Measure This!

So, it's been awhile, twitloss! 

I think we all had so much to do, blogging about this just fell by the wayside.  But, luckily for me, actually doing it has stayed pretty consistent.  Since we've lasted talked (October 17, 2011) I've lost about 25lbs, according to the scale. Some of that is muscle, though, because I've taken up lifting heavy things.  I like the heavy lifting!  There is something about the constant challenge and the immediate goals that make it appealing. I mean, constantly working up to lifting the next weight is a very satisfying.

Anyway, I also recently started C25K after saying I would NEVER run. One of the people at the gym talked me into trying it, and it hasn't killed me yet.  I'm only on week 2, but I'm considering this a milestone.


The 18th is also Measurements Day.  I'm trying to get this to be a monthly holiday, but so far no one is feeling it but me. This seems like a good place to track measurements though, so here goes:

Between December 18 and January 18:  Waist 1.5 inches gone, Hips 1 inch gone, Chest, same.

This is also month 6 of taking measurements so in 6 months, I've lost 6 inches from my waist (yippee!); 4 inches from my hips (hoooray!); and 2.5 inches from my chest.

A total of 12.5 inches gone in 6 months. And that's not counting biceps and thighs and calves and all the other things that people measure. I can barely remember to measure the big 3, adding anything else would be pointless. Still, I'll take 12.5 inches. I certainly DO NOT want or need them back.

So, this was me in November 2011, shortly after my last post.  And on the right, me on Monday, January 14th.  Apparently, wearing a nametag makes you look much heavier.  Who knew! 

Onward!

New day. New year.

I just read Una's post on Twimom227.com and was inspired. Her story felt a lot like my story. She's always been chunky, I've always been chunky. She gained a lot of weight while she was pregnant, so did I.

But, while I did manage to lose 65 pounds two years ago, I didn't keep it off. I haven't changed my lifestyle as much as I need to. I gained 20 pounds back and am sitting at 200 pounds. I'm stuck in a cycle of depression, I don't exercise as much as I should, and I hate it.

I recently made the decision to get back on the exercise wagon. I'm still committed to that. I get up and move more often than I did before and it is helping. I've lost 4 pounds, and would like to keep losing.  I've always said that I won't set a goal weight because I don't want to aspire to something and possibly fail at it, which would only send me spiraling out of control again. I want to be healthy. 

According to my height/weight chart, I should be somewhere between 120 and 150. I have never been 120 in my life. In high school, I was 150 and happy. In the Navy, just before I got pregnant with Monkey, I was 143 and I looked sick. It's a fine line.

At some point, I'll be happy with my body again. I just need to stay on track.