The purpose of this post is for me to be reminded of how far I've come. I'm perfectly fine if no one else reads it; it's for me. It's my pat on the back. It's my "Atta, Girl!" It's my "Don't You DARE give up!" message to myself.
My timeline for the changes I've made so far:
- December 27, 2013: Joined the gym. Started with 2-3 days a week of weights and cardio.
- January 6, 2014: Said good-bye to gluten. This was not a weight loss attempt; this was a "let's see if my stomach will settle down" experiment...and it did! Daily nausea, along with about 95% of the other worsening and new symptoms I was experiencing, went away. Just like that...but in an effort to avoid gluten, I looked for things to take its place and ended up gaining a few pounds.
- March 6, 2014: Went back to Weight Watchers. Four years ago, I had lost 35 pounds on the plan, but over the last two, I gained back about 15. I decided at this time in my life to give their Simply Filling Plan a try -- primarily whole foods, which works well with being gluten-free. This also led me to my next step.....
- March 6, 2014: Gave up my biggest addiction: Soda. I allowed myself the points in my daily counts in case I wanted one at the end of the day. By Day 3, I realized I wouldn't drink another Coke or Pepsi, because one sip pushes me back to drink it all day, every day.
- April 2014: Kicked up my workouts to 4 days a week and started training to RUN a 5K.
- April 12, 2014: Ran my first mile...EVER!
- May 26, 2014: Ran my first 5K, with no breaks, no walking intervals...in 37 minutes.
- To date: I've lost 23 lbs and several inches and am fitting into a size that I haven't worn since I was 20.
I still have a ways to go to be where I want to be, but I feel so much better. However, I struggle. I'm an emotional eater, and during times of high stress, I'm ready to throw it all away and just live for that second when I think some high calorie, large amounts of food will make me feel better. They won't. I know that, which is why I've set another goal: Mud Run in one month.
Plugging away. One day at a time. Sometimes it's hour by hour, but I'll get there.
