On the road to healthier me

Okay so at the beginning of this year, I decided to make a change. While everyone else was making New Year Resolutions- I was not. I didn't want to make a New Year Resolution and then feel pressured that that was why I was doing it! No! I needed to make a change, I'm obese and it doesn't feel good. I didn't just *need* to make a change, I wanted to! That's the biggest thing for me... I always thought, "I need to eat healthier....... buuuuuuuuuutt I really don't want to stop eating all the good stuff" Well, now I'm too the point in my mind set that the good stuff while I still enjoy the taste-- isn't good for me and it'll take some adjusting but I'm willing to find other foods that I can like just as much (or will learn to love as much) that are healthier for me. I do not *just* want to LOSE the weight... I want to be thinner, yes, but what happens after I've lost all the weight that I want... do I go back to old habits?! ABSOLUTELY NOT!! I'm making a lifestyle change... 'til death do us part! I'm looking forward, not back. 

So I started changing how much I was eating. I have a big problem with when something tastes super yummy to not go back for seconds... and I also have an issue with wasting food so if I got a bunch of food on my plate-- I felt that I needed to eat it until it was gone, not just until I was satisfied. Then I added working out with videos, but I began to learn quickly while they're great.. I currently need some guidance on what I need to doing. So, my next was to get a gym membership. It was especially nice for me to be able to do that because my insurance pays me back so much a month if I go at least 8 times a month. So seemed like an extra perk even since I wanted to do it anyway! I signed up at Anytime Fitness (that is 24 hour gym so no excuses, right?) and the next day I met with the Fitness Director. We did a training session and I quickly realized that at least for awhile, I really did need a trainer. It's not that I wouldn't lose weight without one but I wouldn't lose it in the right places and gain all the muscle that I want too. Like I said in the beginning, I don't want to be just skinny. I want to be healthy but to also get fit!

There was a woman on the news this morning for here in Indianapolis, who was 347 pounds and lost 170 pounds in 1 year! I want to do that! Not so much about the 1 year but she was heavy and got thinner and now she's leading Zumba classes and such. She talked about how much pain she was in that she could barely walk. I didn't get that bad but it is painful to walk sometimes in the morning when I wake up or whenever I stand up from a sitting position, but once I get moving it goes away.  I'm kind of hoping that I'll do something with my success once I reach it like that! Either way, I'm not giving up on me and I feel really good about it!!

I started at 260.8 on January 5th. I just weighed myself tonight and I'm at 252.4. Normally I wouldn't be so open about how much I weigh and need to lose but again, time for a change. I need to own it. *BUT* I'm moving away from it so I don't mind so much too.

This was me over the summer.