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.