Having survived the Thanksgiving stuffing time and the Christmas/New Year sweet overload weeks, I would like to look back at how far I have come in the last six years, and especially in the last twelve months. It is this progress that will remind me that it is not just about today but primarily about the long-term gains. It is difficult for me to find any pictures of myself when I was at my heaviest as I was always volunteering to take the photo, rarely in the photo. I am an avid family photo taker, yet I spent hours just trying to find one photo that included me in it from this period of time. The photo you see to the left is one of the only ways I would ever let anyone take a picture of me—if I hid behind someone.
Fast forward to today and I am happy to document my progress by volunteering to be a subject in my photos. Why? Because for the first time I feel fit, strong, and I am not ashamed of my body. I may not be the skinniest person out there, but that is not the focus of my journey. I know that I will always have my little stomach pooch (two c-sections ensure that will never go away), my thighs will continue to have more cellulite than I would like, and my J Lo butt will continue to trail behind me. These things will never change, and I have resigned myself to this fact. However, I am eating healthier food, I am keeping myself hydrated, and I am extremely proud of my exercise achievements in 2011.
In this blog I want to share how far I have come from that 231-pound sedentary person I once was by sharing my exercise totals for 2011:
Fast forward to today and I am happy to document my progress by volunteering to be a subject in my photos. Why? Because for the first time I feel fit, strong, and I am not ashamed of my body. I may not be the skinniest person out there, but that is not the focus of my journey. I know that I will always have my little stomach pooch (two c-sections ensure that will never go away), my thighs will continue to have more cellulite than I would like, and my J Lo butt will continue to trail behind me. These things will never change, and I have resigned myself to this fact. However, I am eating healthier food, I am keeping myself hydrated, and I am extremely proud of my exercise achievements in 2011.
In this blog I want to share how far I have come from that 231-pound sedentary person I once was by sharing my exercise totals for 2011:
As you can see, while running is my preferred exercise, when I found myself plagued by an overuse injury, instead of just going back to my old habit of sitting around, I added biking, swimming or walking which allowed me to alleviate the injury while still keeping fit. It is important to the continuation of my journey that I don’t let excuses get in the way of my progress. Now I say this very cautiously because another thing I learned this year was that I do need to listen to my body when I am sick or injured and take the time to rest. I learned this the hard way and ended up flat on my back for three days wishing I had only taken the time to get better.
Another thing I learned this year after running in more challenging obstacle races was that I needed to increase my upper body strength and not focus so heavily on the running. In November I started going to Crossfit Inland Valley 3-4 days a week and I cannot believe how much stronger I have gotten in this short amount of time. Today I did 450 jump ropes and 150 sit ups, and while my time to finish this challenge was not great, the fact that I actually completed it was amazing considering where I was even two months ago. I also back squatted 85 pounds, which is not much for most people, but I honestly never thought I could lift anything close to this. I now see that I will be able to lift much more in 2012 with the guidance and encouragement of my coach Al, who I appreciate more than he can imagine.
Because I am such a social person, another thing I learned in 2011 was that I am a lot more motivated to do my exercise and work harder when I have other people around me. I could not have achieved so much this year without my husband Sean and my friends keeping me company along the way. It was fitting that on New Year’s Eve, I decided to do an 8-mile, extremely hilly run with my friends Emily, Kay, and Gabriella to end 2011. When I thought I couldn’t go up even one more hill I would look ahead at Emily and Gabby and they would encourage me to keep going. If I looked behind me I saw Kay, who runs at a steady pace and ran almost the entire 8 miles without walking once. I am so thankful for this support and hope to continue our running dates in 2012.
Another thing I learned this year after running in more challenging obstacle races was that I needed to increase my upper body strength and not focus so heavily on the running. In November I started going to Crossfit Inland Valley 3-4 days a week and I cannot believe how much stronger I have gotten in this short amount of time. Today I did 450 jump ropes and 150 sit ups, and while my time to finish this challenge was not great, the fact that I actually completed it was amazing considering where I was even two months ago. I also back squatted 85 pounds, which is not much for most people, but I honestly never thought I could lift anything close to this. I now see that I will be able to lift much more in 2012 with the guidance and encouragement of my coach Al, who I appreciate more than he can imagine.
Because I am such a social person, another thing I learned in 2011 was that I am a lot more motivated to do my exercise and work harder when I have other people around me. I could not have achieved so much this year without my husband Sean and my friends keeping me company along the way. It was fitting that on New Year’s Eve, I decided to do an 8-mile, extremely hilly run with my friends Emily, Kay, and Gabriella to end 2011. When I thought I couldn’t go up even one more hill I would look ahead at Emily and Gabby and they would encourage me to keep going. If I looked behind me I saw Kay, who runs at a steady pace and ran almost the entire 8 miles without walking once. I am so thankful for this support and hope to continue our running dates in 2012.
I have proven to myself that I am NEVER going back to what I was—I am in control. So I am saying, “Ciao, sayonara, hasta la vista ba-bee,” to the old me, and I am looking forward to the challenges that the coming year has for me.
Bring it on 2012!
Bring it on 2012!
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