Today marks a good milestone for me. I love a good support network, and as I actually frequent reddit, it makes sense to have support through this medium as well as in other mediums.

Some background: I am a 26 year old female, 5'6'' ish and I have been at least chubby, if not overweight, for most of my life (though like many, I look back on my high school photos with longing...) My weight ballooned in college and grad school and got to its worst point just after I graduated and was in the midst of unemployment for over a year. Thank you, recession of 2008. In the midst of this unemployment, I was overeating, eating terrible things, not being active, and generally sleeping during the day and playing WoW at night...

My husband really pushed me to be healthy. We want to have children eventually and he wanted my pregnancy to be as healthy as possible, which meant he wanted me to lose weight. That started with walks every day around our neighborhood and morphed into started a couch to 5k program in November 2009. I lost about 5lb but really didn't make any other differences.

I finally got a job in July of 2010, and then a better one in August 2010 and our couch to 5k resumed and this time with coworkers so that there was more accountability.

At my heaviest, I was 274lb. This morning I reached my 20lb milestone and I am SO excited. My goal is to lose at least 100lb, but more importantly, I want to be able to shop in normal size ranges and wear a bikini :D

A few details about how I've been doing the weight loss. The running was working, but slowly. It got to the point where nothing was changing for me. Then my husband and I moved across the country and we decided that with the move would come a complete lifestyle change. I also met with a few doctors to rule out metabolic issues and discuss a good diet. I also started a program through my husband's insurance where they have health coaches call you every other week to act as accountability and suggest ways to stay healthy. We also decided that every week, with little to no exception, we would go on a hike. You can read about that on my blog here

I completely changed my diet around and on doctor reccomendation, decided to give the Paleo diet a try. I cut out grains, dairy and processed food and allow myself as much lean meat, fruits and veggies as I want. So far, this has been working spectacularly for me, and even with eating a few carb-y things (celebrating coworkers birthday with a small piece of cake) I find I'm not eating as much as I used to. What I've been finding is my new style of eating maintains me at my weight. As soon as I add in additional exercise, my weight loss picks up again. I discovered this during periods of 'falling off the exercise wagon' and it does make me happy to know that I'm eating the best I can for me.

In addition to the hiking, before I got my new job, I was in the gym 5 days a week on the treadmill or bike for an hour every day. Now, I'm not so much at the gym, but I did just get a horse and that is a 7 day a week commitment on my part of cardio and weight lifting to keep me active for several hours a day.

And pictures! September 2010 - 5k Turtle Krawl Race

November 2010 - My first hike in the PNW

May 15 2011 - Our most recent hike

Yesterday with my horse!