Reached my "target weight", now the real work begins! ;)

arikag · February 2013

Hi everyone! Wanted to share my story, because yesterday I reached an exciting milestone- my "goal weight"! When I started MFP back in 2010, I weighed 144 lbs, which was my highest recorded weight. As a 5' 0" shortie, that's a fair amount of extra fat, or at least it was on me!

This is me in Dec of 2010, folks:

After 2 years of trying out different exercise programs, and slowly loosing and gaining back 8 lbs (through P90X, gym memberships, yoga videos, etc.), something finally clicked in my brain; in Sept of 2012 I was ready to ACTUALLY make a change. I joined my local Community College's gym this past September, got a fitness assessment, and started working out 5-6 days a week, for a total of 300-400 minutes per week, as well as truly monitoring my calories here on MPF, on a 1200/per day routine.

These past 5 months have been life changing! I've started doing heavier weight lifting, I lost 26.7 lbs, and my body fat % went from 31.4% to 20.2%! I started clean eating, I completed a Whole30 program, I've run 3 5ks, I'm now training for a half marathon. While the weight loss is awesome, and the new clothes are great, THE BEST result of all these changes is that fitness and healthy eating are my lifestyle now.

Thanks to everyone on MFP for their support, especially some of my fellow short ladies! My friends at work have been really supportive as well and great gym buddies, my dad is a constant fitness inspiration, and my husband has made me feel great, at whatever weight!

I know now that I'm not finished! Just because I reached some number on a scale does not mean that I get to quit eating healthy and stop going to the gym or that I don't have room for improvement, greater success, or to challenge myself! Here are some of my plans to keep myself motivated in the rest of this year and into the future:

I'm running 13 races in 2013, including 5 5ks, 3 10ks, a Mini-Tri and at least 1 Half Marathon!

I'm working on building my strength by doing the Strong Lifts program- today for my workout I'll be able to squat 105 lbs and deadlift 110 lbs- my exact body weight now!

I'm hoping to get my 5k time down to under 26 minutes! My first 5k time in 2008 was 38 minutes, and this past Nov my time was 29:42.

I've been blogging about my fitness journey, so I can share with others and remind myself of how far I've come!

SO after rambling on- THANK YOU, MFP buddies! Also for those of you still struggling, know that it's possible to achieve your goals and redefine yourself!