A Year in Review - Goodbye 2010

It just wouldn't be right to not do a reflection post on New Year's Eve.  So much has happened this past year - some good, some bad, all meaningful.  I have no idea what the new year brings, but I do know that this year has been one hell of a ride - so it's time to take a look back....

New Year's Eve 2009:  I was about 297lbs.  I ate.  I drank.  I was merry.  I didn't have a care in the world.

January, 2010:  Something snapped in me to start losing weight.  I was done with the crazy diets, yet I tried using weight loss pills.  I started the Alli plan. I can't bad mouth it.  It helped me jump start my weight loss - but it really made me realize that I couldn't depend on them to help me lose the weight and keep them off.

February, 2010:  I started blogging about my weight loss journey.  I was bad at it.  I look back at the posts I made and I know damn well that I fudged the numbers.  I claimed to have lost 17lbs on Alli - I did.  What I failed to mention was that the weight was back (most of it) by the end of February.  All of my exercising was from using a video game... fun, but not entirely beneficial.

March, 2010:  Weight loss is making progress, but I see that I still continued to lie about the numbers and success I was seeing.  I'm not sure why I felt the need to lie.  I was making progress, maybe not as fast as I hoped for - and needed to see some motivation in the story I was portraying.  It's very difficult to read the posts from March.  I remember the party that I posted about.  I, indeed, remember searching from store to store looking for a formal gown that I could wear.  I remember being frustrated that I just couldn't find anything to fit.  I remember feeling happy about going into a store that carried "plus size" formals - and finally fitting in to one.  I was happy that I had dropped from a size 24 to a snug size 20.  That was huge - why I felt the need to claim that I was in a size 18 is beyond me....thank goodness I'm over that. 

April, 2010:  What a momentous month.  I completed my first 5K, and I found my true passion for running.  I finished the 5K in 48 minutes, and that was with a bum knee.  I was so proud on that day.  My post says that I weighed in at 230 on that day..maybe I did...that I can't remember.  I know that April was a turning point for my journey.  I finally kicked in to realizing that I was doing what I had wanted to do for so long - stick with it.  I was succeeding!! 

May, 2010:  This is when I really took off with my blogging.  I kissed the 2 posts a month goodbye, and started my hardcore posts.  This is when I actually went down to a size 18 - from a 24.  Very happy about that!!  My weight fluctuated a little, mostly staying in the 240 - 245 range.  I had a total lost of about 50lbs since January, and I was happy.  The last time I was able to fit into a size 18 was my last year of high school.

June, 2010:  My hardest month of the year because I pushed myself harder than I ever had before.  I started fitness boot camp.  What an amazing, horrible, incredible, painful experience it was.  I did things I never thought I'd be able to do, and it was only the first half of the camp.  I started out the camp not being able to do a single push up, 10 sit-ups,  and it took me 15 minutes to run (walk) a mile.

July, 2010:  I finished boot camp!!  I finished stronger, faster, healthier.  During my last work-out, I did 9 REAL push-ups in a minute, 23 sit-ups, and RAN the entire mile (in 100 degree weather, I might add) right at 14 minutes.  I was bummed by that, because I had been running a mile in about 12 minutes but because of the extreme heat that day, it slowed me down.  No biggie, it was a very great month!  I managed to get down to 235lbs, losing a total of 62lbs since the start of my journey!

August, 2010:  Wow, this month was tough.  I started another round of boot camp, only to quit halfway through.  I had to.  I started school, my internship, and the crazy of life hit me like a ton of bricks.  I had so much going on - and trying to fit everything in was just too overwhelming.  The plus side to August was going down another dress size - yep, I was officially "snuggly" in a size 16. 

September, 2010:  With the stresses of school and work playing on me, things were slowing down in the weight loss department.  I had reached my all time lowest weight - 206lbs!!  I was trying with everything I had in me to keep a routine of eating right, working out, working, taking care of kids, doing homework....and it was weighing on me BIG TIME!!  I was still determined to continue, although I could feel my motivation starting to dwindle.

October, 2010:  My blog took a turn in a different direction.  No more was I posting about the successes of my weight loss, but instead went about posting about life in general - and there was plenty to talk about.  I had started a weight loss competition at work, but it wasn't driving me like I thought it would.  I was sleep deprived, over worked, under paid, and knew that I was heading up a road to disaster....of course, I wasn't about to admit it.  Not yet, anyway.  I did have another moment of sheer delight, however, with the purchase of a pair of knee high boots.  I haven't been able to zip up a pair in, well, about 10 years..and I was finally able to do it.

November, 2010:  It was finally time to admit defeat, well not really defeat - more of needing a break.  I hadn't lost anything, I just had too much going on to focus on weight loss.  I put my "Eat, Pray, Love" plan into effect, and decided I was taking the rest of the year off from trying to lose weight.  I had so much going on - more than I could handle, really - that the last things I needed to worry about was meal planning and working out.  I accepted the fact that I would gain weight - but was determined that it wasn't the end.

December, 2010: What a whirlwind month it has been.  In a year I have lost 70lbs.  I actually lost 91lbs.. but I've I've gained about 20lbs of it back. Things have changed.  I have changed.  I feel the sense of excitement and motivation that came to me back in May when I was more determined than ever to look fantabulous by the end of the year.  I have a plan in place.  I have goals I want to achieve.  I want 2011 to be the year I walk in to Onederland, as I drop my weight below the 200 mark. 

So, there's a year in review of this crazy fat woman.  Sure, I would of loved to have given a year of going from fat to fabulous, but I'm not done yet.  Half of my journey is over, the other half WILL happen this year.  I really didn't want to put numbers to my goals, but the more I've thought about it, the more I want to have something to target myself to.

Goal weight for 2011:  145lbs. 
Goal dress size: 10
Running time:  10 minute mile
5K time:  30 minutes

Those are the only numbers I'm going to focus on.  They are doable - easily. Bring it on, 2011, I'm ready and waiting for you.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!  To all of my faithful followers, my friends.  Can't wait for the journey to begin, and to take you along for the ride.

Till next year.  ;)