Tuesday, November 9, 2010

One year on...

A year ago, I finally managed to get off my arse and start losing the weight that I had let pile on over 10 years or so. I had tried to do this once before, experienced success but then sustained an injury that benched me for over three years. This time around, I'm not letting anything get in my way. I am 17kgs lighter than I was this time last year and I only have a couple of kilos to go to get to that stupid socially constructed goal I seem to have attached myself to. This last little bit is going to take a while, because illness is now constricting my activity. But I am going to get there, no matter how slowly. This has been a good year for learning a few things about myself and about getting strong. Here are a few of the things I've learned:

1. I have to put myself first sometimes.If I am fit, well rested and happy, then I am also productive and more present to people I care about.
2. I am tough - I can do a lot more than I start off thinking I can.
3. I have to plan to workout every day - that way, I get it done about 5-6 times a week. If I plan rest days, I usually end up working out 3-4 times a week because things come up. Life's annoying that way.
4. I am pretty fit, but I'm still not that strong - my core strength is shocking. I have to honour my abs (which I don't like doing, because they're my weakest bit)
5. I love wearing groovy clothes (actually, I already knew this, but I'm glad I can fit into them again)
6. Replacing an entire wardrobe, from the underwear out, is very expensive :( I am slowly getting there, but I still look like I'm wearing a tent some of the time.

4 comments:

  1. Pretty amazing feat - not just losing 17kg but keeping it off.

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  2. Great job on the loss. On that #1 goal? You should put yourself first not sometimes, but at all times! That way you can help everyone else better.

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  3. Thanks Lanie :) Now I've just got to keep on keeping it off!

    Lori, thanks for the reminder. It's funny, I wrote 'all the time' then changed it to 'sometimes' for fear of being immodest. Hmmm, definitely still more work to do there.

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  4. Onya Jo! It must be so satisfying to look back now and see just how far you've come, not just the weight loss achievement but the continuation of the 'get fit' process through a very trying period. Lesser mortals would be scoffing the Tim Tams! I relate to the shrinking body, nothing to wear syndrome (thanks for all that breastfeeding, Tobes) and found Pilates (so very 90s!) to be an excellent way of building and retaining core strength. I swear, my deep abdominals are buzzing (in pain, mostly) for days afterwards.

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