A little success...

So, every woman goes through trials and tribulations with their weight at some point in their life.  I, like many have had issues about my body since middle school.   I have gone through minor ups and downs with my weight at stereotypical times, when I went to college I gained the freshman fifteen... 

When I moved to FL one year after graduating from college, I was quite fit.  I life guarded as a part time job and on my time off spent as much time swimming/walking outside as I could.  For many years I lived a few blocks from the beach which led to a great active lifestyle.

Who wouldn't work out when your gym looked like this?

The lifestyle in FL lends to being healthy.  Besides you are in a bathing suit half the time so you want to look good...

Since I have left FL I have had a hard time keeping up the activity level (and down the calorie level).  Over the 18 months or so I have put on a whopping 37 lbs.  

A bathroom accessory I have not loved lately

My husband and I joined a gym in January in England, but we were not seeing much success.  We were working out 4 times a week and not enjoying it.  It was just not the right routine for us.  When we came to the States in May we pretty much took the week off, we went for a couple of walks but the weather was very wet and we spent more time getting pampered than working hard.  It was after all, a vacation. 

As the weather warmed, I could really see the effect all the comfort food and hibirnation activity level had on my body as my clothes were just not fitting anymore, quite an unsettling feeling.   I joined the gym in PA which I was a member of for a couple of months last year when I lived with my parents between leaving Florida and moving to England. 

When I first joined, I went to a couple of aqua fit classes, but was not overly motivated.  I had a meeting with one of the trainers, a complimentary feature for all new members.  I know the motivation behind it is to pay into the service long term, but went into it knowing that I was not going to buy in simply because my time in the States was so questionable.  So I went in making sure that I could learn as much as possible in our short meeting so that it could carry through. While in FL I had a few work outs, but nothing serious,  I didn't always have a car, and enjoyed my time with my friends.  Work outs were not my priority. 

When I returned to PA, I had a refreshed attitude towards working out and eating.  I made it to aquafit 3 times and took my first Pillates class (one step beyond my video at home).  Since then, I have been super motivated and go almost daily.  I missed yesterday, but spent most of the day outside chasing my 2 year old nephew around. 

While I don't weigh myself daily, I do check in a couple of times a month.  Enough to make sure I am not still putting weight on, not enough to get discouraged if I have not lost any.  This morning I had a pleasant surprise.  While for the nearly 8 weeks I have been in the States, I have not lost any weight, today 7 lbs down from my last weigh in.  At only 5 foot tall, 7 lbs is a huge difference in my physical size.  And although there is still quite a way to go, it is a great motivational step to keep going.

I can say from experience the only valid way to loose weight and keep it off is to decrease your calorie intake and increase your calorie out put... simply eat better and get more active.  I hope I can keep it up when I go back to England and I don't have the sunny weather to continue to motivate me.