2010 ReCap! The Good, The Bad, The Reality

December 2010

So ladies and gentlemen… The year 2010… What a year it was! Ups and downs and a crazy work schedule that forced me to try to figure out how to fit this lifestyle into MY lifestyle, hospitalization, being laid off- all this without the motivation of the truly plumeting scale numbers I had the first 9 months after my Gastric By-Pass Surgery.

So let me give you a few Stats to show you that this was truly one of those- the good, the bad and the well.. reality kind of years!

12-2009- Weight: 179 – Body Fat %: 26.3%- Abdomen: 36in- Hip: 41in- Waist: 33in- Size 12- Vo2: 50th percentile

12-2010- Weight: 169- Body Fat %: 20.8%- Abdomen: 40in- Hip: 40.5in- Waist: 33.5in- Size 8- VO2 Max: 70th percentile

So- hmm Interesting… At the end of the day- I lost 10 lbs! Almost exactly! Yesterday I was 169.2! All the weight I lost while I was sick- since I really didn’t do much to try to maintain that loss- I gained back! But still lost overall for the year! My body fat decreased 5.5% that is huge! Some of my measurements across my middle have gone up. But I have gone down two dress sizes! (Well sometimes I still need my 10′s but- hey!) My fitness base has improved significantly. My VO2 Max is above average!! Which also indicates that my general fitness is above average! WHOO HOO!! (This is my first post of 2010 with the recap information from 2008-2009 if you would like to see some historical progress! http://www.thecurvylife.com/?p=176)

December 2009

I don’t have a comparison photo (need to get an early 2011 photo done soon!) But this December I bought almost the exact same outfit- Last year those jeans and that jacket were a size 12… this year they are both a size 8!

So let’s look at the year- I am actually kind of dissapointed in “only 10 pounds” down. BUT really? That is not a bad number- and it means that there was success!! The reality is though- had I kept to my lifestyle the way I know works? That number would be lower.

Why do we go away from what first made us successful?

A lot of you love me! (Thank you so much! I love you too!) So you tell me and remind me… Work was so crazy for so long this year and I was on the road more than I was home, I was in the hospital with a very serious issue- that takes time to recover from… and all those things are true. I have “real” reasons why I did not stay a “gym rat” and really didn’t focus the way I “should have” on the total journey. But while I am willing to accept those things as true and part of the journey this year- I am not willing to use them as excuses. I have to say- yep that is how this year went- and move on from here.

It was a success because  I am further along than I was last year. It was a success because I never gave up completely. It was a success because together we are striving to live our lives as healthy as possible and that has to “fit” into our lives- how we make it “fit” means something different to each one of us.

2011- I will get back into what made me successful in the first place!

I am not prepared to talk about my goals yet. (This is last year’s goals post- http://www.thecurvylife.com/?p=175) I don’t want to do them this year! LOL I am feeling a little stir-crazy and unsure of the direction of my journey right now- so I am just kind of sitting on them… but one thing you an be sure of… I AM going back to those things that initially helped me to be so successful! Once I have my head wrapped around the goals i have for this year- you know I share everything! LOL

1. Working out 4-6 times a week. (Not just 1-3! LOL)
2. Strength training 2-3 times a week.
3. Tracking everything I eat (Check out www.myfitnesspal.com I am lala362 and a bunch of us are connected there to help keep each other accountable to our healthy lifestyle goals!)
4. Measuring my food better- remind my head and body what a serving REALLY looks like. (Unlike most Weight-loss surgery clients- I can actually eat quite a bit. I can often put the same amount of food on my plate as his and we both will finish our food! But don’t try to compare breads or pizza- still cannot do that like I used to! I find this to be both good and bad! Good- hmm I have to do this the “hard way” now just like everyone else does! Bad- hmmm I have to do this the “hard way” now just like everyone else does! LOL)
5. Drinking a minimum of 64 Oz of water EVERY DAY.

6. Using my heart rate monitor to track my calories burned and workout in my zones to build my cardio base.

November 2008

One thing I have already noticed in just the past month of really working hard on those things above… the more I track my food- the better choices I make- The better choices I make- the less hungry I am- the less I crave the CRAP like candy and sweets- the more water I drink the less I want to eat. The less I eat, the less I want to eat… Does that make sense? It apparently does because it is working! I lost 4 lbs just since I started tracking my food the past few weeks on MFP.

Thank you so much everyone who reads The Curvy Life! Your comments help motivate me- your participation here and on the FB page- keep me feeling energized and feeling like maybe putting my whole life out here for everyone to read- actually does make a difference in other people’s life! You rock! You move! You mean a lot to me! I am grateful to each and every one of you!

My wishes and prayers for each of you this year are for peace, blessings and MOVING!! Lots and lots of MOVING and success in your healthy lifestyle journey! We can all be here for each other to motivate and encourage the success we all can have and deserve! BE HAPPY!! BE BLESSED!

PS! Don’t forget to join The Curvy Life Fitness Challenge! A great way to stay motivated and keep on track of your Healthy Lifestyle!! Post is here for more information and to sign-up! http://www.thecurvylife.com/?p=509