Twelve weeks ago I paid $20 and entered the Biggest Blogging Loser weight loss competition. Originally I thought the final pot would be about $700. It turned out to be over $1500 for first place and over $600 for second place.
After the first couple of weeks I knew there was no chance I would be the overall winner nor would I take second place. And while that was disappointing, watching the numbers steadily go down on the scale kept me sending in those weekly weigh in photos.
In those 12 weeks I lost a total of 16.8 pounds and I didn't take any pills or go on Atkins or eat only raw carrots. I watched what I ate (courtesy of Weight Watchers) and I worked out 3 to 4 days per week. And it felt awesome.
When I started at the gym I couldn't run more than 6 minutes without having to stop (I lied and told Morgan that I ran for 11 minutes. Total fabrication.) This weekend I ran for 77 minutes and 7 miles. And it felt awesome.
When I started watching what I ate I couldn't tell you how much pasta should have been on my plate versus how much chicken or vegetables. I learned and it felt awesome. When I started I felt hungry all the time. Like, all. the. time. I would eat 10 almonds or a string cheese and just wait for the hunger pains to return. Now, I'm not hungry all the time. I can eat a meal, then eat a snack and feel satisfied.
I cut out a lot of sweets and a LOT of beer but I was able to eat and drink both on occasion so I never felt deprived. I even spent two weekends away from home eating and drinking merrily and came home to find I had still lost weight. And that felt awesome.
I was surprised to learn that I am an emotional eater. When I was stressed or bored I would head to the kitchen. That was a pretty easy habit to break once I recognized it but it surprised me nonetheless. The hardest habit to break, by far, was my naptime munchie-fest. Every day, as soon as I put the kids to bed, I would hit the kitchen and eat whatever sweet or salty treat I could find. Sometimes I would just eat more lunch. Even still, as soon as I leave our hallway I'm tempted to check out the contents of our cabinets. I found that eating (slowly savoring is more like it) 3 dried apricots usually got me over the worst of the cravings.
I also learned that when I fell off the wagon so-to-speak, it was SO hard to get back on. Almost like starting over but with slightly less motivation because I had already lost a fair amount of the weight I wanted to take off.
Finally, I learned something really important about myself. I learned that I can be fit and healthy and feel good. And not because of the size of my ass, or arms or thighs. I learned that by losing this weight I feel more confident, not because I am physically smaller, but because I feel a true sense of accomplishment in having started something and succeeded. I take pride in how I look because I worked HARD to get to this point. And THAT feels awesome.
BEFORE AFTER
 |
| January 1st, 2011 |
 |
| March 28th, 2011 |
I still have about 6 pounds to go until I reach my ideal weight but I feel so pleased with where I am today. My happy weight. Who knew that I would feel better about myself at almost 32 than I ever did at almost 22?
