One Year, a Few Inches, a Few Pounds... A Lot Happier

April 1, 2009 - April 1, 2010...

One year ago, my friends and I decided we were not happy with our physical selves. So, we did some research on various exercises like the Abs Power Diet and various videos from Tony Horton and Jessica Smith, among others. Our afternoons were spent trying to follow along with these videos without cracking up at the instructors - and ourselves.

We did a lot of research on eating habits and different food types. I am typing this at Starbucks now enjoying a reduced-fat turkey bacon and egg white sandwich on a whole wheat and a Naked Superfood Green Machine smoothie... But, it's Easter and my friend decided to bless me with Reese's peanut butter egg candy. :) But, aside from this little "cheat," in general, I have changed my grocery list to include things like whole wheat breads, baby spinach, grilled chicken, protein powder and soy milk. Gone are my days of daily 7-Eleven breakfast scramble bentos and hot dog musubi. I miss them sometimes. Not often, though.

At my heaviest, I was 173 pounds this past winter - the heaviest I've ever been. I think this was the peak of the first phase of my transformation where fat and muscle were battling for residence on my body. Well, getting to the point of this blog... as you've seen in the photo above, I weighed in at 160 pounds on April 1, 2009 and 154 pounds a year later. This is not a very significant loss considering it's been a whole year since "starting" a healthier lifestyle, but I've seen changes in more than just my weight that are much more significant.

I currently have less clothes to choose from in my closet - and if any of you know me, my bedroom is like Macy's Men's department... three racks of clothes, a dresser of shirts, and a bunch of drawers containing socks, board shorts and my gym clothes. For years I've been a size 32 waist. Today I am a 29-30 waist and no longer have a bulge of tummy fat over my belt on workdays. I am glad I kept some of the smaller shirts I used to wear when I was still doing gymnastics - from the "skinny days."

My weight loss in the past year was not that significant, but hopefully you can see in the photo and by my measurements, that there was more to my healthy changes than just monitoring pounds. A lot of people focus on just what the scale says, but the changes go way beyond that. For anyone thinking about starting a healthier lifestyle, I suggest using things like your general energy levels, how your clothes fit, and even your general happiness as gauges for your improvements. I don't mind if I still weight more than I'd like to if I can fit into all of my nice board shorts again.

At 154 pounds, I am about 10 pounds away from my goal weight. I can't wait to get to the gym tomorrow morning and get to working on toning up - yes, I want a six-pack!!! Who doesn't? Haha! This is the second "phase" of my fitness lifestyle: tone up!

Thank you to the following supporters...

To my life-long friends Jodi and Nichole for getting me motivated to get going in the first place and for exploring all those fitness DVDs and articles with me.

To the folks at Spencer Fitness for not laughing at me when I slip on the treadmill or start singing along and dancing to my iPod songs.

To my Mom for sponsoring some of my meals and for making conscious decisions to eat healthier with me - I can't wait for lunch tomorrow!

To the great people at Island Naturals for providing me with great, healthy food choices.

To my brothers and sister for all being in-shape, good-looking people, thereby allowing me to label myself as "the fat ugly one" (no, really... it was a good push to get in shape! hehehe!)

To my friend Ian for giving me fitness tips and motivation and for helping me find a healthier, happier spirit.

To all my Facebook friends who have cheered me along this far.

To my little Squishy for always being a constant reminder of how simple things can make a big impact in our daily lives... much more than we usually think.

And finally, but most importantly, to God for giving me the people, energy, willpower and resources to make everything possible.