Monday, November 15, 2010

Confetti and Balloons Please!

I can't believe it! I really can't! I did it! This is the most surreal moment I've ever had! I can't stop using exclamation points!!!

I REACHED MY GOAL WEIGHT!


Confetti :)


Goal: the weight that I started this journey trying to reach. The number that I chose in my head when I was 18 years old. The battle that I have been fighting for the past 11 years. I have finally won! When I first set out
trying to lose some weight, I had a vision in my head of looking like Toni Braxton. (I didn't know that in reality she's actually a tiny person at about 5'2" and 110lbs.) I just wanted to be able to wear what all the pretty women on TV wore and look like they did. I thought that if I could just be a size 5/6 (because sizes were definitely a x/x in those days) - my life would be perfect and my fitness journey would come to an end. Today - I weighed in at 135lbs and I'm between a size 4 and 6. When I started my journey, I was pushing 200lbs. and wearing a size 18.


So many people ask me how I did it. Everyone is looking for a miracle, an overnight success, a magic pill, the quickest diet, the perfect supplement, the exact foods or the easiest way. Well, I'm sorry - but I don't have any of those for you. How did I do it? I worked my @$$ off, that's how. I stayed dedicated to a lifestyle of healthy eating and consistent workouts. I didn't quit when it was hard and I didn't let little setbacks completely ruin me. I didn't listen to people when they told me that I didn't need to lose more weight and I was fine the way I was. I set my own goals in my head and I was determined to reach them, regardless of what others said or did. I learned the right foods to eat - what was helpful and what was harmful. I learned that not the same thing will work for everyone and that I had to continue to try new things to figure out what worked best for my body. I LEARNED BY DOING. I didn't sit back and feel sorry for myself that "Sally" lost ten pounds by cutting carbs and that I lost zero. Obviously, carb cutting didn't benefit me. So rather than try to force it - I kept learning other methods. I did the tedious work that others weren't willing to - I logged my meals daily and paid attention to how different workouts and food plans affected my mood and progress. In short - I worked really, really hard.

This has been eleven years coming. I wasn't perfect. I didn't do everything right, all the time along the way. What I did do was persevere. I kept trying. When I hit plateaus, I figured out a way to bust through them whether that took 1 month or 6 months. I kept learning. I didn't wait for answers to come to me - I went out and found them.

I never gave up.

It's a truly surreal feeling to actually be at a weight you've been trying to reach your entire adult life. It's still unbelievable to put on a pair of jeans I wore just a couple of months ago where my thighs would be screaming for air if the jeans even slid up past them - to putting that pair of jeans on OVER leggings and having them fit my thighs just fine. I look in the mirror, and where I used to think "I'm looking better - I'm getting there" I now just look and go "I look good!" When I buy new things - do I get a medium? Or am I truly a small now? (If it's going over my butt or thighs - most likely I still need a medium.) I really hated how fat my arms looked to me. Because no matter how small I am - if my arms looked fat, I still thought I looked fat. But my arms are actually looking closer to what I've always wanted. Still trying to get on Michelle Obama's level though...

Holy Cow, She's toned!
So what now? Am I finished? That's it - I reached my goal and now I just need to maintain?

Hell. to the. No.

I am setting NEW goals. I look good and I feel good, but I want to be fitter. Not skinnier, not thinner, not smaller - FITTER. I want to get lean, sculpted muscles. I want to decrease my body fat percentage. I want to be able to run longer, to workout harder, to lift heavier and to eat cleaner. I want to continue making improvements because look how far I've come! Who says I can't be better? I know there's room for improvement and I intend to improve. The best of me is yet to come.

So thank you so much to every person who has supported, encouraged, advised and cheered me along on this journey. I'm so happy that it has all paid off for me and I'm really proud of myself for never giving up through all the adversity. And guess what the best part is? YOU CAN DO THIS TOO! I'm just a regular person, your average Jane. I made a commitment to myself and what was important to me and I followed through on that commitment.

What are you waiting for? Seriously, why wait? Don't wait until the new year to make a resolution. Don't wait until the Holidays are over so you can pig out and add to your total current weight. Don't wait for the perfect time, or the right amount of money, or the right diet, or a workout buddy. Do this now and do it for you. If you need help with how to get started, how to keep going, how to be motivated - please send me a message RIGHT NOW!

"Determine that the thing CAN and WILL be done ~ and then, we shall find the way." - Abraham Lincoln

xoxo,
Sweet Charity

The 18 Year old with a Goal
Feelin' FINE at 29!

5 comments:

  1. When Barbie announced on her FB that you'd made your goal, I welled up. I'm not at my goal yet but with the help and support of TBB, I am getting there. Thank you for the inspiration! Congratulations *wipes tear*

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  2. Congrats on reaching your goal. I will be having the same success one day. Now all it takes is to make it through today and move onto tomorrow. No regrets, no looking back. The future is all I have.

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  3. Wow wow wow. Amazing job at reaching your goal! Still trying to reach my goals - but reading stories like this just keeps me motivated, and as Marissa said, hard to keep the eyes from welling up. It's so wonderful to hear all the success that people are having with this wonderful community. There is hope for humanity after all!! Keep it up! Can't wait to read future blogs about future accomplishments!!!

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  4. Many congrats to YOU! I can only imagine how your feeling right now. Way to stick with it and stay strong. Keep on keepin on.

    www.amisxsane.blogspot.com

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  5. You just really inspired me today. Many blessings on the rest of your journey!

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