This week (Saturday) marked the 18 month mark since I decided to start my fitness journey. After 18 months I am a very different person than when I started. So I am going to reflect a bit today.
Where I Started
I started this journey after going to an appointment with my doctor in June of 2017. Theis is how I summarized the situation in my journal afterwards.
I am now focusing on losing weight, eating better exercising more and de-stressing because I am tired of being so overweight. It has annoyed me for years and I just have to address it. The time is now because I hit an embarrassing level at 325 pounds. Plus, I am over 40 now and need to get into some healthier habits or face terrible consequences – my dad died at 59 after a really rough 10+ years of suffering, my grandmother died at 63 after years of suffering. I don’t want this to be me. Finally, I want to improve my health and confidence … it it is all about self improvement.
I started at 325 pounds which means my body fat percentage was about 50%. I had a resting heart rate in the high 70s. I was averaging about 3000 steps per day and a calorie intake I can’t even begin to estimate. I had terrible self-confidence and lots of bad habits. Plus I had scary high blood pressure.
That is when I set out to lose over 100 pounds in under a year.
Where I am Now
I achieved my 100 pound weight loss goal in March which was just 9 months into my one year planned timeline. Since then I have kept going until I lost over 130 pounds. I have kept trying to lose weight since then but my body has pretty much told me that I am at my low weight. I just don’t want to admit that to myself. But my body fat percentage is down to 17% or less!
Along the journey I became a runner. I ran my first organized run, a 5k, on the anniversary of starting my journey. Since then I have run a total of 5 5k races, a 4-miler, a 10k and a half marathon – and those are just the organized races. I try to run as much as I can.
Beyond becoming a runner I have also become a frequent exerciser. I have set and met weight lifting goals including deadlifting my body weight last weekend. I have engaged a trainer and am working almost every day to improve my fitness and my body. This week I participated in my first group workout class and it was a doozy!
In short I have become an amateur athlete!
I am very much in tune with my body. I know everything that goes into my body. I know pretty much every calorie that I burn. I monitor my resting heart rate daily – averages mid 50s, sometimes lower. I watch my blood pressure – which is now completely self-regulated and in normal range. I weigh myself daily and am pretty good at predicting day-to-day weight fluctuations.
Finally my mind has changed just as much as my body. I have a lot more self-confidence and know that I can accomplish any goal that is meaningful to me – it is my very own superpower. Every day I try to do things to inspire and motivate other people to accomplish their own goals. I share everything that I can and want everybody to know how great it feels to do what I have done. I continue to look for ways to become more and more focused on fitness as my passion and I am looking to start a business (side hustle?) to expand my reach.
I couldn’t be happier with my choice to get fit and couldn’t be more proud of what I have accomplished so far! I say “so far” because I am not done yet so stay tuned!
Thanks for reading!
Last week’s stats (12/3-12/9):
Distance walked/run: 29.6 miles (+6.25 vs. LY)
Total calories burnt: 21,250 (-4,488 vs. LY)
Total calories consumed: 16,357 (+4,328 vs. LY)
Net calories this week: -4,893 (+11,414 vs. LY)
Weight change (week avg.): 0.3 pounds GAINED (-2.8 vs LY)
