Paleo Challenge and Eleven Month Results

I've talked a lot about setting goals this past year because that has really helped me make progress in what I call my weight-loss, health-gain journey.  At the end of 2014 I let myself get side tracked a little after the Tag Team Throwdown training was over and through the holidays.  I had gained back 5ish pounds putting me at 218 when I started the Paleo Challenge a little under seven weeks ago at my gym.

I can't stress how critical setting goals has been to my success over the past six weeks.  But it's not just in setting goals, it's about doing what you have to in order to achieve what you set out to do. It's in making little decisions every day to keep you on track and take you closer to where you want to be.

--When the family was having my favorite pizza, I ate tuna.
--When I wanted lemonade at the restaurant, I ordered water.
--When I didn't feel like going to the gym, I went and worked out for two hours.
--When it was too cold outside to run, I bundled up anyway and ran a 5k. 
--When my friends were indulging in beverages on Superbowl Sunday, I was the sober one watching the game. 

Those are all decisions I made so that when I stepped on that little white scale in the gym this afternoon, I would see THE number.  Not just any number-- my goal for this paleo competition was to hit that one number on the scale that all those who have weighed more than 200 pounds think about-- 199... aka ONEDERLAND.  That was my goal and that's exactly what the scale said today.

I'm in onederland.  FINALLY!  A little under eleven months ago, I weighed 251 pounds and today, on that scale, I weighed 199.  That's 52 pounds that I will never see again!

In the past six weeks, I have lost:
--19 pounds
--.5 inches in my arm
--2.5 inches in my chest
--6.5 inches in my waist and
--2.75 inches in my hips

With those results, how can I go back to what I was doing before?! I can't stop now.  I'm getting closer and closer to my goal weight and obviously I have finally found what is working for me.

No dairy, no sugar, no bread, no alcohol.  Sure, I'm going to allow myself to have fun every once in a while-- this Saturday will be my first time doing just that at a party we have been planning with our friend, Brice, for over a month now!  I'm so excited to let loose and have fun knowing that I worked so hard to get here.  But come Monday morning, I'm back on the paleo train to continue setting and achieving every goal I set.

Lastly, I have to mention how amazing it's been to be a part of "Team Farder" these past six weeks. Teresa, Brandi, Steve, Jan and Barb have been supportive, motivating and so encouraging throughout this entire process.  Our trainers pushed us beyond our comfort zone and each one of us had amazing results because of it.  I couldn't have picked better trainers than Kenny and Dave-- seriously Team Farder killed it and I can't wait to see the transformations from the other teams as well!

I'm so excited to share these photos with you that show just how far I've come over these past six weeks and my almost eleven-month journey.  And just so you know... I'm just getting started!

 These are my overall eleven-month results:

These are the Paleo Challenge six-week results:

And then these are progression snapshots.  Progress from March to September was really due to exercise and eating less; progress from January to now is all about diet and exercise.  So for those who think lapband or other weight loss surgery are all it takes to lose weight, that's not true.  It is simply not possible unless you change your lifestyle to include regular and consistent exercise and clean eating.  

One Cliche of a Blog Post

As I type these thoughts out tonight, I know I will start to shudder at the thought of how cliche this whole thing is.  (If you know me well, you know I despise cliches.)

Just when I start to think.....that I'm not making quick enough progress... that I'm getting on everyone's nerves by talking about working out all the time... that I am never going to see onederland..... something happens that completely validates what I am doing here. 

Tonight, I received this note from a girl I've known since I was a teenager, but haven't talked to in years:
 
"Hey Ashley, I have been reading your blog and first off want to say you are doing an amazing job!  I am so happy for you becoming healthy!  I have always struggled with my weight and have tried and tried to shed the pounds.  I recently went to the doctor and found that my thyroid was under active (so I thought that was my problem).  But I know what my problem is... I need to exercise and eat healthier.  

I feel like I am the queen of excuses when it comes to this thing.  Do you have any advice for me?  Like where should I start?  I'm 25 years old and I am TOO heavy.  I'm tired of people telling me I'm pretty because I feel disgusting.  I don't want to cut my life short because of my weight. Keep up the hard work!"

Quite often I receive messages of encouragement and support from those on my Facebook Friends list and others who stumble across my blog, but this message tonight was different.  The thing about this message is that if it was one year ago, I could have written it.  This was me.  If the sequence of events that I blogged about in my very first entry "Behind the Pounds" hadn't have happened, maybe this still would've been me.  

As this new lifestyle becomes the new norm for me, it's easy to forget what it was like before I started.  And it's also difficult for me to believe in this cliche idea that I am an "inspiration."  No, I'm just a girl who got too fat and now is being celebrated for being a little less fat--- may sound harsh, but that is my typical thought process.  But when I open my inbox and have a message like the one above, I have to recognize that maybe this whole thing is a lot more than I give it credit for.  Maybe, as cliche as it sounds, I'm doing this for a reason more than just having something to write about on a boring Thursday night.  Maybe this really does matter. 

So, I leave you tonight with my response to this sweet girl, and hope that maybe you can learn from my mistakes, too.  And that maybe next year you will be the one with a message in your inbox from someone that you inspired, showing that what you are doing is working and why you can never stop.  

"Hi Girl!  Thank you so much for your message.  Your story is almost identical to my story so please believe me when I tell you that YOU CAN DO IT!!! I had lapband surgery, but I can tell you that I have lost weight because I changed my lifestyle to make exercise and eating healthier a priority.  Exercise was a lot easier for me than the eating part, but I finally feel like I have that semi- under control.  

I'll tell you how I started-- I set a goal.  I decided that I was going to exercise in some form every day for 90 days.  (It's one of my better blog posts if you'd like to read it.)  That might sound a little too aggressive for you and it took me doing something as drastic as surgery to get me to commit to setting and achieving my goals.  But my advice would be to start with making small goals.  

Maybe you want to exercise five days a week or maybe three days on and one day off, etc.  
Maybe the Couch to 5K App would be a good starting point.  
Just making yourself set and stick with your goals can help.

I'm eating paleo right now, which is a huge change for me.  I don't eat dairy, sugar, wheat or breads, etc.  Maybe to start off you give up one of those things?  If you try to do it cold turkey(pun intended), you probably won't last long.  I don't drink soda or anything that has calories.  It sucked at first, but now it's so normal I don't even miss it. 

But I think what you said is true and you really have to believe it's true-- the only thing stopping you is the excuses you are allowing to run your life.  I have PCOS(ovary issues) that "causes" weight gain... I have extremely low metabolism... I used to work a minimum of 60 hours a week and was too exhausted to do anything by the time I got home... Those were all my excuses.  

They aren't why I couldn't lose weight.  It's because even though I said I wanted to, I wasn't willing to give up those excuses nor stop eating the tasty, horrible food in order to make my dreams come true.  I'm lucky it finally clicked for me and that I put an end to letting excuses get in my way. 

I tried for years and FINALLY, it clicked.  I know it can work for you, too!!  But you have to start by making realistic goals and sticking to them.  Health issues, time constraints and even the weather-- none of those things should determine whether or not you will meet your goals.  It's all on you! Good luck and message me anytime!"