Sorry this is a long one - but I feel like the context for why my goal is so small matters. A little backstory: I’ve gained a lot of weight in the past year and a half. First I smashed my food and ended up in a walking boot for 3 months; after graduation I finally quit smoking (GREAT for my health, hard on my waistline!), my grandmother died in August, my mom had a stroke in early October and ended up missing my brother’s wedding, she passed away on Thanksgiving morning, then I had to have emergency surgery at the end of January. Banner year...
When I started grad school in 2014 I weighed 160-ish. At 5’8.5”, that was towards the upper end of my healthy range...but I was still healthy and active. For the first few years I stayed active and reasonably healthy. I did gain about 20-25 lbs, but I also ran dozens of races - 6 half marathons, a Tough Mudder, a couple of 20Ks and about half a dozen shorter races a year. I averaged a race a month, plus spent my weekends hiking, climbing, and paddling with an outing club through the University. So at least part of that gain was muscle. I knew I was bigger, I went up a size in my jeans (size 8-10 to a 10-12, depending on cut). But I was so active I didn’t worry much.
After my injury, I got up over 200 pounds. After I quit smoking, I hit 210-215. And after grandma’s death, I hit 224 and just kept gaining. Post-surgery, I topped out at 235.
I’m seeing a nutritionist and a physical therapist, to recover from yet another injury (turns out I’m REALLY good at hurting myself). I’ve been working on improving my diet, starting with mindfulness and looking at the quality of my food to rebuild healthy, intuitive eating habits. And instead of saying “I want to lose 85-90 pounds,” which just seemed too big after my emotional roller coaster of a year, I decided to break it up into 5 weight loss goals.
Goal 1: get back below 224. After I lost grandma, I found that I was gaining and losing and regaining the same 10 pounds. But since August, I had not made it below this weight.
Until now!
On April 1, back up to 235 pounds, I started really focusing on myself and getting the help I needed. I started going on weekend adventures again, hiking and paddling. I took a very active vacation two weeks ago, paddling and portaging in the Boundary Waters for 5 days. And as a result, yesterday I weighed in at 223.0 pounds! I couldn’t believe it, so I weighed again this morning to confirm. Again, weighed in at 223.0. I know, this is just the first goal. I have a ways to go before I reach my ultimate goal of 150. But I’ve lost 12 pounds! I’ve strengthened my body and worked to make it healthier, and I’ve reached my lowest weight since August!
I feel so strong, and inspired to live my healthiest and best life!!
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from loseit - Lose the Fat http://bit.ly/2M9E0nQ
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