MyFitnessFoe, Part 730 Days

Wow, I really let these posts go. Sorry about that. The last time I published an update on my weight loss was last summer, which you can read here. So.... To recap, two years ago I met with Mari-Etta Parrish and set about the business of becoming 'fabulous by forty'. I was thirty-seven and hovering around 200 lbs. What I didn't know at the time, was that I was in a toxic work environment, which was bringing up all kinds of issues that needed to be addressed.

I spent May 2013 - May 2014 following the plan Mari-Etta created for me, and it worked! I went from 198 lbs to 175 lbs. I've spent almost all of my adult life over 180 lbs, so I was real happy with 175 lbs. I thought if I worked hard, I could get to 170 lbs and that would be ah-mazing. But a lot happened around this time last year - I started seeing a therapist and I left my job. Oh! And I was training for a Half Ironman.

I lost another 10 lbs the second I was out of that job. Then I continued losing as I got closer to my race in September. I think I was at 161 lbs on race day, and then by November, was down to 159 lbs. Y'all, I haven't been under 160 lbs since I lived in NYC, and that was over a decade ago (see below).

This is from the summer of 2001. It was my first visit home after moving to NYC, and I was teeny.

I hit the two-year mark on MyFitnessPal recently, which is insane. Alas, I am not still at 159 lbs, but I am around 161-163 lbs, which is fucking remarkable considering I've spent the past three months not really working out a lot. I was pretty sure the second I quit training for Ironman 70.3 Chattanooga, I would balloon right back up to my old weight, but nope. Turns out, not true.

I did contract work for a lobbying firm this past Legislative session, which devoured my spare time. That ended last week, so now that I have my schedule back, I'm going to start working out more. I'm not "training" for anything. Whatever races I do, are going to be ones that I can do with minimal effort. I'm working on finding out what I want to be doing - more swimming, less running, more yoga, etc. - and incorporating that into my lifestyle.

2013, 2014, 2015

A friend asked me recently if it's offensive to tell someone they look great after losing weight. Personally, I'm not offended. I worked hard to lose this weight and I appreciate people acknowledging that. BUT. I didn't lose this weight because I counted calories and worked out. I lost this weight because I sought answers and I put in the work. John told me once that there are people who cheer for you while you're climbing the mountain, and there are people who cheer for you once you reach the top. I think it's fine to be in either of those two camps, but maybe just know which one you're in and be thoughtful about how your comments may be received.

Also? Not all weight loss is positive. People lose weight for all kinds of reasons - stress, sickness, sadness. The last thing you want to do is throw a, 'Hey girl, you look great!' at someone who's walking through something private and heavy.

I've opened myself up for comments on my appearance because of these blog posts, and I'm fine with that, but I'm unique. A woman who doesn't talk about her weight probably doesn't want outside commentary on it. I think, like most things, the key is compassion. If you notice someone is losing weight, and they're not publicly documenting it for the world wide web, maybe ask them how things are going as opposed to asking them what their number on the scale is.

None of this is for me. Everyone knows how much I weigh, but again, I am unique. For now, my focus is on getting back into the rhythm of regular exercise (not training) and figuring out what that is for me. Now that I'm working from home, I'm also trying to eat healthier. I have access to whatever I want to eat, whenever I want to eat it, which is good and bad. Will I learn to love salads and lentils? Time will tell...

I'll turn 39 in a few weeks, which gives me a year to figure out what I want 'fabulous by forty' to look like. Cosmically, it's a huge answer, but in terms of my weight, I'd like to get down to 150 lbs or 145 lbs. I probably need to talk to Mari-Etta and tweak my plan to lose 10-15 more lbs. I may go for it. Why not?

Until next time!