I Love The 90s!

After the tremendous success of Operation Sweaty Summer, I began Project Autumn Leans with open arms and high hopes. The first month went swimmingly well! The second and third, not so much. The overly ambitious goal of Autumn Leans was 20lbs in less than 3 months (hey, a girl can dream!). The realistic goal was 15lbs by the end of 2012. What I wound up with was 10lbs and another pant size lost.

Wanna know what's great about 1990?

19 months. 90 pounds lost. BOOM!

October was full of heavy lifting, and I can say without a doubt the weight lifting I did then is the only thing that saved this project. While the scale didn't move the way I wanted it to, my body changed in ways I certainly wasn't expecting.

595 days ago,  I was a very full size 22 pants and XXL shirt. I even had 1 pair of jeans in a 24 "just in case" I made it that far. Today, I'm rockin' L shirts, and the size 16 jeans I have (pictured below in the Sept 12 pic) are too big. I actually have a size 14 dress that I'm wearing for a New Year's party. 14. FOURTEEN!!! 

When I first started, I had all these numbers in my head of where I thought I needed to be. I never expected to be smaller than a size 18, because that was the smallest I remembered. I wanted to get back to the weight written on my 8th grade physical for volleyball. When I first tried on those 16 jeans a few months ago, I almost cried in the dressing room. I couldn't believe they fit! So much so that a week later, I was still trying to figure out, "now what?"

If there's one thing I've learned this year it's that WE are the ones who limit ourselves. WE are the ones who place us in boxes and under glass ceilings. Before I even knew what my body was capable of, I'd already placed all these arbitrary limits on what I could accomplish, simply because I was trying to get back to something I'll never be. What sense does it make for me to try and return to my 12 year old self?

I want to be a bad ass warrior goddess! I've let go of my obsession with getting back to that weight. I'm not at goal yet, but I'm thinner and more muscular than I ever was as a middle school athlete.

"Pics, or it didn't happen," as they say. I promised a progress post with pics, so here they are. Another 21 pounds to lose before May will get me to my first goal and complete the weight loss phase. And whither then, I cannot say.

Don't mind the tattoos. I was in a costume contest, haha! 

Me and my Cousin. Top pic is 2010. Bottom two pics are 2012. Between the two of us, we've lost 270 pounds! 180 for her and 90 for me!

Christmas Day 2012. 90lbs lost in 19 months.

It's been a crazy ride, that's for sure. The finish line is in sight! I have to say, I'm proud of myself for what I've been able to accomplish so far. There were definitely times where I stalled and thought, "is this as good as it gets?" But I refused to accept stagnation and pushed myself even harder. I got a bit sick toward the end of the year, but didn't let that stop me either. I'm on a "diet break" at the moment to give my body some time to recover before starting the next phase, punnily named Relentless per Professor Meeks!

Thanks, especially, to you! For your tweets, texts, messages, and all the love, support, and encouragement I've received from all over the world! I feel the love from MD, IL, CA, DC, NJ, NY, MA, WA, LA, even all the way in Oz, and of course, right here at home in Texas.

I'm not finished yet. At the end of 2011, I asked y'all to stick with me, and I'm asking you to hang in there a bit longer! I WILL have a great two year transformation story to share. Hopefully this progress post will be enough to hold you over until then. =)

My last year end post finished like this:

So here's to 2012. A year in which I plan to live by the Nike creed, JUST DO IT. I found an old blog post where I said, "2011 will be about letting go past hurts and embracing new paths." I think 2011 lived up to that. 2012 is what we make of it, y'all. So I'm pressing on! I encourage everyone to go out and MAKE 2012 YOUR year.

I believe 2012 was what I made of it! As for 2013, I think it will be the year in which my hard work pays off. I have planted plenty of good seeds in 2012 and 2013 will be time to harvest and feast! So let's not limit ourselves and our ambitions. I plan on charging into the new year full steam ahead, riding on the expectation that I will surprise myself at what I will accomplish.

Cheers!