I hit my goal weight :)

I started my journey on February 18th, 2013....I have no "ah ha" moment or specific event that made me decide it needed to change, but we celebrated my daughter's 12th birthday that Sunday and on Monday morning the 18th I started logging every bite that I ate. I weighed in at an embarrassing 204. I logged every bite that went into my mouth, I figured out my calories by getting my TDEE-BMR and I stayed under my calories 99% of the days since then. I started out in February walking. When I realized I only had the patience for 40 minutes of exercise I started walking faster for 40 min to burn more calories. Then I started the "run a little" and then walk....."run a little" and then walk. By May I started the C25k program. My Week 1 Day 1 involved me huffing and puffing....but I did it. I also continued to do it until I could run a 5k without stopping in June. I did my first 5k in August and I did a 4 miler on Thanksgiving Day. In just under 10 months I hit my goal weight with a loss of 64 pounds.

Yes, I learned along the way to watch my BMI and I realized that the 140 goal weight I had was in the "normal range" but now that I've hit that I have reset my goal to 135 because that is right in the middle of normal....and "in the middle of normal" sounds so wonderful to me. I couldn't have done it without MFP and the ability to log what I ate and to learn what I could and could not eat/fit into my calorie count and feel like I was full. For anyone in their journey I can tell you that lean meat, fish, nuts, greek yogurt, fruits and veggies are my friends and I learned to be a habitual eater. I eat a similar diet on most days and my body and my appetite seems to be happy with it.

Drink lots of water, eat healthy and move....it doesn't have to be running....walk if you need to but move....the more calories you burn the more successful you can be. I will say that in October I did get a fitbit and I have to admit it works for me wonderfully because I can see what I've burned so I can adjust and "eat" less than I've burned so I am at a deficit....but fitbit is definitely best for for those who walk or run as it's "movement" based.....if you are doing zumba, weight training, etc you will benefit most from an HRM. This really is a long term commitment....don't be in a hurry; allow yourself to really adopt a new way of eating/exercising/thinking....being on a diet to quickly lose weight will likely mean it will be gained back.

For me...although I hit goal weight...it's now time to learn to lift, tone, and sculpt I think.....it's been an incredible year and I'm excited to see what the next year holds for me and what this health journey has to keep teaching me.....thanks MFP