Getting Fit: One Year Later

It was about a year ago, Labor Day weekend last year, when I decided to change my body.  My husband and I were at a wedding, and each guest was asked to take a Polaroid photo of themselves for the guest book.  Our photo made me, at 4’11”, look significantly wider than my husband.  Maybe it was the dress.  Maybe it was the angle.  Or maybe, I’d just let my post-pregnancy body get a little out of hand.  Either way, I made the decision to change my eating habits and my exercise routine right then and there.  Now, a year later, it’s a good time to revisit the changes.

I wasn’t obese.  Technically, according to my Wii Fit, I was “normal”.  This certainly wasn’t the Biggest Loser.  But, I never, ever exercised, and didn’t really watch what I ate.  While we generally bought healthy food, I wasn’t too concerned about portion control, and when I worked outside the home, I regularly enjoyed nice lunches. (Hello Qdoba!).  I regularly got sick, and my cholesterol was pretty high, something that’s likely attributed more to family history than diet.

I started out with the Wii Fit, and dieting.  The hula hoop on the Wii Fit got my stomach much flatter, very quickly.  But as any athlete knows, you aren’t going to make major body changes with the Wii Fit.  So, I moved on, to Turbo Jam, Jillian Michael’s 30 Day Shred, running outdoors, and finally, ChaLEAN Extreme.  I ate Slim Fast almost every lunch, and watched the weight, and the closing sizes decrease.

Lately, I’ve pretty much stopped the Slim Fast.  I’m exercising so much, I find that I need more protein.  My weight has actually increased, a lot.  But, my size has stayed low, and I’m developing muscles where I never had any.  And in less than 3 weeks, I (may) actually run a 5K!  Seriously, a year ago, I couldn’t even imagine running around the block – never mind a 5k!

A year!  Do you think I’ve made a life change?  I felt that if I could sustain it for a year, then it would be a real life change.  But I still feel I could slip at any time. The weight loss and size is important, but I am really appreciating the health benefits.