What I've Done So Far...

Of course my journey is much more than what I've written, but this is a brief description of where I've come from in the last year:

Sept. '08 - Oct. '08
The number one question I get asked: what made you start losing weight? Well this is it. The picture below was taken of me in Aug. '08 and the day I saw it was the day I decided to change my life. When I made the decision to get fit and lose the weigh, the very first thing I did was look for a good workout dvd. I knew I wouldn't be comfortable going to a gym so I researched a bit and decided on Jillian Michaels' "30 Day Shred" dvd. I also bought an elliptical and these two items were the first steps for me. As far as diet, My Food Diary (MFD) really put my eating habits into perspective and I learned how to choose healthier items to eat. I worked slowly at changing my old habits and only changed one thing at a time because I wanted to make these changes permanent and last a lifetime.
End of October: 165 lbs. (down 10 lbs.)

Nov. '08 - Jan. '09
The HOLIDAY SEASON!!!! During these months, my boyfriend and I decided to make hiking a weekly thing and we've kept it up even till today. Check out my hiking blog TASG Goes Hiking.I was still continuing with "30 Day Shred" and the elliptical, and I bought another one of Jillian's sets, "The Biggest Winner" series and was rotating through the dvd's three to four times a week. In Nov. my boyfriend and I signed up for our first 13K, The Great Aloha Run, so we also started to run. I also bought the Beachbody workout program P90X but didn't start it because I wanted to lose more weight first. Diet wise I was still making my little changes and incorporating a lot more whole and clean foods and cutting out all fast-food. I started using a food scale and measuring cups for everything I ate.
End of January: 155 lbs. (down 20 lbs.)

Feb. '09 - April '09
February 16 was the date of the Great Aloha Run and we ran and completed it in 1:45:00 minutes... 13 minute miles which isn't bad at all! In Feb. I started a different Beachbody program, ChaLean Extreme (CLX). I bought it and used it before P90X because CLX is geared as a weight-loss program, where P90X is not, however I did start P90X in April after CLX. I also decided to try the "100 Push-Up Challenge": got no where near reaching 100 push ups but 30 perfect form push-ups was a lot more than the 5 I started the program with! Diet wise I have changed it up and I am trying to follow a 40 carb/30 protein/20 fat ratio diet.

Last but not least, I started this blog in April and have continued (obviously!) till today!
End of April: 145 lbs. (down 31 lbs.)

May '09 - Oct. '09
Still working hard and exercising consistently but the at-home environment was getting to me so at the end of May, the boyfriend and I joined a gym. I hired a personal trainer to help perfect my form with weight-lifting and absolutely loved the sessions. In September I made my one-year anniversary and celebrated it with a 365-mile Challenge which was a huge success! Food wise I've really tightened up my diet but it could still use a lot more improvement... constantly learning new things!
End of October: 135 lbs. (down 40 lbs)

Nov. '09 - Dec. '10
Maintained my weight-loss and exercise program but started to get frustrated with the plateau I was in.  I made a decision (a bad decision) to start the HCG diet around May and within a month I was down 10 lbs and reached a low of 127 lbs... but by the end of December I had gained it all back plus almost 20 lbs more, putting me back up at 155 lbs.

End of December: 155 lbs. (down 20 lbs.)

Jan '11 - Nov. '11
New Year = new me.  For the first half of the year I lost a total of about 5 lbs.... that's it because  I wasn't really motivated to get back into a full exercise program but I was determined to stop gaining weight.  Second half of the year I luckily got my exercise motivation back.   Fat has steadily started to fall off since I've been consistent with my workouts AND nutrition and so far I'm down 15 of the 20 lbs. regained.
End of November: 140 lbs. (down 35 lbs.)

Dec. '11 - May '12
So much has taken place during these 6 months.  Started powerlifting, ran my second Great Aloha Run, reached the "50 lbs. lost" milestone, and by the end of May, I switched my fitness goals to bodybuilding!  LOTS of work to do but so excited about it!

End of May:  126 lbs. (down 50 lbs.)