60 Days Later and Halfway There (Pics!)

Well, technically, it's 61 days, but who's really counting?

A little backstory...last year I lost about twenty pounds. Going into college I was the highest weight I'd been since my Varsity-Golf-Playing-Days--too much In-n-Out, I guess. I got crazy with health and fitness, went vegetarian, and spent the majority of my time on the Elliptical. Blah. I practically hate that machine now.

Then I came home last summer and all my good eating and exercising habits went to hell with the arrival of a full-time job and night classes. Again with the In-n-Out--it seemed like it was all I had time for. And the gym? Forget about it. Still, I only gained back about six pounds, putting me up to 156 pounds again. I figured, hey, it's not so bad. It's nothing like 172 or, heaven forbid, the 185 I was entering high school.

I figured I would get back into it when I went back to university, but apartment life got me. I could make whatever delicious food I wanted, whenever. Bad choices, bad choices...by January of this year, I was back up to 163 lbs and unhappy about it, but unwilling to really do a thing. I downloaded the app for myfitnesspal...but I didn't use it. Yet.

After Spring Break this year, I finally put my foot down. Enough's enough, I told myself. Sure, you're struggling with physics and calculus and you think you don't have time for a half an hour at the gym, but you're wrong. And you're wrong about not being able to eat well at the same time, too. So on March 28, I decided to try again. My goal was more ambitious this time. I wanted to reach 143 pounds--finally. I haven't weighed less than 150 lbs in conscious memory, which for me started at about ten years old, and I'm twenty now.

This time I didn't just use the Android app, I got my butt online here and found an awesome community of wonderfully supportive people who all post encouraging things every time I so much as run a single mile or lose a fraction of a pound. Seriously, you're all fantastic. About a week or two into my weight-loss campaign, I decided I wanted to run a 5K and that I was going to do the C25K program with all seriousness this time--no quitting. I'm nearing the end of Week 7 and I still haven't quit--in fact, I can now run 2.5 miles in 25 minutes. The last time I ran a single ten minute mile was for the presidential fitness test in my freshman year of high school, 6 years ago, and I distinctly remember feeling like I was going to barf as I struggled toward the finish line. Not anymore. I'm planning on running my first 5K in Coronado on July 4th, and I think I'll make it in decent time. I wore a two-piece bathing suit that exposed my stomach on vacation last week without self-consciousness. I fit into a size 9 jeans for the first time in LIVING memory. (First pair of single-digit pants ever FTW!)

I've stepped outside my comfort zone; two days ago I finally journeyed into the weight room and I plan on making it a habit. I eat more fruits and vegetables than I ever have. I'm incredibly attuned to my body these days. It's like I can feel it when I do something it doesn't like. And did I ever drink at least 8 glasses of water a day? Now I usually drink more like 10 or 12. I visit the gym 6 days a week. Even last week, while on vacation in Vegas, I visited the awesome fitness center every single day. I LIKE working out (something my boyfriend still finds a little strange, I think).

I bought these awesome workout pants from Target a couple days ago for the days when I do weight training (because my running shorts are just too short for those machines). So I decided to take some pictures today, since I am officially halfway to my goal. I've lost 9.4 pounds in the last 61 days. I have 9.4 pounds to my goal. I've lost three inches in my waist, and 2.5 inches in my hips. And MFP, I couldn't have done it without you. Here's to another sixty days of continued success!