Remember when I posted this and this about my weight and more importantly about my health? Well, on August 23 I decided to make some changes in my life. I didn't want to write about them at first because I have been on weight loss journeys before and I know how sometimes they can falter. I wanted to make sure that I was for real this time.
For the last 8 weeks or so I have been steadily working to lose weight. I have now lost 12 pounds. I knew that losing weight was not going to be as easy as it has been in the past. Being 36 and not 30 or 24 (or any other age I have tried to lose weight at) is a lot different. Instead of melting off the pounds seem to want to cling on to me. In previous attempts to lose weight I would have given up trying because I wasn't losing weight as fast as I wanted to. I would have been discouraged and quit.
Not this time.
Each of the 12 pounds I have lost I did so by working - hard. None of these pounds have been easy for me to lose. Each of them has been a victory in its own right. I know what it took to lose each and every pound of fat from my body and I worked so hard that I will not allow those pounds to come back. Ever.
I still have a looonnnnggggg way to go. I know that. I wasn't going to share my weight loss with you until I had lost 20 pounds, but I realize that this might take me until Christmas or beyond and I wanted to share my journey with you before then. My goal is to reach 145 - 160 pounds. I know that my body will let me know when it is at its optimal body weight which is why there is a 15 pound swing.
Losing weight is different this time. I am not jumping around when I lose each pound celebrating as I have before. I have picked 3 weight milestones - 180, 160, and then if I can get there, 145 in which to celebrate. In the meantime I am just keeping my head down and grinding out my game plan each and every day. I know that the weight loss is real because I have made some pretty big changes in my life that I know are here to stay because I have been doing them faithfully for the last 8 weeks.
I have not used any magic pills or potions to lose my weight. I have done it the old fashioned way by eating healthier and exercising.
These are the changes that I have made:
1.) I changed my diet back to a vegan diet. (I believe the politically correct verbiage is: plant based diet.) I have, a handful of times, cheated and eaten a snack that was not vegan (think delicious nachos and cheese), but for the most part I am eating vegan foods.
2.) I am taking a vegan B-complex vitamin.
3.) I am working out. 6 days a week most weeks.
Here is my exercise routine:
I walk (very fast) 4-6 days a week. I walk anywhere between 1.7 to 4.7 miles up and down our hilly neighborhood.
I lift weights every other day.
I do 25 sit ups daily.
I plank daily for 45 seconds.
When I picked my exercise routine I knew that this would be the most crucial part of losing weight for me. I have always been a fast walker and I enjoy walking, so I thought why not just do something I am naturally good at as my exercise? I have never been able to stick with an exercise regime - even when I lost 30 pounds once before. I knew that because I am older my weight would not fall off as easily as it has in the past so exercise was going to be key for me to shed my pounds for good. I had to pick something that I actually enjoyed doing.
I add something every few weeks in terms of working out. In the next week I will pick something else to add and then do so along with upping my planking time and number of sit ups that I do. Eventually, I would like to buy myself a bike and start biking as well to shake up my cardio routine, but for now walking is plenty for me.
I love working out now. I never have before. It is a great release for me. I feel like I am officially part of the "regular workout club". It feels good.
My favorite part of working out is after I am done when I am cooling off and I can feel the sweat pouring off of my body. That to me is a sign of my hard work. It is the best reward (after losing the weight and toning up my body) that I can think of. There is nothing better than being drenched in your own sweat after a good hard workout. It gives me a high unlike any I have ever experienced. I love it.
So that's where I am at. If you are in a spot where you would like to lose some weight my advice to you is to wait until you are truly ready. You will know when that time is. Don't try because you think your friends think you should lose weight or because your family members think you should lose weight. Do it for yourself and yourself alone. It is only at that time when something clicks inside of you that you will be truly ready to do what it takes to be the healthiest version of yourself. There is no need to start and stop and start and stop again. That life is discouraging. I have lived that life. Just wait. When you are ready you will know and you will be successful because you are losing weight and getting healthy for the best person possible: you.
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