Before and After 40

I am still at 40lbs down and holding!  I have been working out with a personal trainer once a week since March and although the scale hasn't moved I have dropped another pant size due to "trimming the fat".  I am not complaining there! 

When I started to loose the weight a  lot of people kept saying "Wow you lost a lot of weight in your face.  I didn't think your face was that big."  I think these pictures below of the before and after truly show that.

I officially went from a size 12 (probably should have been a 14 but I refused to buy a 14) and now I am a 6!  It took me from May 17, 2011 till a little before March 15, 2012 to reach my goal of 40lbs. 

It amazes me how much I let myself go considering how hard you have to work to take it off.  During the 10 months it took me to loose the weight, I had set milestones up so that I would push myself to get to a certain weight lost by that certain date.  Most of the dates dealt with vacations.  Heather helped me to the first one because we were headed on vacation with each other to the OBX and we both wanted to loose 15lbs by then.  Although I missed each of my milestones by a few pounds and ultimately didn't reach my goal by Christmas which was our trip to Hawaii I was damn close and ultimately felt good about me and who I was then. 

How did I do it?  Running lots of miles.  It started with barely going out for 2 miles and then slowly adding on and on until I hit my max mileage of 8 miles in August 2011 and it felt great!  I did watch my portion sizes but not once would I not have dessert or that something special because in my mind you need to enjoy life and I refuse to "give up" the things that I truly enjoy.   

Today I still set goals which help me going.  I recently completed my first ever half-marathon, I still work out with the personal trainer once a week at my house, I still go out running, I still watch my portions although I don't eat nearly as much because now my stomach gets full quicker as it is used to smaller portions and I still eat and drink that things that I enjoy.  It is the balance that I keep to enjoy life and keep healthy. 

What is the next milestone?  Scott and I are talking about running the NYC half marathon in March as long as it falls before our trip to Hawaii.