A Fresh Start & A New Me

Well, hi there! It's been awhile friends. Sorry... I've been a little distracted. But, I am feeling better than I have in years and today I decided that I want to share that with you! I am on a new path in my life right now, and I want my blog to reflect that. I am making positive, healthy changes in my life, and my hope is that by posting here, I will both be holding myself accountable, and also maybe motivating you as well! I am going to share all the details (even those I am not proud of) and I hope they will help me stick to my plan! So, here goes!

Back in December, I had a physical for my Commercial Driver's License. At that time, I weighed in at the heaviest I have been in my life... 288 pounds. Ummmm.... UGH! I was just 12 pounds shy of 300 POUNDS! Now, most of my friends would say I didn't look it, but that was my reality. I tend to carry my weight well, so I don't usually look as heavy as I am. That physical was a wake up call for me. I knew I needed to lose weight, but I was also dealing with depression, and to be honest, I just didn't care that much. But when I saw that number on the scale... I knew I had to do something. And so, I started Slim-Fast. Now, I never thought that I would be able to stick to Slim-Fast, as I am not great at restricting myself. However, I found that with my new "single" lifestyle of living on my own, my eating habits had changed. I really don't enjoy cooking for myself, so Slim-Fast seemed to be a great option. In December, I lost a couple pounds, but I gained them back over Christmas vacation.

January is when I really started to make things work. I stuck to my Slim-Fast diet: 1 shake for breakfast, a Lean Cuisine for lunch, and another shake for dinner, with 2 small snacks. I tend to forget the snacks, so I add a little extra into my shakes... frozen fruit, yogurt, etc. I also really started drinking a ton more water. all of the sudden, the weight just started coming off.... and I wasn't even working out yet! By my doctor's appointment in February, I was down to 269. WOOHOO!

Between February and today, I have kept up the diet (with a few cheat days of course) and I have incorporated workouts too. I have been taking a kickboxing fitness class twice a week, which is an amazing workout, and as of today, I am also starting the C25K workout plan, with the goal of running a 5k in 7 weeks! As of this morning, my weight is down to 248! Ummm..... WOW! I am under 250 for the first time in about 5 years!! I have also gone down 3 pants sizes! How is THAT for Motivation??? :-D  I finished my first C25K workout today, and it felt amazing... can't wait to continue!

My goal weight is 175, so I still have a little over 70 pounds to go. But, I am more confident than ever that I CAN and WILL do it. Throughout the next year or so, I am going to try and update here weekly with my progress, and some pics as well. I hope you will follow along with me as continue on this journey!

~Amber