Wednesday

Summer 06'- Summer 07'

The difference of one summer is amazing. To the left is a picture of me last summer. I had lost 20 lbs. but was completely out of shape. I didn't do any preparation for the hike. I had trouble breathing and thought I would throw-up for most of the hike.








The pictures below are of this summer. I had lost 33 lbs. and had much better endurance and muscle strength. I had prepared for about 6 months for the hike and it really showed. I was at the front of the group the whole trip and my heart and lungs held up just fine!! SUCH AN ACCOMPLISHMENT and testiment to how far I've come physically!














35 lbs.

Since I got back from the Czech Republic this summer I've been going strong. Program was very difficult in Czech...correction, impossible. I didn't think I could get so stressed out about food but Czech proved it's possible. However, God is good. He provided ways to have peace of mind. The increased activity, supportive team (Katcha, Janelle and I walked 8 miles to town to buy fruit and nuts one day), and just perspective. I figured if I gained 10 lbs. on the trip, it was no big deal because I knew how to lose it once I got home!

well, I got home, weighed in at Weight Watchers and only gained .4 lbs. Less than 1/2 a lb. AMAZING. ha! Food and a change of eating habits has such a way of playing with your mind.
I did incredible on the 17.5 mile hike this year. SOOO much better than last year. Honestly, the fact that I kept up with the group, and wasn't too exhausted afterwards was more of an accomplishment to me than losing 35 lbs. overall.

That's right. I'm .2 lbs. away from my 35 lb. mark. And only 2.2 lbs. away from my 20% mark. I will have lost 20% of my body weight! I remember when I lost the first 10% of my body weight, it felt like such an accomplishment. And now that I'm at 20%, I feel like a completely diffiferent person. Exercise has changed my body entirely. I'm turning into an athlete. It's incredible. I am now setting myself athletic goals and I'm finding that process is more rewarding than seeing the numbers on the scale get smaller!

Goal #1: Look like I workout...build muscle.
Goal #2: Start walk/jog/run program with mom and build up endurance.
Goal #3: Train for a 5k and complete.
Goal #4: Train for a 10k and complete.
Goal #5: Join running class at Green River next summer, pass the class.
Long-term goal: Run a marathon.
Long-term goal: Be a runner.