Who knew what 365 days could do…

So if you would have asked me to say where I was going to be 365 days ago, my response would not been one of a positive nature.  To me in my mind it was just a matter of time before this attempt to lose weight failed just like the others.  In fact I have had many ask me recently, Teri why now, what made the difference this time, why did it work now?  I honestly don’t have a good explanation other than I really did not want to die, because if I continued on this path that is where I was heading.  The funny thing is I have tried to talk my self into losing weight for years including the.. If we go to Paris you have to lose weight before hand… Yep nope did not work.  Carrying around almost 200 pounds in Paris was pretty tough but hey it was Paris.

So what was I going to do to save myself, well I joined Weight Watchers, because if you are going to pay for it you will make it work… Yep Nope did not work well at least the 1st week.  I joined and then had to go to LA for a week and I was so good I packed up all my food, knew all my points… I was going to kill this. Until that first night I checked in the hotel and found an amazing restaurant across the street.  Hmmm I could eat there and no one would know… And so I did, every single night.  All the healthy food sitting in my hotel room while I ate and drank to my hearts content.  But no one would ever know, well until Gene Simmons came into the restaurant.  He came over to me and was so nice I actually got my picture taken with him and could not show it to a single person.  Two reasons why, one I was not supposed to be eating out and here I was at a restaurant, second the picture, it was not me or at least it was not who I thought I was.  In my mind I kept saying what had I done, how had I let myself get to this point.

So it began… one baby step at a time. I set small goals, goals that should be attainable, ones that I hoped I would not quit before I had gave it a chance.  First goal 175, could I do this….and I did.   

OMG I had lost almost 15 pounds, I had never been able to do this in a little over a month ever.  So I kept going and in my mind I was just waiting for all the weight to come back on.  In my head I was just waiting to wake up one morning and say time to quit, but it never quite happened.

So now for the first time I did not give up, today tomorrow the next day.  I just kept going, tracking all my food and moving.  I decided to start signing up for more races because if I paid for the race I would go to the race, I hated to waste money.  I also signed up and joined a gym and got a trainer so at least I knew what the hell I was doing there.  Holy moly things were starting to come together.

But like always I just kept waiting for it to implode, to go to hell in a hand basket and all the weight just come back on.  The worst was I was pretty mean to myself.  Each time I would walk by a mirror I would say to myself.. oh well still fat.  As bad as some were I was the worst to myself.

Now things started to get serious I started doing more races and really try to run more than I walked.  The more I moved, the less I ate the more the weight came off.  So let the races begin!

Now I have done 9 races since the beginning of the year and the more races I do, the more weight I am losing and the easier the races are becoming.   But the really cool part of this 4 months onto this journey I am now down 31 pounds… 31 freaking pounds!!!!!!!!

Life is getting much busier now to and more challenging in the next moth I have several trips planned to Sacramento for work and Portland for a Celebration of Ellerie.  How am I going to get past these new challenges…

So first was my work event and not going to lie it was hard, I stumbled a bit but my coworkers were awesome and really supportive of my journey.

Next was a trip to Portland that I was thrilled included a run for Make a Wish and for my niece.  I got to meet up with my cousin who actually got me to start on this journey.  I am starting to have faith that maybe this time it was going to stick, but I know I still have to keep changing it up or making it harder.

So next I ran a trail run 5K this time I really pushed myself and it felt different.  I finished this race thinking, this running thing is really starting to feel good.

And the runs continued and so did the weight loss, guess what I think I found the key, at least the key that works for me.

17 races later I am seeing a pattern with me running and losing weight.  I get on the computer and google running to lose weight and the following popped up “From Fat To Finish Line” I was so shocked I just found 12 other people that share the same story as I do, how is this possible.  And as fate would have it they were having a prescreening of their documentary the next day.  Are you kidding … talk about fate.  And if you are wondering, yes I went to the prescreening I met some of the runners and I signed up for the Craft Classic 5K where several of these runners would be participating.

So just to give you a peek into the future this is the 1st day of the next chapter of this story.  Soon this group of runners, this community, this documentary will become a large part of my growth.  Also my weight is still coming off although it is starting to slow down.

And the running continues:

Now not much left of the year and I still have a Duathlon to complete a few more 5K’s and 10K’s and need to get ready for this upcoming half marathon and not just any marathon but Rock n Roll Vegas Half Marathon.  But I now have become a honest to goodness runner, I can run several miles without stopping, I am working with other  new runners to help them to running their 1st mile without stopping me a formerly obese gal.

So as the year is coming to an end I finish up these final races, I end of the year down 60 pounds.

My race schedule next year is pretty full including several 5K’s, 10K’s, 15K’s, a Half Marthon, Duathlon, Triathlon and training for a full marathon.  But thats not all I will be completing my first Ragnar in March at the Ragnar Del Sol with Team Running Down Your Dream.

So if you have something you want, a finish line you want to cross, a longtime goal that you have been striving for, for some time… Go for it.  You can do it and if you try you will have no regrets!

2016 although you were not perfect, you will be one of my favorite years… Ill see you all at the 2017 Finish Lines!!!