Me - July 4, 2013

Me - July 4, 2013

I never took an official before picture, so today I did. It is not officially a before. I have already lost 10 lbs, but it is close enough.

I also took some measurements today. I measured my arm, thigh, waist, hips, and of course, weight. I am not yet brave enough to share these numbers with you. Right now, I will concentrate on the differences (losses).

I had never taken measurements aside from weight before, but I realized that my body will be changing in all different ways. Sometimes, my weight will not reflect some of the progress I have made, so I want others ways to measure progress. As a teacher, I never use one assignment to gauge a student's understanding, so why would I do that to myself?

I was even impressed with my reaction to the pictures. Usually when I see a picture of myself, I cringe. I wasn't ecstatic about how I look in my pictures, but it was better than I had expected. Could be the clothes, could be my growing self confidence, could be progress I have made; whatever it is, I was pleased with myself.

I found the picture below while poking around on my computer, and I can't believe the progress between that picture and the ones I took today. It has been almost 3 years since my sister's wedding, and I have not been working out or watching calories consistently the whole time, but wow, what a difference! This really boosted my confidence today. It is definitely a surprise victory!

My sister's wedding 10-1-10

So far, these blog posts have been easy to write. I think that is because they have been positive. I have made progress both physically and mentally. I hope to look back on this time when I hit a roadblock to remind myself that I can succeed. There are only good things to come in my future!