My high weight, almost three years ago now, was 162. That's put me at "obese" in the BMI chart. (I know, the BMI is just a guide, often inaccurate.... but really--obese?!? That was a wake-up call.) By February 2008, I had lost and then re-gained and I was back up to 152. I hadn't been biking to work since my bike got stolen, and with my annual mid-winter vitamin D deficiency keeping me in bed too late every morning, I wasn't motivated to exercise at all. I was in the high overweight category in the BMI charts. Since two siblings and my father developed adult-onset diabetes, losing weight was more about health than looks at this point.
That month, I went on vacation. I visited a friend of mine in another city for 10 days, and it was fabulous. She had been eating right and exercising and had lost probably 20 pounds--it was great inspiration. While I was visiting, we went to her regular aerobics class twice, and it was fun, but it made me really realize how out of shape I was. That, and the photos she took of me when I brought my camera to a post-aerobics visit with friends one evening made me realize how overweight I had become (pic attached).
So I came back home and decided to do something about it. There is a gym in my condo, so I started going most mornings. Looking back in my Fitday journal, I was on the treadmill most of the time. Then I bought a new bike in April, and that helped; and I went vegetarian, and that helped a little too . I had been tracking my calories, activities and weight in Fitday since March, and by June, I was 142 pounds. I bought a beeyootiful dress for a friend's wedding, and felt fabulous (pic attached--isn't that a gorgeous dress?).
In July, I lost 5 pounds. I was freaking out--in a good way! I kept losing, though more slowly, the rest of the summer. At the end of September, I joined the gym 2 minutes from work with my co-worker/friend and we started going to classes at lunch.
In October, I went to France with my mom for two weeks--I managed to eat well and lose a pound and a half while I was there. (Pic attached.) I had also read Skinny B*tch while there, and decided the time was right, and I was finally ready to go vegan--after my limited choices for vegetarian meals in France, I was cheesed out. (Don't get me worng, it was delicious! But I ate a lot of cheese.)
I kept biking to work, sorted out which classes I liked at the gym, and remained vegan. I decided to focus on my diet for a while, and not as much on weight loss. I wanted to make sure I was getting enough protein, healthy fats and B12, and make sure I was't feeling deprived.
With the winter weather keeping me off my bike, the gym was slowly becoming a second home to me. Two more co-workers joined the gym around the new year, and I started regularly going to evening classes with one of them (since I was busier with work and going to lunch classes only once or twice a week) in addition to doing cardio.
In early March, I started counting calories again. I had been losing slowly since my vacation in October, but by then I had figured out how to eat vegan, be healthy and not gain. I decided I should re-focus on losing and get to my goal weight. Since then, I have lost 5.5 pounds. I hit my revised goal of 120 last week.
So here I am, at goal! (Pic from today, in my workout gear, below.) I've learned a lot, and become a lot healthier in the process of losing weight. I love shopping now--most things I try on look good on me, and my weight loss lately is more about aesthetics than health. But I'm still all about the fitness--I got praise from a seriously buff trainer, I ran 10K for the first time last weekend, I can do two classes in a row without dying. I think I might revise my ultimate goal to 110, or focus on losing body fat and gaining muscle, but I know I can maintain when I start trying.
[Since this post ended up being "my story", I'll post my pictures here, and continue with the "what I've learned" post below.]
