During the celebrations portion of the meeting Karen celebrated my 9K and asked me how it felt. Amazing, and exhausting and fabulous (of course). Karen asked if I'd share my weight loss total (there were a few new joiners in the room) so I said I joined in July of 2010 and I've lost 131 pounds (which is apparently wrong after I calculated it last night) and one of the members asked me how do I stay motivated?
Now THAT is a really good question that I answered during the meeting but then thought about it some more... and wanted to kind of answer it again. Before I started Weight Watchers I would read food blogs - people taking pictures of all kinds of rich and glorious food? Yes, please! I'd also been reading a blog called Carrots 'n Cake (CnC) which has quite a lot of food pictures and recipes but it is also filled with information about fitness (the author is a marathoner and regularly writes about running and strength training). I really started leaning towards reading CnC rather than the other food blogs because Tina's recipes were healthier and generally after posting a recipe or picture of food she talked about working out which always reminds me that you can have good food (and drink) as long as you also get in the activity. I've mostly done away with the other blogs that only sported the high calorie/no activity posts in favor of something healthier.
The ultimate reason to stay motivated, and one that I mentioned in the meeting last night, is that I don't want to be defined by my weight anymore. I've spent my entire life being overweight and being limited to what I can do, what I can wear or where I can shop and frankly I'm tired of it. I want to be able to do things without having to think, I can't do that cause I'm not in shape for that. For example, next year I'll be married to the most awesome man for five years and we're going back to Alaska (we were there on our honeymoon) and one of the things I want to do is hike a glacier. We kind of did it last time but had to stop and rest about a hundred times on the way up and we never made it to the edge of the glacier. These are the kinds of things I want to be able to do.
Oh, and maybe do the Hustle up the Hancock. I'm still thinking about that one.
One more thing to note... this year has been a whirlwind and I'm going to end it with a bang! I'm doing a 5K on December 3 which will support the Christine Ann Domestic Abuse Center in Oshkosh, WI. I set a fundraising goal of $500 but would love to raise even more than that. Please consider donating through my fundraising page to help raise money for this great charity. Your contribution is tax deductible because this is a 501(c)3 charity.
Here is the full link, if you want to spread the word to help me raise more money: http://www.active.com/donate/r
Here is some information about the Christine Ann Domestic Abuse Center:
Launched in 1984, Christine Ann Domestic Abuse Services, Inc. (CADASI), is a 501 (c)(3) not for profit agency serving individuals and families in Winnebago and Green Lake Counties who are struggling with the devastating effects of domestic abuse. The agency also educates the community on the dynamics of abuse and how it can help in the fight against domestic violence. It is the only agency providing comprehensive domestic violence programs and services to communities in both counties.
Christine Ann Domestic Abuse Services is committed to ending the cycle of violence by providing safety, support and advocacy to all abuse victims, as well as cultivating community awareness through collaborative education and prevention programs.
Our agency's vision is to reduce the incidents and the effects of domestic abuse in the communities we serve and create a long term and lasting difference in the lives of families affected by abuse.
