You Have to Start Somewhere

As far as blogging goes, 2016 was my lost year.  As far as everything else goes, it was actually pretty cool.  My sons grew ever more independent and impressive in their older teen years.  A wedding brought my whole family together as weddings do.  I did my fair share of crocheting and designing.  My biggest project being my Solomon's Knot Drape Front Vest.   I also decided to focus on learning how to play the guitar which I have owned for over 25 years.  All in all, 2016 was a year full of the richness that life offers.  

One of the biggest changes for me was when I somehow decided that I was going to get into better shape.  More than decided really.  Have you ever had that experience when something kind of crosses over in your mind and you know that you are actually going to accomplish your goal because you just do?  I had one of those. 

It started at the beginning of September when, feeling guilty about being rather lazy over the summer, I decided to get back to exercising.  Now, here on the outskirts of Phoenix, September is still crazy hot, so after one walk, I was already feeling defeated.  Then two things happened.  First, my sister-in-law shared this very fun looking video on facebook of The Fitness Marshall doing a short cardio hip-hop workout.



My first thought was, "Hey, I could do this inside!"  So I went over to The Fitness Marshall's YouTube channel, picked out enough videos to make an hour long playlist, and decided to hip-hop my way to being more fit.

Right about the same time, my oldest son, who was already back at college, tells me about this app he's using and gets me to sign up on My Fitness Pal.  I put the app on my phone, friend my son so we can be fitness buddies, and I was off.  Something about the combination of finding a fun exercise routine and tracking it in a diary along with my calorie intake just clicked for me.  I never thought I'd be a calorie counter, but it really helped me to monitor and be mindful of my diet.  

Flash forward to present day and I have logged onto the MyFitnessPal app for 127 days in a row.  I went from cardio hip-hopping to kick boxing and now I'm using a body weight bootcamp video and I've started running.  I've lost 38 pounds, donated more than half my wardrobe to charity and I kind of don't even know what size I wear right now because I'm still getting used to this smaller me. 

It's weird to say all of that in a nutshell because its been such a long journey with sweat and sore muscles and feeling like I can't lose another pound no matter what I do (the lows) and being elated when the scale rewards me with a nice little drop (the highs).  

I haven't reached my weight loss goal as of yet, so the journey is ongoing.  Aside from losing weight, I'm really focusing on strengthening my core and upper body.  I want to slim down, but I want to feel strong at the same time.  

I'm 15 pounds away from my ultimate goal.  The more weight I lose, the harder it seems to be to keep losing.  I keep having to up my exercise and be ever vigilant about my diet.  If you are out there trying to be a more fit version of yourself, I'm right there with you! If you would like to buddy up on MyFitnessPal, my username is fiberpunk.  I've just started giving myself Sundays off, so tomorrow, it's back to the mat!

Oh yes, and Happy New Year!