I have slowed down over the last two weeks to make sure I give my body time to recover. As much as I preach about listening to your body, I sure do suck at it. Back injuries are no joke. I've given myself time to heal and I'm back in the game starting today.
I found the absolute BEST health blog of all time. I think I enjoy it so much because the author is around my age and has a passion for running. She is hilarious, insightful, and her advice and workouts are superb! Check out Katy Grace here: Fit Personality
She did a Q&A with one of her readers discussing the changes that happen to your body when you finally kick the weight to the curb and begin to physically see the progress you've been so desperately working toward. No one is asking me any questions but I thought it would be fun to talk about! It might also give you a little extra boost of motivation to think about what's in store for you once you begin your transformation.
For women, the first thing to go are the chesticles. Women fitness magazines and websites preach, preach, preach about increasing cardio workouts if you are a woman trying to lose weight. I did as I was told and began step aerobics and kick boxing 3-4 times per week. I am sure I've talked about my love for both activities. If you have never done either, you should be forewarned that there is an awful lot of bouncing involved in both, so naturally, there is a great deal of bouncing taking place in the chest area. Those things just bounce away. There's nothing you can do to avoid it, so if you are particularly fond of your lady lumps, you are out of luck!
The next thing to change drastically was my face. I get such a kick out of looking through old pictures and pictures along my weight loss journey because it's like my face is literally melting away. I was never fond of my chin when I was large and in charge. My face is shaped like a crescent moon and I never thought my chin was meant to be part of such an oddly shaped face.
Here is a picture that I made about two years into my transformation. The first picture was taken in 2007, and the next one in 2009.
I found the absolute BEST health blog of all time. I think I enjoy it so much because the author is around my age and has a passion for running. She is hilarious, insightful, and her advice and workouts are superb! Check out Katy Grace here: Fit Personality
She did a Q&A with one of her readers discussing the changes that happen to your body when you finally kick the weight to the curb and begin to physically see the progress you've been so desperately working toward. No one is asking me any questions but I thought it would be fun to talk about! It might also give you a little extra boost of motivation to think about what's in store for you once you begin your transformation.
For women, the first thing to go are the chesticles. Women fitness magazines and websites preach, preach, preach about increasing cardio workouts if you are a woman trying to lose weight. I did as I was told and began step aerobics and kick boxing 3-4 times per week. I am sure I've talked about my love for both activities. If you have never done either, you should be forewarned that there is an awful lot of bouncing involved in both, so naturally, there is a great deal of bouncing taking place in the chest area. Those things just bounce away. There's nothing you can do to avoid it, so if you are particularly fond of your lady lumps, you are out of luck!
The next thing to change drastically was my face. I get such a kick out of looking through old pictures and pictures along my weight loss journey because it's like my face is literally melting away. I was never fond of my chin when I was large and in charge. My face is shaped like a crescent moon and I never thought my chin was meant to be part of such an oddly shaped face.
Here is a picture that I made about two years into my transformation. The first picture was taken in 2007, and the next one in 2009.
My brow was so heavy when I was overweight. My nose was even bigger. You can't really tell it in the first picture, but I had a pretty serious double chin.
Here is a pretty recent picture of my face.
My apple cheeks are less apple-y, and I feel like my eyes have gotten bigger with less weight forcing them down.
You don't really think about how much weight you carry in your face. It's evident to me that I lost it in my forehead, cheeks, nose, and chin.
Obviously, you're abdomen is going to change. That's the point, right? During my high school years, my not-so-guilty pleasures were ice cream, sodas, fast food, and candy. I consumed ALL of these things almost everyday, so there was never any wonder as to why I was SO overweight.
This was taken in 2005, my senior year of high school. Pre-college days, so I wasn't even at my heaviest in this picture. As you can see, my stomach is pouring out of my skirt over the top of my waistline. The day I could fit my jeans over my stomach, I cried. I didn't understand the importance of toning while losing weight. I really did myself a disservice by not working on my core. I'll get there. I'm still a work in progress.
One of the most important things for me was losing the weight in my arms. Let's take a look at these bad boys, circa 2007.
I cringe every time I look at this picture.
Absolutely no definition. I wore tank tops, against my better judgement, and my sweet friends never had the heart to tell me just how terrible I looked in them. I think I even wore a strapless dress once. My friends are obviously not shallow people. When I first began working out, I lifted very rarely. Pinterest didn't exist at that time. I really didn't have a solid understanding of what I needed to be doing to lose weight, I just knew that cardio was working, so I stuck to it. If I could go back in time, I would have lifted like a machine. Now that I have shed a good portion of the weight in my arms, I lack the definition I so desperately want and struggle to tone the skin underneath. I can tell my strength has improved, but I could have beautifully sculpted arms had I invested in them from the beginning. Learn from my mistakes, people. Ladies, you will not bulk up like a man from lifting weights. DO IT!
Everything changes when you lose weight. Everything. I have found it difficult to accept this new woman occupying my body because I don't recognize her. It's exciting and scary at the same time.
This post is probably a little vain. It is always fun to look back at old pictures when I feel like I don't have any more fight left in me. When I'm knee deep in Halloween candy wrappers and wallowing in self-loathing and regret, I look back at these to remind myself why I started in the first place. I wasn't healthy. I was on a death march living that life. I can't imagine myself now had I not opened my eyes to the terrible road I was headed down.
It takes time, a lot of time, but it is always worth it in the end. Do it slowly. Crash diets are only temporary because you don't have time to learn to be healthy.
I've said it before: it's a lifestyle change.
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