First Post! My weight loss journey!

     So, as I start this blog today I realize many of you may not understand what the name of my blog means. Well here you go! I am 29 years old...going to be 30 in November 2013. This past January it became clear that 30 was fast approaching. I have been overweight for as long as I can remember, but about two years ago...I kinda just continued to expand.  Prior, I was stagnating between 230 and 250 for quite a while, but two years ago, I drastically started to gain a lot of weight.  In January I hit the highest weight I have ever been, 288 lbs....yikes!. When I saw that scale, it really hit me, I was 12 pounds away from the enormous 300 lbs. Something HAD to change! It just kinda put it in perspective for me when i saw that scale. I also have heard from many that weight loss after 30 becomes much harder, your skin won't be as forgiving after weight loss, etc. I will let you know how that aspect goes when I am down closer to my goal.

          I now sit here a 225 pound woman, my journey started Mid-January 2013 when I weighed in at 288 Lbs. Still overweight, dare I say obese (ugh, that word is scary). I now wear a size 16 pants as opposed to a size 24. I am almost able to graduate to "regular" clothing stores as opposed to "plus-sized". Though it does feel good to be the smallest size in the "plus-sized" store, I would feel much better having more than one store to choose from when it comes to clothes. I am proud of where I am now, but need to remain motivated and stay the course. I by no means plan on quitting now, cuz what would be the point of that. It feels soooo good now to run into people I haven't seen since before I started this journey and to have them look at me and be amazed. That reaction is one of the things that keeps me going! I am doing this for myself! I am doing this to prove people wrong! I am doing this to live a longer and happier life... the list goes on and on! I am doing this to be a strong and fit woman and NOT to be Skinny! I would look weird skinny, so my goal is to be back at a "normal" weight for my body type.

        My first goal is to hit the 100 lbs. lost mark (188). After that I will re adjust and go from there, possibly the 150-160 range. One step at a time though, one thing I have learned from reading, researching and just going on this journey, is that you have to break down your large goals into manageable segments. This is for two reasons: 1) So you don;t get discouraged by not hitting that big goal, 2) its just more realistic. When I started, I couldn't even picture myself at this weight, so I went 10 pounds at a time. A side note, I talked to a trainer when I first began this and something he said just made sense, "Its not all about the weight!!! Its about how you feel, how you look, and how your clothes fit, the weight will come, just not if your constantly looking at the scale!!" This I do try to remember. I don't weigh myself that often, I don't count the minuscule decimal points after a pound, that's just crazy. I weight myself at the same time every weigh in, on the same scale etc. Every other Saturday morning after my workout, I step on the scale.

     I will talk about my routine in another post, but here are the basics: 1)Workout!! and workout often (or as much as your hectic schedule will allow. I workout 5 days a week, do a mix or some cardio and strength-training. You NEED both! 2) EAT BETTER!!! (its pretty simple, don't eat crap, or else you will look and feel like crap! Eat lots or veggies, fruits, reduce your sodium intake, don't eat out as much, eat lean proteins (chicken and fish), drink lots and lots of water 3) Track everything! I use My Fitness Pal site and mobile app to track all my food, drinks, water and exercises daily. There is no way to recognize your eating faults if you don't see it on paper (or your smartphone). 4) Sleep (no explanation necessary) 5) Last but not least, try not to stress so much, stress is bad for weight loss!

     This is just kinda a teaser and a first attempt to put my journey on paper. i will go into a lot more detail in the forth-coming posts. If you like what you see here let me know. If your going through this journey or thinking about it let me know. Weight loss is not easy, there is no magic pill for it. Just simply put: You gotta put in the work to see any results. if I can fit working out into my busy schedule, then anyone can! (Note: This after pic is not the best since I still refuse to buy more clothing, so things on me look kinda baggy, but just so you know that I am a real person and that yes i have lost the weight, this after pic was taken in May 2013)

All blog photos and posts are copyright Valerie Hinrichs 2013-2015