My big fat GOAL post!!!

It's been four years. It took a lot of hard work and discipline, but I have finally reach my goal weight! During this time there have been many other life-altering changes. I graduated from college. I got out of an abusive relationship. I moved to a new city. I began a relationship with someone who had been my friend for years. I got engaged. And in two months, I will be getting married.

Around December I had decided that, though I hadn't quite reached the totally arbitrary goal I had set for myself, I was happy with where I was and would no longer focus on weight loss. Well, I have lost seven pounds since then, and have actually reached my original goal. I was not trying to lose weight in this time, it just came organically as I continued exercising regularly. This surprises me, because I was eating whatever I wanted, with my only thought toward food being that I would make an effort to stick to reasonable portion sizes, and try to get plenty of protein. With my love of creamy pasta sauces, salt and vinegar chips, and Rockstars, I was hoping at best that my weight would stay where it was. But here I am, having lost an average of a little more than a pound a month since then.

I still weigh regularly, because I want to catch myself if any drastic changes occur before anything gets out of hand. I still have goals, but my weight has nothing to do with them. As long as I stay within +/- 10lbs of my current weight, I'm happy. I also was happy with the size I was wearing in December, but my dress size has actually gone down one size since then. I'm good where I am, and I'd be fine with going up or down a size too. I'm just happy to have a size in the single digits.

My goals now consist of only fitness ones. I haven't hung my heavy bag since moving to my new house, and my only boxing practice has been sparring with my fiancée a few times. I want to hang my bag so she doesn't have to help me, because holding the pads for me makes her kinda nervous. I want to get back into a regular boxing routine (perhaps even get into Golden Gloves competitions, maybe), because boxing is my favourite form of cardio (plus it strengthens the arms!). I did the Cto5k program, and I want to move onto the 5kto10k program. I also want to get a Roman Chair, because I would like to strengthen my core muscles (even after losing 160+ lbs, I have a bad back), and the Roman Chair is something that I, for some reason, really enjoy.

Since many of my fitness goals involve strengthening muscles, I am fully prepared for the fact that my weight may go up (muscle is heavy, but compact). That's totally okay by me. With the amount of weight-loss I've had, I have quite a bit of extra skin, which I may decide to deal with at some point, but until that day I'm cool with my body. I know I'm going to look awesome in my wedding dress, and that's all that matters.

All in all, doing this has been the best thing I have ever done for myself. It took a while for me to actually believe it, but I am worth the effort. It wasn't easy (boy was it NOT easy!), there were many slip-ups and back-slides along the way, but I finally learned that the only difference between success and failure is that a failure messes up and then gives up. A success messes up, picks herself up, dusts herself off, and tries again...and then messes up again, goes totally off track for a while, then picks herself up and tries again...and then messes up again, looses hope and fears she'll never be able to do this, but picks herself up and tries again, then messes up again...I hope you get what I'm saying here. Don't expect perfection from yourself, 'cos I can tell you now, you won't get it.

The good news is that you don't need perfection to be successful, I could be the poster girl for that.