Holy crap - it's July.

Yeah, you heard me. It's JULY! And not regular July. The END of July. As in, August is less than 26 hours away. This is RIDICULOUS. This year is flying by and I have not posted an update in six. whole. months. (sorry).

So some updates:

My goal was to be back down to my wedding weight of 165 by my 5 year anniversary. It would require a 37 pound weight loss from November 12 when I started this journey until my anniversary on June 28. When I stepped on the scale on "Judgment Day," it was marvelous - I weighed in at 163.8 pounds!

Reaching that goal helped me set a new one. I decided that I should go for a total weight loss of 50 pounds in 1 year. That gives me until 11/12/13 (bonus because it's an awesome date) to drop 12 more pounds.

Also, after my Frozen Foot Series races in January, February, and March, I decided to set a new fitness goal - 1 race every month for the entire year! So far I am sticking with that goal (six 5K races and one 10K!) and have another 5K lined up for August and Warrior Dash in September.



So much has changed in my life since I started this journey last fall... Mostly, I just feel awesome. Like freaking Wonder Woman. Like I can do anything, be anything, conquer anything. I think about life last fall and life now, and it brings to mind the awesome Special K slogan:

 

I can say that in the past 8 months (the past 4 especially, since everyone I know has started to see the difference in me) I have gained:
-Confidence
-Style
-Personality
-Energy
-Self-respect*
-Confidence
-Health
-Value*
-Knowledge
-Fitness
-Confidence.

Oh, I'm sorry... did I repeat one? That's OK, it's a HUGE one. Confidence is so important. I have always been a non-confrontational person, but that does not work in my job. However, since I have lost weight, I have developed confidence, and it's not just in a "oh, I'm skinny, people will like me more now" way. It's confidence in knowing that I am awesome, not just in my body but in my talent, my skills, my perseverance, my drive. I have taken control of my life and I have overcome excuses, fears, and pain. I have done what others said was impossible and I have proven others wrong. I can do anything. I have done SO FREAKING MUCH.

*Please also note - I am not trying to say that a person does not have value if they are overweight, or that they cannot possibly respect themselves. I am just saying that I did not always consider myself valuable and I was often ashamed of who I was and HOW I was and did not have much self-worth or self-respect because I KNEW I had let myself go and hadn't had the 'nads to suck it up, ignore the pain of exercising, and stick with a healthy lifestyle. I knew my issues were due to my laziness and I had to let go of my excuses.

Here is a little evidence of my progress. The first picture is from November 28, the middle shot is from April and the last picture is from July 17.

Not too shabby, eh? Today I picked up a 24 pound kettle bell at Target and almost dropped it. I couldn't find a 14 pound one to go with it but really wanted to feel just how much weight I'd lost. The fact that the 24 pound kettle bell was a little heavy was good enough and I had a perma-smile on my face since then. I have accomplished a lot and I'm really freakin' proud of myself.

Also, I feel a lot happier to be able to keep up with my hubby. He is super in shape and always does races and physical activities. Now I can actually ride bike with him, and in June we had a really odd switch-a-roo where I was in a 5K and he sat in the grass cheering me on! We also have Family Fit Time when we do some sort of exercising with our son to promote a physical lifestyle that doesn't feel like work. Maybe that will be the topic of the next post (which will NOT be in another 6 months!)

Sorry to post so much... It's been a while and there has been so much happening and I wanted to share it ALL. I will post more frequently but with less info each time. I just wanted to get an update out there in the universe because I feel too good to NOT share it. I also know that a lot of people think it's impossible to lose weight, but truthfully I know that at least what I've done so far is going to STAY OFF and it wasn't really difficult to lose the weight, and 8 months has flown by in the process! I will be sure to post again soon with some different topics to hopefully motivate and encourage... but feel free to ask questions too, because it makes me happy.

Have a MARVELOUS day!!!