RECAPPING THE LAST 8 MONTHS:
When I began this blog its sole purpose was accountability. I know how easy it is to give up on yourself when you are the only one expecting a change. The more I had thought about the dramatic nature of my goal, I knew that at some point I would need more than self motivation to get me through some tough times and keep me on the right track. That is why I invited you all into my life for these past 8 months. It amazes me that so many of you have taken an interest in all of this. It has gotten so crazy that I have received emails from people I don't even know that read my blog and they all wish me well. I knew if I made my goal so very public then I would be able to add a big heaping pile of guilt and shame if I quit. Believe me when I say this, the blog has a lot to do with my success to this point. There were a few moments of doubt as to whether I wanted to keep this up, the biggest moment is the one I'm dealing with right now. What I really didn't expect was that I would open up so much and expose my feelings and emotions as I did. I still regret, and probably will forever regret, exposing my disappointment and anger in that ugly post directed at a great girl about a month ago. I've never wanted to take back anything in my life more than that moment. Of course it hasn't been all bad, regretful moments. We were able to share some very exciting times together. The "new pants" post is still one of my favorites just because of the happiness I was feeling. FYI those jeans I bought that day can now be removed without undoing the button or zipper. So I guess it won't be long before another "new pants" post appears hahaha. So I thank you all for joining me on this trek through weight loss and personal change. I have had more than a few people tell me that they have been inspired by my journey and that they have started their own. It is such an amazing thing to be the source of inspiration. I wish all of you success in your own journeys. To all of you, your presence has been a huge factor in my success. Please keep reading.
SOME CONCRETE RESULTS:
Outside of the weight there are a few tangible bits of data I can share with you to show my results.
- Waist size has dropped 10" from 50" to 40"
- I've dropped 9" of chub from around my chest and 8" from my hips
- 2.5" of fat from my upper arms (biceps) This one seems odd cuz I think my arms look bigger, but I guess that's cuz I can see the bi/tri muscles.
- My body fat dropped 25%, down from 31% body fat (this is using a home based measure test I don't know it's accuracy)
- The horrible useless BMI number has dropped from 41.2 to 32.6 According to this I'm getting dangerously close to only being overweight and not obese.
WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?
So now we must begin a new chapter to this crazy odyssey. With 34 pound left to lose in order to reach my goal, we will start by giving the Project a new slogan. "100 pounds - 1 year!" What that means is that by July 4th weekend I WILL be at the goal weight of 220. While I am more than happy with the progress I have made with PDD, but I am a little disappointed that I didn't get a little closer to my goal weight in these 8 months. Unrealistic as the original goal may have been, I can look back at my time and I know that there were days that I could have been better. One other change I'm gonna make to all of this is that I'm gonna cut down on the frequency of my posts. AS I get closer to 220 the harder it is to shed a pound so I will try to post every other week or when I got something important to get out, keep an eye on facebook for my updates.
Sometimes when we make long term goals they can become easy to push to the side when things get boring and progress slows. So thanks to my wonderful friend, Laura, I have found a brand new objective to focus my efforts on. Many of you will think that I am insane when you check out the link that I'm about to provide, but this is EXACTLY what I need right now. I am still bogged down by my disappointing behavior a month ago and workouts have suffered. My focus has been way off, probably from the depression I have been fighting. Because of the insane nature of this event I will be throwing myself into training with more gusto than I have yet to provide, there will be no room for self pity, "time to nut up or shut up." Following the inevitable birthday hangover, I will begin training, big thanks to Nicole for the 10k run training plan, for what will be the craziest thing I will have ever done. So with no further ado I invite you to checkout The Tough Mudder to be held at Bear Creek Ski area. Take a minute to check it out, I'll wait.........Yeah I think I am crazy too! Sometimes in life we must really test ourselves, this will truly do it for me. I can't even begin to explain how amped I am for this challenge!
Once again thank you all so much for the support, couldn't have done it without you!!! If you're not doing anything Saturday night I will be out and about in Fleetwood celebrating. Grand Central Taproom has DJ/karaoke after 10p, get me drunk enough and maybe I'll sing you a song.
PS I am in the process of creating a photo album of before and now pics. I will put it on facebook ASAP.
