Week 60. The last one...

Happy Birthday to Me! I turned 40 yesterday, and so it's time for the big report out!

Let's start with the numbers, all in:

Total Weight loss: -25.1 lbs. (15.7%)
Total Body Fat loss: -7.5 pts (17.7%)
Total BMI reduced: -4.5 (16%)
Total Bust inches lost: -6" (15%)
Total Waist inches lost: -8" (22%)
Total Hips lost: -7" (16%)
Total Dress Size: -6 (or -3, if you only count even sizes)


Pretty consistently, across every measures, I'm down around 16%.


First of all, even though I didn't make it to 30 pounds, I'm really excited and proud of myself that I made it to 25. And, I am sure that I'll zag up before zigging back down again, and that's just going to be my cycle. What I've learned is that my weight isn't always going to go down, but it's also not always going to g back up again. I've learned a lot about how i can influence my weight, and that it's just always going to be a thing for me. I will never be a "skinny" girl, but I also don't have tot be a girls who always thinks she's fat, and can't enjoy a doughnut. I'm somewhere in between, and I'm okay with that.

Second of all, I have so many people to thank:

• My husband, for finding lots of ways to be supportive during all of this, and understanding that what motivates HIM isn't necessarily what motivates ME
  
• My closest friends, like Liz, who always go out of their way to make healthy and diet friendly meals whenever we're together and keep me on track
  
• My great friends all over the country who not only read my blog, but take the time to post encouraging notes for me, both when I've had successes but also failures. These in-real-life friends and internet friends were a huge part of my support system, and I thank all of you!
  
• The girls in the pilates classes who saw me transform throughout the year and always made comments about how great I looked!
  
• The great professionals who helped me at the gym, either directly through instruction or through their general encouragement every time they saw me: Laura, Michelle, Andrea, Amy J, Ryan, and most of all, Maria.
  
• The people whose journeys inspired me and made me believe I could do this, like the Joneses and my friend, Tracy and my cousin, Russ, and old friend from college, Lisa Spodak, who shared her journey with the whole world
  
• The people who have taken the time to tell me that *I* inspire *them*, which only reminds me that, I'm not just doing this for myself sometimes; other people can find their own inspiration and journey by reading about mine

I look back at the last 14 months and feel like it's whipped by. It wasn't that it was easy; it wasn't always. But it was EASY to make it important, and EASY to make sure that, every day, I could do SOMETHING good for my health. Even if I didn't get to the gym or make the best choice with my food that day, I could always find a way to make it count.

I know that blogging is a weird thing. It's narcissistic and selfish. I'm not sure why anyone would think that anyone else out there cares about what they fill blogs with each day. But this was a way for me to stay honest, to share what I was feeling with friends, and to get support along the way. I don't regret it, and I think it really helped. I won't be continuing with the blog anymore... I think it served is purpose, to get me to my 40th birthday on this path. I thank each and every one of you for reading, whether it was every week, or once in a while, or maybe this is the first time you're reading it.

Last word: If you're thinking about making a change, do it. If you're thinking you can't, you're wrong. You just have to figure out what's not working, what COULD work, and be open to tweaking it along the way. Bad days happen. Good days return. And if you've got the right support, like I did and do, anything can change for you. Good luck!

I'll close with some of my "Biggest Loser" type pictures... thought those would be more fun than my side by sides (which, if you want to find my last set, from 10 weeks ago, can be found here.)