Friday, February 4, 2011

Always Been, But Not Forever: Chubby

I've always struggled with my weight.  It always felt like every day I consistently tried to either maintain or lose weight to a certain level. Seriously.  Every.  Single.  Day.  Ever since I was a little kid, I've had difficulty being in the normal range for my weight, and it got especially awkward during middle school and early high school...

When I was in 10th grade, I was about 5'7" and reached the 210 lb mark. I'd never been that heavy before, and it was difficult being an overweight competition cheerleader for so many different reasons. Cheerleaders aren't supposed to be like that... or at least that's what I thought. It was stressful trying to complete a 2-minute, 30-second routine filled with stunts, dances, and chants while being so out of breath that I could hardly keep up. I remember looking at my high school ID picture and a couple of other cheerleading pictures, thinking to myself, "Wow... what in the heck am I doing?" I knew I needed a change right then and there, and I took major steps to regain control of my weight.  It also made my motivation grow when I saw the type of new uniforms we were going to order for the competition squada.  Spandex.  Green spandex.  Not a friend to a tall fat girl. 

After about 2-3 months on a diet that consisted of eating healthier and replacing Cokes with grapefruit juice, I lost 40 lbs and was much more self-confident in my apperance. So many people told me how great I looked, and my confidence just fed off of that. It was awesome - I actually looked like a cheerleader and could perform routines like one, too.  I was lookin' good!

Fast forward to my sophomore year of college when I moved into the sorority house. I gained about 15 lbs just because I didn't really make an effort to work out regularly. My college schedule was so packed because of my extracurricular involvement that I simply didn't "make" time for myself. I started running, which I'd never gotten involved in before then, and made goals to eat healthier. I also found out that I have Hypothyroidism, which causes my metabolism to be i-n-s-a-n-e-l-y slow.  I started taking meds to correct this disorder and began to see a change in my behavior and stamina.  This change helped me lose 30 lbs, and I was in better shape than when I was a competition cheerleader. I made running goals for Race for the Cure and some other 5Ks, which definitely helped my motivation, too. I completed my first 5K in Macon (RFTC) by running the entire race without stopping in 34.05 minutes. Unfortunately, though, I injured myself at the beginning of the race (fell over a sewage drain in the first minute of the race and severely injured my ankle, but ran on it anyway...hardcore, I know), which led to me to a recovery period that didn't include running. It was okay, though, because I got back into the mix after a few months of rest and maintained my weight throughout the entire time.
 
In 2010, I decided to pursue P90X.  All was going well until I was rear-ended in my Equinox Sport and injured my neck and shoulder.  That hit me like a ton of bricks (pun intended), so I couldn't finish the program.  I was only a month into it and had to take a pretty long break.  Dagnammit.  That break resulted in me gaining a little bit of weight (probably around 5-10 lbs) since I couldn't work out consistently, and it made my pants fit snug.  Nope, that's not okay with me.
 
So during Christmas, I decided to buy the Power 90 program and make a change starting on January 3, 2011.  I'm now a little over a month into the program, and I LOVE it!  It's helping me get back into the workout routine, while not stressing my shoulder too much.  I figure that life is too short to be unhappy about my fitness level, so Power 90 is going to help me achieve my short-term fitness goals. It's up to me, though, to continue the long-term goals.  I still have my high school ID to use as motivation, and I intend to keep it on my mirror throughout this entire process. I never want to reach that weight ever again. Anyway, here are my goals:

- Achieve 20% body fat
- Reach the 145 lb level
- Become more toned
- Run a 5k in less than 27 minutes
- Climb up Stone Mountain without having to stop

Now, I know these goals are pretty steep for a slightly overweight girl, but I might as well set my goals high or not set them at all.  My plans are to start and finish Power 90, then move on to P90X, and finally do a round or two of Insanity.  I'm sticking with the Beachbody products because that's what I want - a BEACHBODY.  My birthday is in August, so what better birthday present than to reach my goals?  :)
 
So, that's my plan.  And I'm sticking to it.

1 comment:

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    Jamie

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