2 Years

Hey there, dedicated blog readers. First, let me apologize for slacking towards the end of the year. I have a few reasons why. Things were going great... I was exercising every day, eating decently. Then it was Thanksgiving, of course that sucked as far as eating goes. In the beginning of December, I hurt myself at work and had to take a little break from exercising, so that wasn't cool. And my latest excuse, being sick. There were tons of parties during the month of December so it's been difficult to eat healthy. There's also been a ton of drinking. I think the combination of that, and lack of sleep, finally got to me.

I worked Christmas Eve and it was crazy busy! I got one hour of sleep and felt terrible when I got off work in the morning. I had to go to my parents house to do presents and breakfast. When I finally got back home, it was noon. I slept until 5pm and when I got up, I knew I was sick! It started off small, just a sore throat and runny nose. But now? It has transformed into some kind of never ending super cold. It has officially been 2 weeks straight that I've been sick. I'm wondering when it's going to go away. I'm past the point of no return for going to the doctor's. I refuse! Yes, I'm stubborn like that.

So, needless to say, I have NOT been working out these past two weeks. I did go to the gym one day when I was feeling decent, but it most likely just set me back in my recovery, so now I'm waiting till I'm fully better... Which sucks!! I'm dying not being able to work out!:-(

Anyways, the original reason I wanted to write this blog is because tomorrow is my 2 year anniversary of starting my weight loss journey. I work tomorrow though, so I had to write this today. I can't believe that it's already been 2 years! Time went by even faster in 2012, than it did in 2011. In 2011, it was all about losing as much weight as I could. I worked out like crazy, ran tons of races, and had the best eating habits I'd ever had in my life. After a year of losing weight, I had reached my goal, and even gotten to my lowest weight of 149.2 in February 2012. I felt amazing! I was in my prime. I felt strong and fast! I was probably in the best shape of my life in the beginning of March 2012, right before the academy started. I explained in my blog "Coming Clean" back in September 2012, how the academy life actually caused me to GAIN weight, rather than lose it, like I thought I would.

By the end of the academy in June, I had reached 172 pounds. So depressing! No one wants to gain weight EVER, after losing as much weight as I did. I decided to finally take control and do something about it. Luckily I got down to 157.2! Still heavier than my lowest weight, but I'm just happy to be back in the 150's. Now I realize what people are talking about when they say it's harder to maintain than it is to lose weight. I suppose that in the end, gaining 8 pounds over a year of maintaining isn't TOO bad. And I plan to lose that, and more, ASAP! I just need this sickness to go away! It's really holding me back. I also want to work on my eating habits. I used to be really, really good at eating well. I HAVE to get back in that mindset! I just need to get serious about this and stop half-assing it!

Besides weight, a lot of other things changed throughout the year. I'm a totally different person than I was just last January. Getting hired, going through the academy, and getting assigned to 32 has changed a lot of things. It's all been for the better. I couldn't be happier with my career! I love my job, my crew, my schedule, everything! Every shift I learn something new. I get to experience some of the most fun stuff ever! Being a firefighter now makes me wish that I had been doing it all along when I was a volunteer. It is SO FUN!

My priorities in life have changed as well. When I was working at Children's, all I wanted to do was get married, have kids ASAP, and be content with life. I didn't care about being healthy or active. I didn't even think about progressing in life past where I was. I never had goals or dreams. I just settled. Now that I have shown myself that I CAN change, things are totally different! I have set goals and surpassed them! My idea of having kids is on hold because I want to focus on ME and become the best person that I can be. I continue to make new goals for myself all the time because it keeps me motivated and gives me something to work towards. I will never just settle for "good enough" anymore.

Anyways, I figured I'd put up some comparison pics to show how I've changed (or not) in the past year. I'm still pretty happy with the way I look, but I'll never be fully satisfied. That may or may not be a good thing!

2011

2012

2011

2012

Old job 2011

New job 2012

Well, I'm hoping that soon I can start doing my weekly weigh ins again. My current goal is to get down to 140. I know I can do it. I just have to be dedicated!

Here's to another year of losing the bad stuff and gaining the good stuff! Check back soon for a new blog. I plan to start fresh and keep up with it like I used to! Thanks again to my loyal readers:-) Love you guys!

xoxoxo

Anna