Day 365! My years progress (with pics)

1 year ago today I sat around a table with some girlfriends and we talked about health and fitness and this thing called MyFitnessPal. I had already signed up for it but hadn't done anything with it.
I started off 2012 piddling with getting healthy but I hadn't made the full commitment, until that night.
Something clicked in my brain and in my will that night and I knew that I was ready to make the changes necessary to be a healthier me.
This is me when I started. 5 foot tall and obese.


When I first started, I focused solely on changing my mindset towards food and did not view myfitnesspal as a diet, but rather a lifestyle change. I planned out my food for the day and stuck with it. I never felt like I was starving because I was making wiser choices with my food. I already eat gluten free, but I evaluated that to see if I could cut out gluten free snacks for healthier whole food options. The first 6 weeks or so I really just worked hard on getting my eating under control and didn't worry about excercise.
I lost 10 pounds the first 6 weeks and was thrilled!


After 6 weeks I started the famous Zumba. I was reluctant at first. I really wanted my new lifestyle change to be only about eating, but I knew I needed to overcome my excuses about exercise as well. My friend invited me to Zumba class. I said I'd try it once.
The first day I thought I was dying and was sore for days. But I went back, and was going 2 times a week, and then that quickly turned into 4 times a week. I was hooked.
Zumba gave me the confidence that I needed to know that I could actually exercise and not only exercise, but enjoy it too!
I found that 4 days a week of Zumba wasn't enough so I started going to a local park and walking. I always hated walking before because of achilles tendonitis. But part of being a healthier version of me was getting that achilles taken care of, so I went to physical therapy and did just that.
A couple of months went by and by Mid May I had lost 30 pounds and it was really starting to show!



The summer months I kept plugging away. Zumba was only 2 days a week now, but I kept at the walking. I was finding myself on 5 mile walks on Sunday afternoons and was amazed. I thanked God daily for His Grace in my life to sustain me through this healthy journey. I learned a lot about myself and about what I could do.
Somewhere along the way in the spring, my husband got on board and was walking and logging into myfitnesspal too. Together we were losing weight and becoming healthy for our family!

Mid summer I hit 40 pounds lost.


By the end of the summer I knew it was time to kick things up a little bit. The weight was still coming off, but a little slower.
Plus I was feeling the need to push myself a little harder.
Enter, running!
In August I started the couchto5K program with the intent on running 2 5Ks in the fall.
It was HARD when I started. I repeated the first week twice just so I could push past the point of not feeling like I was dying when running for 1 minute.

Another cool thing happened in August. My sister came home from Africa. She had not seen me in 18 months.
This is a before and after picture of those 18 months.



In September my husband and I took a picture of ourselves as compared to exactly one year before. At this time we had lost a combined total of weight as our 12 year old son! Around 95 lbs! We are both training hard for the upcoming 5Ks. And it was great to be doing this together.



In September I ran my first 5K with a very dear friend. It was the color run and was so much fun!


In October I hit 50 pounds lost. 50 pounds since January.


In November I ran a 5K in the NC mountains with my Dad, my Son, and my Husband.
I turned in a slow time and my Dad was kind enough to hold back with me and we finished together.
My husband kicked it up and finished strong and is now training for a marathon!
I sent him this picture after the 5K and said "We've come a long way baby".




The week after the 5K I was able to go to Colorado and took a nice big hike with my brother. Something that a year earlier I couldn't have done. It was steep at the end and hard, but we did it and it the accomplishment of standing on top of a mountain in Colorado and looking at and seeing the vast and majestic Rocky Mountains in the distance was quite a moment.
It was a great moment for me because it put into perspective what I had been able to do this year. Things that I never thought I would do or that I even wanted to do.
I think standing on top of that mountain is when I realized once and for all that this is how I want to live my life.
Healthy.
Its not about the number on the scale, even though I admit, I let it control me sometimes. I get frustrated when it's not moving like I want. Its about the healthy benefits I receive for eating within my daily calorie allowance and exercising on a regular basis.


The holidays have come and gone. I gained 2 pounds and as of today have lost those 2 pounds again.
I must say, I didn't like the way I felt when I gained those 2 pounds. I knew I was eating poorly, eating too much sugar, and not exercising like I should. I felt sluggish and foggy headed.
God created me to be healthy and when I am living that way I feel stronger, more confident, and more equipped to face my days.

Today, my 365 day anniversary on my fitness pal. I have lost 57 pounds.
I still have about 23 more to go. I would like to do some toning.
I am happy and grateful for this past year and ready to face 2013 even stronger!
My words of advice for anyone starting out this year on MFP.
STICK TO IT!
Don't give up.
Log in everyday because it works.
My Fitness Pal works!!
Plan ahead as much as you can. I try to put all my food for the next day in, the night before.
Calorie counting isn't restrictive. It is freeing!
Exercise because you will feel better and in feeling better you will accomplish more.
Give Glory to God for making our bodies to be able to do more than we think we can.
Encourage your friends in their own healthy journeys. The encouragement of friends has kept me going many days.
Look at success stories because they are so motivating! Then post your own so that others can see that it can be done!
YOU CAN DO IT!!!

January 11th- 57 Pounds Lost.