Blood, Sweat and Determination

The picture to the left inspired what would be a year of hardcore running, biking, lifting, counting calories, and endless crunches. After seeing this shot, I realized that I had indulged in too many sweets, ate too many fatty foods and had let myself go. Looking at that picture that my grandchildren would most likely see someday woke me up to the reality that (gasp).... I had turned into a Fatty McFatterson and something needed to change.

Thus, the journey was set in motion. Equipped with perfectly fitted top of the line running shoes from Gary Gribbles, the running began. It was pretty sluggish at first, only running a couple of miles very slowly. Eventually I got up to about 3 miles and by early fall the nonstop running, biking and lifting eventually helped me shed 15 total pounds.

This was not enough.

I set a new goal of 20 pounds and began to work out a little more and eat a little healthier. As of this past January, I had reached a plateau and couldn't quite get to that 20 pound mark. This is when I began counting every calorie consumed. It was an extremely eye-opening task that put into perspective how much more I was eating than I had thought. I did a lot of research in order to figure the total calories I should eat daily at to continue losing weight in a healthy way. Finally, I reached that 20 pound mark, but yet, still was not satisfied. I buckled down even more and stopped splurging on food on the weekends and even upped my workouts yet again. My runs became 3-4 miles and I became faster (despite a few clumsy falls that left me with bloody knees!).



Finally, this past week, I hit the 30 pounds lost mark (actually 31)! I even called Watkins at KU to retrieve my weight each year I was in college and I'm officially lower than I ever was. I believe I am actually a lower weight than I was in high school seeing as how I've never fit into into a size 2 before that I can remember! I now weigh the "white lie" weight that has been on my drivers license for roughly 8-10 years. It is actually fun to shop now and I've fallen in love with a bunch of new, healthy foods! Even more impressive, though, are the pants in this picture that I actually wore 18 months ago. The pic doesn't do justice, but they aren't just big.... they are GYNORMOUS and could probably fit Derek now that he's lost weight too!

Needless to say, I do want to shed these last 4-5 pounds and tone up a bit more, but then I'm done. At that point, I (hopefully) will be 100% happy with my body and actually feel comfortable in my own skin for the first time in my adult life.