The Beginning of A New Journey

On August 26, 2012, I began the journey to be healthy.  It started because I was in the worst shape of my life.  Approximately 4 weeks away from turning 35, I felt like I had developed some symptoms of Diabetes (which runs in my family), I was sweaty all the time, and I hated the way I looked.  I could not look at myself naked in the mirror because I was so disgusted.

The journey began fairly simply.  I started working out (doing a Tae Bo DVD) and keeping track of what I ate via MyFitnessPal.  In addition, I gave up alcohol for the first 4 weeks of this journey.  This worked extremely well!  I lost 5 pounds the first week which gave me the confidence I needed to stay on this path.  We started a Biggest Loser competition at work and by the end of November, I had lost nearly 25 pounds (yes, I won that edition).

I eventually plateaued and gained some weight around the holidays, but I started 2013 with a renewed vigor to drop the weight.  By March of 2013, I has lost an additional 17 pounds and was down a total of 42 pounds.  I realized that I needed to do something different because I was getting bored with my workout.  I joined LA Fitness, which had recently opened in Buffalo, NY, and set some goals.

The weight continued to slowly melt away.  By the time I celebrated a year on this fitness path, I was down 73 pounds.  I had gone down 10 inches in my waist (42 to 32).  I have had to buy a whole new wardrobe (I'll post about that soon) and the amount of positive feedback I've gotten has been overwhelming.  I am about 17 pounds away from my goal, but I have never felt better.

I have much more to share about this journey and I hope that I will be able to provide some inspiration to any of you that are on similar paths---or are considering beginning one.

I can also be reached at collingehlfitness@gmail.com or follow me on twitter at https://twitter.com/collingehlfit