Saturday, April 17, 2010

catch.

there's lots to say about the last few weeks and not much good news.
after easter/holiday celebration/a lot of chocolate & desserts - my diet was over. i took a two (or three) week break. it was bad. i ate whatever, whenever, with a who-cares attitude. i'm sure that i gained all the weight back, and i don't want to get on the scale to prove it. i would much rather just move forward.

so starting monday (because this weekend is still continuation of celebrating my birthday - aka atleast 2 more cakes), i will be back to a steady, strict plan to get back down and healthy. this is an even bigger push because tennis ends today, so whatever calories that practices/matches are burning are out of the picture. it's back to the gym. all day, everyday. (just kidding about that last part.) but seriously - i will have to make my own cardio lessons rather than relying on practice to get it me.

so, i think the next step would be to publish a list i've been working on. (did you hear that ashley - i'm following you are your lists?) kevin (my future/i-like-to-think-current father-in-law) was the influence for this list, and it is something i would like to continue to do throughout my life.

22 things I want to do by the time I'm 22:
1. read the Bible in its entirety
2. run 500 miles in one year
3. go horseback riding
4. save $2500 for my future
5. become a 4.5 tennis player
6. collect all spare change for missions
7. cut down my closet/clothes
8. go to a Ben Folds concert
9. read 20 new books
10. find a new favorite band
11. go to a Frontier Ruckus concert (or 5)
12. grow my hair to the middle of my back
13. touch ground in 10 states
14. feel confident in a swimsuit
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.


i'm still short a few goals. any suggestions? i will come back to this list in the next few days and work on finishing it up so i can see my next year laid out for me. i like that i dreamt big on a few points, but it also makes it difficult to up-the-anty next year when i plan my 23-list.

so i've made headway already on this list - #1, i'm already all the way done with joshua on my first time through the whole Bible. i will continue at the end of this year (walking through the Old Testament) and read the NT. #2 - i'm 2 miles down and about to be 4 miles in. this goal is averaged at less than 2 miles per day, which i think will be a challenge to keep getting up and running and a great work-ethic for me to develop. #4 - i currently have almost $300 in savings. stop laughing - i know it's not much. but it's a HUGE amount for me to have set away. and remember back - i've been saving $10/week, so at the end of this year from that alone i will have $520. i'm already ahead of schedule. :] #5 - this refers to a USTA tennis ranking. by playing in a collegiate program, i'm already assumed to be a 4.5 (out of 7.0) ability, but this is not true. i want to change this. i want to really up my game this summer and next fall. #6 - this is a goal i set last year for myself. after being away for the summer, and collecting for probably close to 10 months, i had $25 of change that was donated to a mission trip from one of the trips from spring arbor. i liked this and want to do it again.#9 - hopefully in the next week this will be well started, since i have at least 5 more books to read by thursday for a class project. whoops.

so that's the report for now. i'm headed off to run a few laps for relay for life. this is for YOU: tommy & grandpa. i love you both. this is for YOU caleb - you will fight through.

Friday, April 2, 2010

final countdown.

today's april 2nd. 2 days past my final weigh-in. i forgot on the 31st, but yesterday i took the step, onto the scale, to find out what has become of me these last 3 months. before i stepped on though, i thought to myself - even if this number isn't exactly what i dreamed of, i love my body and my new lifestyle. yes, as a woman, i will always want to be smaller, slimmer, toner. but i know, whether or not i have just come to this realization through my latest obsession with fitness and health, that i was created beautiful, exactly how God wanted.

and so, here it is - my goal on january 1st was to lose 13 pounds: from 153 to 140. i aimed at 1 pound per week, but the reality was that i lost 10 pounds - ending at 143, which is the lowest i've weighed since i went from girls' clothing to juniors'. (by the way - i'm pretty sure i shot straight from a size 3 jean to 8 in one day a couple years back.) speaking of which - i am now a size 6, and love it.

so my lifestyle change has altered my exercise habits, eating habits, and the attitude i have about myself and hard-work. i know that living healthy isn't always the easiest choice, nor the cheapest, but i do like the sacrifices of time and money that i make to be bettering myself for the future.

and so... here's the rest of 2010's goal. i've worked hard thus far, in the last 3 months, and am ready to continue. i now have about 38 weeks left of the year, and my new goal is to lose 10-13 more pounds and end the year at 130. i know this is a LOT of weight to lose in a year, when i was not near obese to start off, but i also know that weighing 130 won't be a selfish goal, nor unhealthy. i will be fit.

i will continue to post about my changes (spiritual and physical) and i hope that you will join me in my continuation. thanks for all the support and encouragement. please keep it up!