8 Months, 62 lbs., and counting...

I am definitely not at goal yet, and my weight loss has started to slow down, but still moving in a downward direction.

I am 46 yrs. old, and have been married for almost 23 years (anniversary is in 2 1/2 weeks). I have raised 2 young men (they will be 18 and 20 this year), work full-time, and am a PartyLite consultant. I have not been fat my whole life, but was always bigger than all my friends, so therefore, I was fat. I get sad thinking of all those years I wasted feeling fat, when I really wasn't... like in high school when my cheer skirt was a size 9, and everyone else wore a 5 or 7. But I digress... :ohwell:

I met my husband in 1982... I was a child, I know, but we didn't start dating until I went away to college. Over the last 25-30 years, my weight has yo yo'd like crazy, with a low of 133lbs. and a high of 239 (although my Dr. said that she has me at 242, but that is with clothes on, so I am sticking with 239). :laugh: Also... my BP was 143/95 :noway: and I was Pre-Hypertensive. Never have I ever had an issue with my blood pressure, so my Dr. didn't immediately put me on medication, but instead, told me that I needed to make some changes, or medication is where I was headed.

Last July I went to a conference, and that picture (see below), is what prompted me to do "something... ANYTHING"! That and the fact that a couple of co-workers had started WW earlier in the year, and they had made amazing progress. I told myself that I couldn't think of how much weight I had to lose, or how long it would take, because that would discourage me before I even got started. Instead I thought back to where I was a year ago, and how quickly that year had passed, and how if I had started a year ago, how much better off I could have been. Side note observation - Isn't it funny how the future seems so far away, and the past seems like it was just yesterday?

So... to get started it couldn't be a "diet". It had to be something that I could sustain, a lifestyle change. Learning to eat in moderation, and make better choices. I found MFP, and began my logging everything I ate... The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly. And for the record... I am not on a DIET. I eat everything. But I have found that Knowledge really is POWER. Being aware of what is going in really does help you make better choices, and if I choose to eat the french fries, or Sprinkles Cupcake, it is a decision that I make with full awareness of what the consequences are, and what I need to do to as a result.

I started going to the little fitness center in my office complex... 2x a week at first, and for 20 mins. on the elliptical/treadmill. Then 3x a week for 30 mins., and 4x for 45min. By October, I had lost 20 lbs., and decided that I wanted to try something new, so I went to my first Zumba class. After Zumba, being on the elliptical/treadmill was like torture - watching the minutes click off, and thinking the whole time, "when is this going to be over!". I also noticed that when I was in Zumba, that the hour would just fly by, and it was so much more fun, so I started looking for more classes, and by December/January was going to Zumba 5-7 days a week. For the first time ever, I have incorporated "exercise" in to my life, and am loving it - although I need to start strength training. As one of my Zumba instructors told me, "Train like a Guy, look like a Goddess!"

I also got a BodyMedia Fit armband, which I absolutely LOVE! It helps me pin down my daily calorie expenditure, which in turn helps me adjust my calories intake on a daily basis. It is also amazing to see how sedentary my life is when I can't make a class, or work-out. On a normal day that I exercise, I spend between 2500 and 2800 calories, which means I will consume between 1500-1800 and still maintain a deficit of 1000 calories per day. However, on a day that I do not exercise, I may only expend 2100-2200 calories, which means I am keeping my intake down to 1200 for the day. Plus I am able to record my workouts, and have noticed that some Instructors/Classes are more intense than others... which is clearly captured using my Armband.

Sorry for the long drawn out story, but here is my progress pic so far. First pic was taken at the conference mentioned above (pants are a 22), second pic I am wearing a size 16W, third I am in a size 14, and the last I am wearing a size 12!!! BTW - BP is down to 127/82!