2011 Accomplishments

Kelly encouraged everyone to take time to reflect on what they have accomplished this year before setting new goals for 2012. My plan was to start off this post with amazing stats about all of the weight that I had lost and inches that are banished forever. Things don't always go as planned.... Hubby measured me today and when I compared them to last years measurements they are...exactly the same. That's not entirely true, my stomach and arm measurements are quite a bit lower, but that's because of the surgery. Hmmmm... Let's look at my weight... 200.2 in December 2010, 194 in December 2011. Not much change there either. OK, so my body hasn't changed in terms of numbers, but there are many things that have changed that I can be proud of.

1. Since March (when I got my Nike sensor), I've run 104 times for a total of 309.37 miles, 68 hours and burned 40,000 calories!

2. In February, I was published in my school districts newsletter. I was able to share with many the journey that led me to my current weight. It was scary and exciting to put myself out there is such a way.

3. Since October 2nd (as far back at my HR monitor goes), I've exercised 68 out of 82 days, 53.4 hours, and burned 32,422 calories. (My runs, since October, from #1 are included in these totals).

4. In March, I was approved for health insurance at an amazing rate.

5. In May, I had surgery to remove the excess skin that I had created through years and years of not caring for my body. It was a big step for me to have this surgery because I knew that it was only something that I was willing to do if I knew for sure that I would never regain my weight.

6. In July, I rode a horse for the first time ever!

7. In September, I ran my second 5k. I shaved 9 minutes off of my previous years times.

8. There are several exercises that I can do now that I couldn't do a year ago: running 2 miles without stopping, tricep dips on the bench, criss-cross jumping jacks. I no longer see an exercise as impossible, but rather something that I can't do...yet!

9. I got off track for for a while and gained a little weight. I knew what I had to do, started recording my food again, and regained control.

10. I didn't plan on maintenance this year. I planned on losing another 20 pounds. I am proud to report that I have maintained a weight loss of 165 pounds for an entire year!

What about you? What have you accomplished this year? Celebrate your success before you worry about what you still need to achieve.

~Kari