Mile Marker 4

Can you believe I've now been at this for 4 months??? WHAT?! Who am I? That's insane to me! Prior to winning the Year of You and getting to be a part of the Biggest Loser family, I had only ever stuck to a "diet" for a few weeks at a time before giving up and going back to eating whatever I wanted. Now, I've been at this lifestyle change steadily for 4 entire months! I am the most proud of myself that I've ever been and beyond thrilled with my progress!

So March was the month of the plateau, April was the month of the yo-yo, and hallelujah, praise Jehovah, May was the month of the MELT! I was shocked by how quickly things just started moving. For last month's update I had missed my goal by 3 pounds. Two days later, for whatever reason, those 3 pounds were gone and never to be seen again! I'm not sure what exactly kicked into gear for the month but I think it must have to do with the kickboxing.

Holy cow, my friends. If you have ever wanted an amazing workout that targets all areas of your body and is fun, kickboxing is the way to go. I've absolutely loved my time so far with AmeriKick, learning how to put all of my energy into an hour long, intense cardio session. The workout is done in circuits so you only have to do things for 3 minutes max. So if I don't like a certain circuit, all I have to do is give it my best for a few minutes and then I get to move on. I know it's cliche but it's so true that we can do anything for 3 minutes. Seriously... we can. I've found that it's those circuits that I don't like that actually fuel me to push harder. I just want to get it over with and I'm mad that I'm doing it so I punch and kick as hard as I possibly can to finish it up quickly! It really works. And if you recall from one of my first blog posts, one of the items in my reverse bucket list was to throw a solid, strong punch. As of this past Thursday, I can now say that I have a killer right hook. So go ahead and check yes to that!

In other news, last night I went to see my favorite group, Starkid, in concert. It was a BLAST and I stood and jumped and danced for six hours. Talk about a workout but it was absolutely worth it. So much fun! But the best part was when I decided to get a tank top as a souvenir. My friend and I went to the merchandise counter and were looking at what they had. I nervously asked if I could see the sizes because I haven't bought shirts in quite awhile now. Not in the last few months anyway. So the cashier held up the sizes of Large and X-Large for me to look at. I will admit to you all that in the past six years, I have almost always worn a XX-Large. I don't know why but this time I felt the need to just see if I could fit into a smaller one. When the girl held up both of the sizes for me to see, I was overcome with this courage that I can't remember ever having before. With determination in my heart, I said "I'll take the large". And with that my fate was sealed. I'd get home and will that size large to fit and if it didn't, then in July I'd try again. It was one of the bolder decisions I've made on this journey but I felt empowered.

So this morning when I got up for my weigh-in, I put on the size large Starkid tank top. And wouldn't you know it... IT FITS!!! I'M OFFICIALLY WEARING SMALLER SIZED CLOTHES! I just wanted to jump and run out into the streets of my neighborhood yelling "Look at my body!"... but that probably wouldn't have made many friends with the neighbors. Or maybe it would... I don't know their ways. But the point is, I was just ecstatic and I'm still kind of reeling from the rush of knowing that I'm 2 sizes down from where I was in January of this year. I can't believe it!

Before I share the official weigh-in of the month, I wanted to do a quick re-cap of the progress. So here's how the months have gone so far:
December- 304 lbs
January-296 lbs
February- 288 lbs
March- 277 lbs
April- 270 lbs

Pretty crazy, huh? It shocks me when I stack up the numbers like that with what I have accomplished. Now, I'm ready to add May to that list. Here we go!
May 2nd: 270 lbs
June 2nd: 260 lbs


That is 10 pounds lost for the month of May!!! That makes a total of 44 pounds down so far! WOO HOO!!! How exciting is that? In just a few weeks, I'll be down 50 pounds from my heaviest. That's nuts! If you had told me back in January that this is where I'd be today, I would've cried because I wouldn't have been able to believe you. It's just astounding what we can do if we push ourselves out of our comfort zones and really commit to leading healthier lifestyles. Anyone can do this! All it takes is the first step to eating the right kind of foods and knowing that you need to nourish your body, instead of punishing it. If I can make this change, a serious food addict with a major laziness problem, anyone can do it. Trust. It works!

For the month of June I'm shooting for an 8 lb loss. I had a big month so I need to make sure and set realistic, attainable goals. So by July 2nd, I should be at 252 lbs. That's the goal! I'm gonna make it happen.

And as another bonus... photo time! I wasn't able to take the weekly loss pictures because I was out of town a lot of the month BUT I can share some new clothing photos. Here ya go! The first is of my new smaller sized tank top. I'm in love with it. I may never take it off!

And this next one is of a dress I wore the other day. I bought it two years ago and couldn't wear it because I was too self-conscious. It fit way too tightly and I didn't like the way it made my hips look. So now, two years later, I decided to give it another try. Not only does it fit now, it's a little baggy! I love that!

I'm still a little self-conscious about my arms so showing these is another move of bravery for me. Thanks so, so much to everyone who's been encouraging and supporting me. One of my favorite things about doing this is getting messages and texts from people saying that I'm helping them and my putting all of this out there is giving them motivation to do it too. I absolutely love that. Seriously you guys, keep it up! You bring so much joy into my life when I hear that! Y'all are wonderful and together, we can all make this the year of us. Thanks for the amazing support! I love you!