One. Simple. Change.

I've named this blog "Nicole Never Ending" because I have tried for years to lose weight. This has started to feel like a never ending story. I even had another blog where I chronicled my journey.  I started that blog in 2011 and stopped posting there in June of 2016.  Over the course of that blog I had lost 41 pounds.  It was great, I went from the 250's to around 211 which was the lightest I had been in my adult life.  Well, then I got pregnant and all that progress was lost.  I had wanted so desperately to get pregnant so I was happy and I gave up on my weight loss journey...again...  In March of 2016 we moved to a farm and living on the farm was great for me.  It had always been a dream of mine to have a farm/homestead and become more self sufficient.  I tried in June of 2016 to get back on the wagon so to say and start getting healthy again.  At that time I was 265 pounds.  At my heaviest I was about 271.

I fell into a pattern where I would lose weight in the summer because I had time to work out, I ate better because I was eating more salads and veggies, and I drank more water.  Then, I would go back to work and it would get colder.  I would stop drinking as much water, I didn't have time to work out, and I started eating heavier foods.  Therefore, from fall to spring I would gain back all I had lost over the summer and have to start all over again.  I stayed in this pattern for three years until the summer of 2019.

On June 2nd 2019 I started my normal summer routine.  However, this time I made one simple change that has lead me on the most amazing journey of my life. I decided to drink water all day except for a cup of coffee, or two,  in the morning and sweet tea at dinner.  At that time I weighed 264 pounds.  To my utter shock I started losing weight, and a pretty good bit of weight, just by doing this!  I weigh and record my weight once a week, on Saturday morning.  In the first week of doing this I went from 264 to 259.  In a month I had lost 14 pounds and was at 250.  I was in total shock.  I realize that some, if not most or all of this was water weight.  Over this summer I made some other simple decisions.  I decided to cut back on sugar and carbs.  I didn't count calories, I didn't really log my food, I just paid attention to what I was eating and when.  I say I cut back because I still had sugar and carbs but not in the quantities I had in the past.  That cup of sweet tea at dinner was like a reward at the end of every day.  I also had two cups of coffee every other day.  That was also a reward and something to look forward to.  After a few weeks of drinking water all day I decided to once again start Couch to 5K.  This is an app I've used for years, but again, only through the summer.  I thought, "Well, I've had great success with the water thing why not add in some exercise and at least get moving through the summer?"  By August I had lost almost 20 pounds.  I also started working out on my mom's Boflex, I realize that building muscle is also an important part of getting healthy.  In August I went back to work and I know from my past that this is a critical time.  I made a decision that this year would be different.  I WOULD NOT give up on myself this time.  I WOULD NOT allow myself to quit and lose this progress.  There were times I literally had to force myself to exercise after work. In September I got myself a Fitbit Versa to help me track my activity and continue to stay on track.  By October I was down to 221, a loss of over 40 pounds!  In early November I actually ran a 5k with a friend of mine!  I was so proud of myself.

The next obstacle I faced was the upcoming holidays.  I knew Thanksgiving and Christmas would be rough.  I was very glad I had so much progress under my belt.  At the beginning of November I was down to 211, which is about where I was when I stopped in the past.  Again, I was determined that this year, this time, would be different and I would not lose this progress.  I continued to drink my water, I used my Fitbit to track my steps, I didn't always get 10,000 but I tried to get pretty close.  On Thanksgiving morning I went for my run, I had downloaded a new app, Couch to 10k, to work toward a new goal.  I have really found that doing my run can be fun and relaxing.  It has been harder to keep up with doing the Boflex but I still make myself do it on occasion.  By Thanksgiving I was at 202 pounds.  SO CLOSE to One-der land!  I was realistic though, I had given myself a 5 pound window for the holidays.  I was not going to beat myself up for gaining weight over the holidays but I was going to focus on not going crazy and gaining too much weight.  Over Thanksgiving I went up to 205 pounds.  Afterwards I got right back on track, eating less sugar and carbs, making sure I was drinking my water and staying active.  Surprisingly, I quickly lost this weight and was back down to 201 by early December.  All of this was completely new to me, being this small, being able to lose the weight again so quickly, not over eating but not feeling deprived.  So many new experiences.  On December 14th I finally made it to One-der land at 198. 

So Very Excited!!  I have made it through Christmas, went up to 201, didn't beat myself up, didn't binge and give it all up, stayed the course.  So, here we are, I've made it to New Year's Day and I'm back down to 198 lbs.  Since my starting weight, my heaviest of 271, I've lost 73 pounds.  73 POUNDS ya'll!!  It is so crazy to think about. I've decided for the new year I'm simply recommitting to stay on track.  I've joined Planet Fitness so I can continue to do my run when the weather turns really cold and sucky in February and March.  I'm also looking forward to using some of their weight machines to do exercises I can't do on the Boflex.  I have a 10k, yes, a 10k, in February that I'm currently working toward and ultimately I hope to reach my goal weight of 175 by March, or at least by June, of this year.