Morning all,
Well, I’m one thrilled individual!
Last year on this day, I was approximately 174 pounds or so on a 5’3.5″ frame. I say “approximately” because I couldn’t bear to weigh myself at that time…I only weighed myself several weeks later.
Today, I’m officially 129 pounds!
To say I’m psyched is a weeee bit of an understatement.
I accomplished this by, quite simply, being smart. I started shunning all the junk food that was out there, started exercising (started quite slow I’ll admit – walking a little bit farther each day), started weight lifting, and never never never NEVER gave up on my goal. Sure, there were days in which I figured, what the hell, I’ll never break this plateau, why even bother….but then my inner strength always rose to the challenge and I stayed the path.
One of my favorite benefits from this weight loss and weight lifting time is that I have superbly respectable deltoids/biceps and triceps…and can wear tank tops and sleeveless karate gi’s (karate uniform) to my Martial Arts classes. I think I’m in the best condition I’ve ever been in my life!
This attitude carries over to how I’m raising my kids. No, I’m not a militant mom who tells my kids the evils of sugar and processed carbs…instead, they simply have witnessed my own personal journey and have started emulating many of my healthy habits. We take karate together (lots of fun!) and also have pushup contests at home (tremendous amounts of fun as we try to make our collapse as funny as possible).
However, I have to admit….the biggest benefit to this year-long journey of mine is the phrase I’ve etched indelibly into my mind and forehead – “I can DO this!”. Not matter what “this” is, I have the courage and strength and fortitude to tackle anything….tackle and succeed. The only barrier to my success is reality – everything else, I can focus my intense mental concentration and achieve the ultimate.
It’s a very humbling thing to realize.
Enjoy,
Barbara
ps – Some people like adding protein to their weight loss regime, like: