I’ve thought a lot about this post, and wanted to be completely honest with you guys about 2013.
You may have noticed that my milestone posts have stopped, and I haven’t blogged much about weight loss since last summer.
My total weight loss for 2013 was:
0.0 pounds.
Yep. That’s right. I lost absolutely nothing in 2013, and as embarrassing as it is to admit it, I need to face it.
Let’s rewind back a bit. In the beginning of 2013, I lost 24 additional pounds (I was 1 lb. away from my next milestone post of 75 lbs.). I was doing SO great..I won a couple of DietBets, and I was feeling super fantastic. I had a few events happen after the DietBets were over, and usually I can bounce back after splurges, but this time, I sort of just stopped. I got a bit lazy in my calorie counting and slowly started gaining. I really only gained 7 or 8 lbs. at the time, until August. It wasn’t too bad…I knew I could get back on track, especially since I was working out fairly consistently to get ready for half marathon training.
Then our lives changed. The lightning/fire happened in our house, we had deaths (yes, plural…deaths) in the family and my emotional/binge eating habits came back.
I honestly didn’t care about calorie counting anymore. There were more important things to care about, and honestly, there was about a month there where I kept throwing the “what ifs” and would randomly just break down. I kept saying next week I’ll get back…next week. Well, obviously that never happened. Before we took our cruise in December, I went to try on swimsuits and the only one that fit was the swimsuit from 2012’s cruise. My two motivational suits couldn’t even get over my thighs… Then, I started to become more aware that my everyday clothes were ridiculously tight (when they used to be on the verge of being given away from being too loose). I’ve been so embarrassed by my gain that I have been wearing huge cardigans over everything to hide the bulge.
However, no more hiding. Here’s a picture to show everything (left April 2013, right January 2014).
It’s a little hard to tell from the color of my sweater (and pardon the no make-up look…these are DietBet pictures), but yeah….
Now, while it hurts to have to take a huge step back, I know that I’m not perfect. I also know that we had a terrible, stressful year, and it’s time to dust off and go forward. 🙂
Here’s a bit of positive news, though. While I admit that while I didn’t show progress on the scale, I’m ridiculously excited that I was able to stick to my half marathon training through all of this. A year ago, 5K races were my challenge and in less than 2 weeks, I’ll be attempting to finish a 13.1 mile race. I won’t be able to make that “120 lbs. down” shirt that I so badly wanted to make and wear, but I’ve been training hard and I’m doing this race. I might not be as fast as I wanted to be, but as long as I end up with a medal and 13.1 on my car (heck yes…I’m CHEESY!), I will be super proud of myself.
This race is going to be my big kick-off into 2014, and I just know that 2014 is going to be fantastic! I have about 80 lbs. to go to my goal weight, and I firmly believe that it’s doable (it’s 1.5 lbs./week). However, if I just make it to Onederland, I will be a happy camper. 🙂 Seeing the 100s on the scale would be SO amazing. 🙂
Loved this post, Amy. You’re right….sometimes things happen in our lives that just make calorie counting seem ridiculous…and impossible. You’ve STILL made amazing progress…and you’re STILL an inspiration. If if makes you feel better, I haven’t lost anything, either. And I’ve worked out more in 2013 than in any other year. I’m thinking my issue is cookies, not exercise. 😉
I love your honesty and positivity in this post. I dealt with a lot of flucuating in 2013 as well, and it can be so frustrating to go back and forth, and feel like you’re not getting anywhere. I’m so glad that you realize you ARE getting somewhere, and that you’re making great progress — even if it’s not exactly reflected on the scale! A half-marathon is a big deal and takes a lot hard work and dedication!! I can’t wait to see you rock it!! You got this!!!
Thank you for being honest. I know how hard it can be when life gets in the way. BUT even though you head setbacks and didn’t lose a pound, you’ve had awesome non-scale achievements; I mean, you’re doing a half marathon, which is HUGE! After my first half I totally got one of the 13.1 decals…in pink…and slapped it on my car. I wasn’t married at the time so I didn’t think about the future, but now my husband drives my old car. He keeps saying he’s going to take the decal off, but hasn’t so far. It’s awesome 🙂
You totally have to look at the non-scale achievements! That number on the scale is just a number. (I need to start listening to my own advice.)
But I’ve been there before too. I’m having a really bad time with my job and after losing 75 pounds, I’ve started putting a little bit back on, which I don’t want to do to and I need to get focused on taking it back off, but that number or the way I look in a sweater doesn’t take away everything else I’ve done or the new found confidence I have in myself (even if I have my days where I feel less than worthy of anything), knowing that I can run up the stairs at work without running out of breath, that I still have all of these people around me who love me no matter what size my pants are, etc.
You’ve come a long way. I love seeing the updates on your blog. It’s a little bit of motivation that we all need. It’s also great to see an honest post like this because the majority of us trying to get healthier have been there. It’s nice to know that someone else out there understands us too.
You’ll get back to where you were. One day you’ll get on the scale and you’ll see a drop in weight and it will be the best feeling ever and you’ll be motivated to start again. It does suck when the scale goes the other way, when something you bought because you lost weight is tight or doesn’t fit anymore, but you gotta get back up and try again. And try not to focus on a number. It’s hard. I still do it. But focus more on how great you feel once you get back into the swing of things.
Good luck and I know you can do it!
You can do it!
Good luck!
-Lisa
It’s so hard to be that honest. Good for you. I also haven’t had a successful 2013 in the weight loss category. It’s so hard to admit that. I think that is why I stopped blogging. I’m working on it though so there should be a change.
Life happens and sometimes we just have to take a step back and reevaluate. I had to after an abysmal 2013. You know you can get back on track and you are going to be amazing at your half marathon! I wish you all the best and am rooting for you! 🙂
My weight goes up and down constantly. I can set goals and lose weight, but maintenance is where I fumble. I eventually get lazy or life gets stressful, and I start packing on the pounds again. My only saving grace is that I keep trying.
I am excited about your renewed commitment. Can’t wait to see what this year will bring for you!
Awesome post Amy, thanks for your honesty! I found your blog a year ago when I was just starting my weight loss journey of 40-50 pounds. You were such an inspiration back then and you STILL ARE! I think we need to figure out how to throw you a huge virtual party when you hit onederland. You deserve it!!