So, one year ago today I decided it's time to get my lazy butt in gear and take on a task that has eluded me throughout all of high school and college.... finally getting in shape and living a MUCH healthier lifestyle. And one year ago today I found the most important tool in reaching that goal... MFP!
I stumbled across it while looking on my iPod Touch for a way to keep track of what i eat. For me, I had NO idea about nutrition info during college. Portion size was a mystery. I didn't realize how many calories I was putting in my body on a daily basis, it was enough to add 40+ lbs to my already overweight self during college. I was happy with myself in terms of my friends and my career and having just finished school, I was in a good place in my life where I could really afford to make a real change. So, I did!
I started working out, purposely, for the first time ever. I kinda played softball in middle school was I was still incredibly out of shape. I got EA Sports Active for my Wii, I went to the free gym in my office building. I started shopping by looking for the healthy foods and checking the nutrition info on every single thing I picked up. And I used MFP to tell me how much I should eat.
After that, the weight started to really come off!! I was losing over a pound a week for the first few months. I was squeezing into size 16 jeans and pants when I started. By April/May I was a 14. In the summer I hit 12... early Fall I was a 10! I've never worn lower than a 12 in my entire adult life. Now I'm a size 6.... SIXXXXXXX. Still blows my mind. I can wear a bikini and not want to hide under a rock. I fit into any clothing store I want to shop in (what size I wear is a mystery with how varied it is, I have clothes from a small to a large that fit, from size 6 to size 10). And I really do like to workout. I see the results from it, like when I was hiking with my boyfriend (more on him later...) yesterday. I was never winded, never exhausted, and we went up some decent hills. It felt great being in shape, almost addictive.
MFP definitely teaches you a lot that you don't realize. It made me see how I thought about food. I'm not an emotional eater, I just tend to eat things that I want and taste good and I didn't know when to stop. Now I'm aware of it and I keep it in check. I have treats, I've eaten candy and ice cream and cake and had drinks and beer through the entire past year, but I know my limits, I save it for treats, and I try to stick to a calorie goal. I've set goals for myself for my workouts, and I can run for 25 minutes without stopping. I couldn't even go 30 seconds this time last year! I was feeling ill after 30 minutes on an elliptical. Now I can go to the gym for an hour and a half and have a personal trainer try to kill me and I don't feel sick.
So, to sum things up, A LOT CAN CHANGE IN A YEAR! Basically, my whole life has. New job, new body, new goals and ambitions, new attitude, newfound confidence... and a new boyfriend that all these things managed to get me. We're doing dinner for Valentine's Day, and it's a nice change from when I was by myself last year. I don't think any of it would have happened if I didn't make the effort to change. It just takes a few weeks of getting into the habit... and those weeks turn to months. And now it's a whole year! So in a whole year I have gone from...
- 200 lbs to 149.4 lbs (as of this morning, whoot 140s!)
- Size 16 to size 6, size XXL/XL to size S/M
- Couldn't run to save my life from a grizzly bear to running for 25 minute straight
- The control to choose my treats and eat healthy otherwise
- Not having any confidence around guys to having a boyfriend
- Never having worn a bikini to being SO excited to rock a new Victoria Secret one at the beach/pool this summer (that'll be a reward purchase in the Spring).
- And gone from looking like THAT, to looking like THIS!
So, don't be afraid to make the change! I just did it gradually, worked more and more into my routine, changed things up when I got stuck, and learned from my mistakes. You can too!
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