Of course, once I got home, I told others. I texted Pete: "[goal weight], bitch". And updated my Facebook status: "I have reached my goal!!!!!! I was 12 years old when I last weighed today's weight...if you knew me then, you have an idea of what I look like now, only with better hair, a better rack and much better attitude :)". Tracy and Char snapped a few pictures and I posted pics to accompany the status update (which you can see below). The comments and notes in Facebook and in real life from friends were truly amazing - tons of congratulations and so many kind, wonderful, nice and encouraging words.
And in one of those wonderful coincidences, I was headed to the Herb Farm that evening! Really, the most perfect way EVER for a foodie to celebrate something as momentous as reaching my goal weight after months of hard work. Yes, a few champagne glasses were clinked, truffles were savored and wine was enjoyed (never fear, I'll write more in another posting).
So, some numbers to share:
- Total weight lost: From my highest weight (in May), 48 pounds, and from the start of the program, 40 pounds.
- Time: I started 20/20 on July 8. I'll "officially" finish on Feb 1. Although, I'll never really finish.
- Size: I shrunk from a 16/XL to an 8/medium. Sometimes, I wear a small!
- Clothing Donations: 8 grocery bags have already been donated, five more are filled and need to be sorted, and I still have two drawers of clothes to sort, which will probably fill at least 1 or 2 more bags.
- Running: I shaved about 2 minutes off of my (comfortable) mile run time, going from about 11:30 to 9:30. I can't quite tell you how much my endurance has shot up, but at this point, a 6 mile run is very, very doable. When boot camp starts up again in April, I'm planning to run with the alphas and bravos (the faster running groups, versus the slower charlie group).
And some favorite quotes/moments along the way:
- "Schelley, you're in great shape. I can tell because you're not sweating enough." - Billy, my sports conditioning instructor. When class ended, I headed out for a 4 mile run.
- "I kept trying to tempt her. But she always refused. It didn't matter, I was going to take it away anyways." - The always encouraging Pete. But when I really needed the treat, he made sure I got some, and always, always let me take a drink of whatever he was drinking.
- "I miss the old Schelley, the one who drank." - many, many people
- "You are an athlete now." - Matt, my personal trainer
- "Schelley, you are pure muscle." - My Aunt Jan, while hiking behind me
- "Um, every time I see you, you shrink." - many, many people
- "You are an inspiration!" - many, many people. And if you know me, "inspiring" is not the adjective most likely to be used to describe me. But I'll go with it.
Now, the really, really hard part starts: maintain, maintain, maintain, or in other words, keep the weight off. The long-term statistics are scary. About half of 20/20 alum regain the weight. Does this number seem low? Actually, it's incredibly impressive - 95% of Weight Watchers/Diet Center/insert name of weight loss program participants regain the weight. The road to reach my goal weight has been tough...the road to maintain it is even tougher. The good news is that the longer I maintain my weight, the easier it gets. And by "longer", I mean years.
I have put plans in place. I'll work out with my trainer weekly. Sports Conditioning in the winter and Boot Camp in the summer are a fundamental part of my life, and luckily, 11 years of making it to the gym multiple times a week means that any sort of slacking with exercise will be difficult. I'll continue checking in with my nutritionist quarterly. I have monthly check-in questions for myself. I'm planning to do some half marathon/marathons, and know that if I want to continue running and pushing myself, I can't gain the weight. Plus, most of the size 16 clothes are gone. If I gain, I have nothing to wear, and replacing an entire wardrobe is not cheap.
