1 month, a lifetime to go

Wow is all I can say about this week. It has been a crazy week in many respects. Most of all, I have lost weight. This always makes me happy. Last week I wrote about how I lost .5 pounds. Then as if my body was holding out on me, I get on the scale the next morning and I had dropped 4 pounds!!! I thought it was a fluke, so I did what I believe any person would have done, I got off and back on the scale about 5 times. Everytime I did, the number remained exactly the same. I even made my sweet hubby come and check to make sure I wasn't crazy. He told me he saw the same thing I did. I was so excited I could barely stand it, and I'm pretty sure I let out a squeal most of my neighbors could hear. So, if any of my neighbors read this, I apologize for the loud, most likely obnoxious screams you heard from my house on Monday morning at about 6:15. As my Monday progressed, I started to feel a cold coming on. I got the usual cold symptoms, sore throat, stuffy nose, headache, and just plain exhausted. Because of not feeling well, I considered not working out, but I thought to myself, if you skip this once, it will be easy to just keep skipping. You are in charge here, this is your body and future, you gotta workout and burn those calories. I started working out a little later than usual and I didn't work as hard as I normally would, but all that matters is that I did it. Here is a lovely picture of me, and by lovely I mean awful and probably the worst picture I have ever taken, but nonetheless it is proof that I did it.

The rest of the week was a test of my will power and trying to figure out how to schedule time for my workouts. My cold has developed into a full blown week long illness and I just can't shake it. Thursday was a busy day for me; after working all day, I hosted my book club at my house. According to my workout class schedule, I was supposed to do a 45 minute workout that day, but I just didn't have the energy or time left in my day to do a 45 minute routine. I made the decision to workout and did a 25 minute routine instead. The next day I drove up to spend the night with my sister and nieces. I went to my nieces homecoming football game. I love spending time with her and I am glad she moved closer so we can see each other more often. While I was talking to her, I had another realization of why I am working out and getting healthy. She means so much to me and I want be around as long as I can for her too. Also, while I was talking to her, I realized how grown up she is. She'll be 17 this winter and it seems like just yesterday I held her as a newborn. I had the realization that life goes by quickly and that I need to take control of my health now, or it will just be another 17 years later and I will be in the same place I am now, obese, unhealthy, and unhappy.

She has always made me want to be a better person and add that to the reasons I need to get healthy. The next morning, I went to the finish line for a marthon. My amazing friend and coach, Erin was running in her first marathon and I wanted to be there to support her and tell her thank you in person for all she has done for me to help me on my journey to health. Here we are about half an hour after she finished. I'm so proud of her for finishing and reaching her goal. She finished in 3:59. Her goal was to go under 4 hours and she did it.

Doesn't she look amazing, I mean I don't look that good after I workout for 45 minutes and she just ran a freaking marathon! I had never been to a marathon and it was so awesome to see these people complete this amazing feat. It almost made me want to think about running a marathon, ALMOST that is. I still want to do a triathalon, a small one, but running a marathon that's a whole different story. I also weighed myself again at the end of the week and I lost another 1.5 pounds. That bring my total weight loss to 11.5 pounds in 4 weeks. I have been feeling that my clothes are begining to feel loose, but I wanted tangible proof of my progress. The best way to do this is with side by side pictures. So here we have them.

There you have my progress one month into it. 11.5 pounds down, 118.5 pounds to go. Many people have asked me now that I have been doing this for a while how it is going. The answer is, it is not a diet, this is just my lifestyle now. This is how I live my life and it will be a long road. I didn't gain all this weight overnight and I don't expect to lose it all at once. Also, I heard something funny I've been meaning to share. I don't know why people call it losing weight, I intend to NEVER EVER find it again. Perfect description if you ask me. Thanks again to all my friends and family for their amazing support, I couldn't do this without y'all. Until next week!