This is me in 2012:
Three years ago I started this journey. I did not know what I was doing, but I knew I had to do something. It took me close to 18 months to lose the weight. At my lowest weight, I was 143 lbs.
People who didn't know me when I was fat do not recognize pictures of me then. When I tell them that I used to be fat, they ask me, "How did you do it?"
There's a lot more to it than this, but it's simple:
1) Eat healthy. Eat more than you think you should, but make sure you eat the right foods.
2) Exercise: lifting weights and cardio - mostly in the form of interval training. Then I got my bike and that became my cardio. Sixty minutes of exercise. Every day. If I can't do 60 minutes, I get in at least 30 minutes of cardio.
That's it.
More important than "how?" is, "What did you learn?"
There are no gimmicks. There are no tricks up the sleeve. There are no fast shortcuts, fantastic weight loss pills, or magical exercise machines that do the work in no time.
Plain and simple, the most important thing I learned is to STICK with it. NEVER give up. If what you're doing isn't working: try something different. Adjust your calories and macros. Do a different routine when you workout. But NEVER give up.
2016 was a year of ups and downs for me. Personally and professionally, there were a lot of ups. I finally finished my degree (picture coming).
My son graduated from high school.
My husband and I celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary.
I ran my first 5K race.
I did the Ride to Remember again.
Just to name a few....
I also had some downs.
I lost a friend.
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| The loss truly broke my heart. |
I injured my shoulder.
I used to be able to max out at about 40 push-ups at one try. Now, 10 are extremely difficult and I pay (with pain) for it afterwards.
I had vein ablation surgery on my right leg, developed post-operative complications from the surgery. Then had to go back in to remove the varicose veins in my right leg because my leg was not healing properly from the ablation procedure. (No nasty pictures of this.)
The shoulder injury set me back a LOT. Someone at the gym even asked me, "What happened to you? You got skinny!" Meaning ... I lost my muscles.
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| I don't look this bad ass anymore. |
I remember what happened in 2012 when I was on Weight Watchers. I was doing really well until I injured my knee. The pain was excruciating. I couldn't walk. I ended up gaining all the weight I had lost back and another 20 lbs. on top. I gave up. With my shoulder injury, I have had to scale back my training. But I will not give up!!!
This year promises a lot of training challenges. I am seriously considering doing the Holyoke Road Race, which is a 10K race around St. Patrick's Day. It's a HUGE deal around here. And the route is tough. Very hilly. I'm not sure if I'm even ready to train for that. In May I am running a 5 mile race, the Run to Remember. I am doing a 60 mile bike ride, the Tour de Cure in Rhode Island. I am doing the Tough Mudder in Vermont. And I will do the Ride to Remember again this year.
I will be pursuing a job as an assistant principal for the coming school year. Hopefully that will pan out for me. Fingers crossed.
I look back on where I was three years ago. Yet another attempt to lose weight. I blew it in 2012. But something was different in 2014. I refused to give up. Today, at the beginning of another New Year, I am excited about the challenges in front of me. Because of the pain I have in my shoulder, I may never be able to do the things I used to do again. But I will not be defeated.
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| LET'S DO THIS! |
Here's to FANTASTIC 2017!
Do you have New Year's resolution for 2017? What is it?
Are you up to speed on my series on wellness? Check it out!
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