Laying It All On The Line

In my last post I told you about my new year's resolution to weigh less than 120 pounds by the end of the year. It has been a very long time since I have been anywhere close to that weight, but never in my life have I been so far away as I am right now, so this is what you might call a real "shoot for the stars" goal. Now for the moment of truth: I lay before your eyes my "before" stats, with a promise to you and to myself that my "after" stats, come December 31, 2014, will be significantly lower, come what may.

• Weight as of 1/1/2014: 179.2 pounds
• Body fat % (according to my not-so-accurate but fairly consistent scale): 43.3%
• Measurements:
• Waist: 41.5"
• Hips: 44"
• Chest: 42.2"
• Right Arm: 13.8
• Left Arm: 14.5
• Right Thigh: 22.5
• Left Thigh:  22.8

As you may have noticed, I will need to drop at least 60 pounds during the year in order to reach my goal. No problem. That averages to only 5 pounds per month, and I feel completely confident that I can meet and even exceed that amount. It won't be easy, of course, but I am not afraid to work for it.
And whether I succeed or not, I will not stop working and learning and progressing, so whatever that scale says come year-end, I will be a success.

So what is your "shoot for the stars" goal? Do you want it bad enough to work for it, every single day? Come and take this journey with me, and we'll enjoy the adventure together (which is, of course, much better than going it alone)! See you on the road to realizing our dreams!

January 4th and so far so good...

Well, my friends, we have reached the first weekend of our new year already! How is it looking for you so far? For me, it's a pretty good sight! Did you make new year's resolutions? I did, of course, because as you may or may not know, setting goals is one of my favorite things to do. I wish I could say that achieving goals is one of my favorite things to do, but I have to admit that I don't have very much experience with that part...yet!

Anyway, new year's resolutions. So, I have a very big resolution this year--well, one of 3 or 4 big resolutions. I am trying really hard to not over-resolute (is that a word???) like I have done so many times in the past. I am still aiming very high, as in years past, but I am limiting the number of big goals I set for myself. Anyway, back to the point (I feel like I keep getting off topic today--did anyone else notice that?). One of my new year's resolutions this year is to weigh less than 120 pounds by December 31, 2014. Now, before anyone jumps to criticize or judge my new year's resolution (I emphasize the my because I believe everyone has the right to set their own goals, free from others' judgments, so whether you think my goal is good or bad or awesome or unreachable or whatever, it's my goal so please leave me alone to set and work toward it as I choose), let me assure you that I have thought about this a lot, and I feel great about it, very optimistic, and yes, I can reach this in a healthy manner (no starvation or deprivation diets of any kind). Also, I would like to emphasize that health and skinniness are not synonymous, and I only chose to focus on weight because it is easily measured and wraps up in a nice, neat package several diet and lifestyle changes I would like to implement (permanently) over the next year. In any case, what I wanted to say about it is this: I want to not just share this resolution with all my blog readers, but I want to share my journey over the coming year as I take steps to actually realize this grand goal. I hope that by sharing my triumphs and my struggles, and with the support of my readers, I will find the strength and the courage to make better choices for myself and my body, and I will be successful. And this week, I am successful!

Thanks for reading! Come visit next week for more, including my "before" stats and more details about the daily journey. I hope you will join me and begin your own journey toward better health and overall wellness!