. I started out at 267lbs and I've lost a total of 90 lbs and am now 177 lbs. I went from a size 22 to a size 12. I love love love how every pound shed has been like a piece of me unpeeling. I feel more like myself than I have in so very long. I wanted to make it to the 100 lbs mark and probably would have if we hadn't went on this insane long trip and then spent a month trying to adjust in our new home. I'm okay with it because I know 2013 will bring me my goal weight. I cannot wait to celebrate my 100th pound lost!
This was the submarine ball from the previous year, here is me trying on my Khaki ball dress. At this point a difference of 85 lbs.
The picture on the left was me in 2011 at my daughter's fifth grade graduation. At the time I had no idea how large I was...I was in absolute denial
This is one of my favorite side by sides.
And this is me just yesterday. I was shopping for my outfit for an upcoming holiday party. I couldn't pick so I bought both to bring home to get my husband's opinion. We both decided on the dress for the party but I'm keeping the second outfit just because I LOVE IT!!!
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