Monday, September 1, 2008

Update on My Weight Loss Journey

When I started my weight loss journey in April I had very specific goals about how much weight I wanted to lose, how I was going to do it, and when I was going to do it by. My goal by August 31 (yesterday) was to have lost 35 total pounds. Yesterday I sat at 31 pounds lost. So, I’m a few pounds away from my goal, but pretty darn close. Since I was not entirely sure how much I needed to lose (I knew I needed to lose somewhere between 40-60 pounds) I figured my body would tell me when I needed to stop. So far it is saying, "Keep going, you’re almost there."

My initial long-term goal was to have lost 50 pounds by October 12. I don’t think that is probably very realistic or healthy at this point. The more I have lost the harder it has become to continue losing. There’s less to lose than when I started. As a result, I decided to reassess since I’ve stayed pretty much on track and met each short-term monthly goal.

My new goal is that by December 31 I want to have finished the weight loss portion of my goal and start the New Year in maintenance mode. By that date I will have hoped to lose 40-60 pounds (the range due to the fact that I’m not entirely sure if I need to lose 60, but certain I need to lose 40 total pounds).

This has been an incredibly amazing experience. It has not only transformed my body, but my life as well. I don’t think that by merely changing your physical appearance, in my case weight, it changes fundamentally who you are, but I do believe it makes you perceive yourself differently. It raises your self-esteem. It gave me confidence knowing that I could set a goal, work hard to reach that goal, and see such drastic results. It’s a nice feeling to go into my closet and have nothing fit because it is all way too big. Just 4 ½ months ago nothing fit because it was too tight. I have gone down three full sizes and am close to going down another size… a size I haven’t worn since I was in high school. I can’t wait to see the end result.

On that note, I am heading to the gym.

4 comments:

Gena B. said...

Congratulations. You should be very proud of your accomplishment. That's a lot of weight to lose in a short amount of time.

Nancy said...

That is so awesome - congratulations! I maintain control successfully Monday thru Thursday (ok, it was just this week) and then it all goes out the window on the weekend.
I have to get serious!

Emerald said...

Awesome, girl. It gives us all encouragement.

Gena B. said...

I wanted to let you know that I started exercising a month ago and have lost 5 pounds. You inspired me to start somewhere.