Monday, March 12, 2012

Welcome!

Hey guys, I'm Kristen. I'm starting this blog to help document my weight loss and my training to complete a half marathon in February 2013. I'm 22 and a junior in college in Virginia. Here's a little bit of info on my weight. I danced all through grade school and my first two years out of high school as well as taught dance for several studios. I was never thin but I was a healthy and curvy 150 lbs. Back then, I would have given anything to get into the 130s. Fast forward a few years...I decided to really focus on college and pursue a career in early childhood special education. I moved by myself into an apartment and had no time for dance as well as settled into a mostly sedentary lifestyle. I like to cook, but I found myself eating a TON of fast food for no reasons other than convenience and taste. Over the past three years, I've gained 75 pounds. Yep, 75. I know it's a lot and it's gross.


Being overweight is both physically and mentally hard. When I wake up in the mornings, my joints ache from all of the extra weight I'm putting on them. I get heartburn almost nightly due to unhealthy eating habits. I am out of breath after a few minutes of activity. I have developed some anxiety and my self-esteem has been depleted due to my weight. 


I hate being fat. I hate not looking good in any of my clothes and having to purchase jeans from the plus-size store. I hate letting food cravings dictate my health and feeling addicted to unhealthy food. I hate that my boyfriend has gained weight and feel that I am partially at fault for his health as well.


So today all of that changes!  I joined a gym and have a personal trainer. He knows my fitness goal - to run the Disney Princess Half Marathon in February 2013. He says it's totally doable and a great goal. He has created a training plan for me which includes cardio and weight training as well as "fun" classes of Zumba and Bodypump. I had day one of my workouts today and I feel great. 


As far as eating, I'm trying to teach myself to eat intuitively with as many whole foods as possible. I don't want to become obsessed with calories or points so I plan to just eat carefully. After a month or so, I'll assess. If it isn't working, I will count WW Points Plus. But for now, I'm just trying to control my eating.


My ultimate weight loss goal is 149. As I said before, I weighed in the 150s since high school. To cross into that 140 mark would be beyond anything that I wan imagine right now. I'm only going to do monthly weigh-ins because I don't want to get hung up on weight - I want to be healthy.


So basically that's me in a nutshell! Time for class :)