85 pounds gone!!

Hey there, you can do it! I did it! I'm not done, but I have totally changed my life by jogging. I began jogging about one year ago, three minutes to start. At 200 pounds I had lost about 30 pounds from treadmilling, and was having a ball with my iPod and ZZ Top, but not strictly and not with any diet plan! My one stubborn streak was that I would not change my eating. I had tried too many times and too often failed to believe diet would do it for me. Then one day, feeling pretty good, I decided to see if I had what it takes to run out of doors.

I took some advice from a professional runner who had begun as a sedentary slob like me - I jogged out of my front door for only three full minutes, with my little timer in hand. NO MORE THAN THREE on that first day - even if you can. I ran up the street for 1-1/2 minutes, then turned back and ran back. Next day, I did it twice, once morning, once evening. Same on day 3. Day 4 I rested. You are taking it slowly because you can savor the way you feel and note if you need better shoes and clothing for ease in jogging. The first week I never jogged more than 7 minutes straight. I slowly, and I mean slowly, went up to ten minutes. I stayed there for some time, until it was boring and I was not huffing and puffing. From ten minutes to where I am today at 30 minutes, was just a matter of how my body felt. Some days I would do the 10 only and never beat myself up. As long as I went out there and did even the lowly three minutes, I was making progress.

So, about a year later, I'm at 145 pounds. No dietary changes outside of poverty! I still love bacon and eat cheese and cream and all my favorites. I have not missed a single bite of food and yet, look at my photos! All of my weight loss is entirely due to exercise.

Now, I'm stuck at 145. I can't get lower, no matter how I try. If I cut back my food, yes I could, but that has been my rule, all along - NO DIETS. So there is a way to get it off me, I just haven't found the right set of exercises yet. I'm sure it will involve situps and other core work, but I'm looking to all of you for info and motivation. It's easy to rest on your laurels once you have gotten down to (gasp) a medium size! I will not go back.