My year of living lighter

I'm almost 57, and only 156 cms (5'1 1/2"). Exactly one year ago, at 84 kg (185 lb) I was way over a healthy BMI. I looked like this:



I had been telling myself I'd lose weight and get fitter for a long, long time. One year ago, I read a couple of articles that really flicked a switch in my brain. One I can't find any more talked about making the decision to give up alcohol for a month, and how making that one big decision freed you up from making a lot of little decisions along the way. Hmmm....I wondered, could I make a decision to lose weight for a whole year? What would that look like? Another article (I'll provide a link if anyone's interested) was from an Australian journalist and former rugby league player who had put on weight over the years. He quit booze and sugar, and two years later wrote the article I read. It was kind of 'blokey', but it was the boot in the behind I needed, and off I went.

I made the big decisions. I would walk every morning without fail, and I would cut out any kind of junk food, anything with added sugar, and mindless snacking. I had set myself a goal of .5 kg per week loss, and I was able to do that until I hit a plateau in the middle of the year. It was then I joined MFP, and I was helped so much by the advice, motivation and success stories of others. Thank you all! I've been lurking on the message boards for a little while, but this is my first serious post. I thought I ought to pay forward some of the hope you all gave me when I was struggling. With some adjustments to what I was doing, and the realisation that MFP brought that it is much easier to acquire kilojoules than lose them, I roughly got back to my .5 kg per week loss.

I joined parkrun when it started near me in May, walking at first, but I've been running the whole 5 km since mid-October. Here's me running for the finish line last Saturday - not quite making my PB of 29:51 this time:



You have no idea how unreal the idea of this photo was just a year ago. Me. Running. 5 km!!!
Oh...and I've lost 24 kg (53.5 lb) BMI is now in the healthy range, and I'm going to work hard at maintenance. So thank you all!! And if you're a middle-aged woman reading this, you can do this! It's never too late to start.