This is my final blog on the Lighten Up journey.  I am ready for the competition to end to be honest.  6 months is a long time.  But it has also given me the right amount of motivation to keep pushing forward with my exercising and eating healthy.  I have not posted a gain any month during this competition and I am pretty sure this will be the month that I do.  I am right at where I was last month, but not sure I will show a loss.  I will be disappointed if I post a gain, but overall I am very pleased with my progress.  I had a 10lb 11oz baby (my 3rd child) 1 year ago July 6th.  On Monday at my final health assessment, I learned I had lost 3 1/2 inches off of my waste, 1 1/2 inches off my hips and another inch off my thighs.  That is a great loss!  I will take that over weight loss any day!  I consider that a victory!

 

Another victory I celebrated this past weekend was running my first ever Johnnycake Jog with my sister.  We both ran the entire race and finished at 51:11 and 51:18 respectively!  We are even talking about training for a 10K or 10 miler next summer. 

 

I hope that I do not fall off the bandwagon after the competition is over.  I am currently in my normal weight range that I have been in for the past several years.  And I am good with that.  Lighten Up helped me shed the last of my baby weight and gave me the motivation to get healthy again!

 

Sarah

Only 2 more weeks in the competition!  As it draws to an end, one thing I really want to focus on is being happy and content with who I am and what I weigh.  It is just a number on the scale.  I think so many people get so caught up with the number on the scale.  But what really matters to me is if I am happy with who I am, inside and out.  It is an everyday, constant battle.  But I am exactly who God created me to be and to not love who I am would be not loving something God created.  I still want to strive to be healthy and eat right and excercise.  But I need to know that it is ok if I am not perfect or a size 2! 

I have been slacking off lately with my exercise.  I miss going to the YMCA 2 - 3 nights a week for their classes.  You get in such a good rhythm that it is hard to get back into it when you get out of it.  I just feel that I would rather sleep in and spend time with my kids then work out these days.  Plus, I think I have developed shin splints somehow so that makes running / working out painful.  My sister and I are running the Johnnycake Jog in 2 weeks so I have to workout some so I can finish the race!  3 more weeks until the final weigh-in.

There is one more month to go in the Lighten Up Competition.  So far I have lost 12.4lbs.  Not too bad.  I hope to lose at least 15 by the time it is all over.  I have told myself to step it up and lost the last 3.6lbs to make it to 150 overall.  That would put me at a 16lb weight loss.  I thought I could do more, but have lacked the drive to make it happen.  I am happy with where I am at so that is all that matters!