Getting my sweat on...

When I was in HS, like many other girls around the world, I thought I was overweight.  I would have given anything to lose weight...besides eating better and working out!  Throughout HS, I fluctuated around 110lbs, give or take.  Now, let's remember that I am 4'10...on a tall day...so I don't carry extra weight very well.  There really isn't anywhere for it to go!  I never really let feeling "big" affect me, but I was definitely conscious of what I wore, and I had very little confidence.  Again, I was a pretty typical HS girl...which is a little sad, but that's a pet peeve for another time.

This June, on my wedding day, it will be 6 years since we have graduated HS. 6 YEARS?!  Not a clue where those years went, but they definitely came and went...and left roughly 20 extra pounds on me.  Yep, you read that right.  20 lbs.  People, I am 4'10!  20 extra pounds did not look good on me!  I officially had a FAT face, double chin and all.  My stomach is/was way too big for my proportions.  The whole deal.  I would look back at pictures from HS, and I couldn't believe I thought I was BIG at 110.  I mean, really?!

Well, when I got engaged a year ago (in 9 days), I decided I was NOT going to weight my heaviest on my wedding day.  I was going to do ANYTHING besides eat better and work out for HOURS a day.  I did pretty well.  I was working out at least 4 days a week from March - Sept(ish).  The scale BARELY moved.  It was incredibly frustrating, school started, and I pretty much gave up.  Don't get me wrong, I still wanted to look better for pictures, so I kept doing some physical activity...maybe 8 days a MONTH...pathetic.  Surprisingly, I didn't see any changes.  I probably gained a lot of weight, actually.  So in January my friend and I decided enough was enough.  She is getting married a few weeks after me, which has been super exciting from the get go, but having her as a partner in crime during the last home stretch of the current journey has been great!

Since January, I have lost 10lbs.  Yes, it has taken me 12 weeks, but I currently weigh right around 119.5lbs, and I am SO proud of that.  I finally decided that maybe I need to look at my diet.  My mantra has always been "I refuse to give that up!"  Guess what?!  I am sticking to it!  But guess what else?!  I CAN'T EAT ICE CREAM EVERY NIGHT AND BE UPSET I AM NOT LOSING WEIGHT!  I can count on one hand the amount of times I have had ice cream since January, and ice cream is my FAVORITE treat.  For the first time, though, I have decided that as much as I love ice cream, I hate my body more.  It isn't just ice cream.  It's candy sitting in my closet, it's buttery mashed potatoes, it's pasta...or anything delicious for that matter.  I refuse to tell myself that I can't have it.  I refuse to give up any of the things I love because I don't want to give up all those favorites to hit a magic number on a scale, only to gain all my weight back when I feel like I can start eating it all again.  HOWEVER...I eat a lot less of all of those things.  I am not eating pasta every night.  I have only touched the M&Ms and Laffy Taffy in the closet a few times (in 3 months, people!).  Ground turkey is taking over the role of ground beef.  Little changes, slow progress, big results.

On top of my food, I am working out consistently.  I aim for 5 days a week, and it doesn't always happen, but it does a lot!  We got a treadmill in January that has really helped...on THAT treadmill, I have ran OVER 50 miles in 3 months.  That is probably more miles than I have ran in my ENTIRE life.  It is amazing to me that in January, I could barely run a fourth of a mile without dying, and to date, the furthest I have gone non-stop is 1.5 miles.  Typically, I will get in a little over 2 miles, but I do a lot of intervals b/c this lady cannot RUN that far (yet).  Also, I am incorporating more strength training into my workouts.  This lady wants smoking "wedding arms" and a toned back for my strapless dress!

Feb 3 and Mar 16 :)

I still have a long way to go before I will be completely pleased, but hopefully I will get there eventually.  It is incredible to notice some changes so far!  My face looks thinner, in my opinion.  I don't notice the double chin as often.  Also starting to rock some biceps, which is AWESOME!