Time of Reflection

There are only a few hours left until the 2012 year comes to a close and we all jump into 2013: a new beginning. The next few weeks we will see many people who have the New Years Resolution to lose weight and they will dream of how they will do this and that includes swamping the gym because that is the best solution they have come up with. Yet by the end of January, the regulars will be the ones left standing in the gym and many of the enthusiasts with Resolutions will have forgotten about it. However, we will still be standing, the people who mentally made the toughest decision of our lives to begin anew and start one of the longest journey's of our lives. Why do we do it? Why should other begin and do it? For the reasons that follow...

I saw my friend of five years die from diabetes. She was only 30 years old when she entered the gates of Heaven. That was my wake up call that I did not want to go down that same path, so I made the conscious decision to change for the better. Do not wait until someone close to you dies before you realize that you need to make the switch and really work on your health. Nothing comes easy in life and just as easy as it was to put on the weight, it will be even more difficult to take the weight off.

Because it is never to early to start a countdown, everyone should know that there are 171 days until summer. That is a considerable amount of time to look fabulous for the summer instead of covering up and hiding in the corner so no one will see you. Be proud of who you are and all that you have accomplished in those days leading up to summer. Small changes in your daily life can lead to long term positive changes down the road that can ultimately boost your self esteem and enhance your beauty. They say it takes 21 days for something to become a habit, what is stopping you from making it to that 21 days?

Here I am, a picture of the start of my journey at the end of June and one of my most recent pictures taken in December. Since the last picture was taken, I have lost 40 lbs since June. Since June my BMI has gone down significantly. 

June 25, 2012 my BMI was 41.4. 

December 31, 2012 my BMI is 35.2.

What a wonderful accomplishment that I take so much pride and joy in. Some of my non scale victories over the year include:

• A new found love of baking and cooking
• Trying new foods
• LOVE to sweat
• Working out is my new friend
• Outdoor activities are exciting
• Cleaning out my closet once a month of big clothes

My decision to change directions in my eating and exercise has been such a wonderful journey. I am 10 lbs from my mini-goal which I hope to hit on my birthday in February. I have lost so much weight already but gained so much more confidence in the short amount of time that I have really been conscious about my daily routines and life. 

I vow to continue my weight loss journey and to make 2013, another memorable year for me. Thank you to all of you who continue to read my blog and follow along while I share my thoughts and wrestle with personal emotions conflicts. I knew this journey would be difficult but you all have made it easier to deal with.

Happy New Year!

☼Ashley☼ 

Scared

I have been doing a lot of pondering over the past few weeks as it is finally sinking in that I have actually lost 35 lbs and I continue to lose weight at a steady pace. It is a huge accomplishment and a hurdle I never thought I would actually be able to climb over. However, I am now faced with another hurdle which now has caught my attention, ponderings and even conversations with myself in my head. 

My newest hurdle is "I am almost at 200 lbs, and I am scared shitless to hit that number". Why is that? I have not been under 200 lbs since I was 13 years old and I am almost 23. That is 10 years of being over the 200 lb mark and it being what I am used to and comfortable with. I have tried countless times since the age of 13 to get to a healthy weight and to take care of myself. It now seems like a real possibility but I am scared. I am scared to death of succeeding in this journey that has beaten me down for so long. It is one major accomplishment to hit goal weight down the road but yet it is terrifying all at the same time. 

This has me worried because I am afraid of sabotaging myself before even giving myself the chance to hit below the 200 lb mark and try it on for size. I am going to talk to my friend the next time I see her and see if she can give me advice or help me to understand me. Trying to figure my own self out is just getting too confusing.

☼Ashley☼

Every move

I had to change up my exercise routine this month due to an old knee injury coming at me full force. Unfortunately, I had to give up running because of this knee; icing it, and the heaviness when walking. Since I stopped running I am back to myself, able to bend my knees much easier and squat without needing help to stand back up.

A friend of mine last month posted on his LoseIt! account a web page that I wanted to share. It is called Every Move and it is where you can record your exercise and earn points to later earn a reward. I decided to give my workouts an extra boost, I will work towards a $5.00 donation to the Make-A-Wish Foundation. I record how many minutes I exercise and what the exercise is and then they count up the points. The nice thing is that you do not pay for the reward, the site sends the money off to the organization. Or you can work towards your own personal reward from the list of gift cards on the website. So, if you need extra initiative when exercising, you want to jump over to the website!

www.everymove.org

Another helpful site is Gain Fitness. This is for anyone who wants to get into weight lifting without going to a personal trainer for help. I use it on my Iphone when I am in the gym and customize it to the equipment we have on the gym. A wonderful website to look at!

www.gainfitness.com

Ashley