Beginnings Are Always the Hardest

So this is is. This is where it starts. This is where I hold myself accountable for everything I put in my mouth and every ounce of sweat I earn at the gym. I need to get serious. I’ve wanted to join the Army for a long time now. But for some reason I never had enough motivation to lose the weight so I always just gave up on the dream.

I’m 26 now. There’s no more room to give up. I need to do it by the end of the year, or it’s not going to happen. Eventually I’m going to be too old to join. So here it goes. The part where I put one foot in front of the other, and start the hardest journey of my life.

I can't even believe I'm putting this number out there... but according to military height and weight standards....I have 88 pounds to lose … AT LEAST (or get down to less than 30% body fat, which ever comes first). Let’s round it out to an even 90 because I like whole numbers… For my height (all 5’1″ of me) the Army says I can be no heavier than 137lbs or 30% body fat. I just stepped off the scale … it says I weigh 221.2, so ok that’s what only 85 pounds? That’s still a MASSIVE amount. If I want to do that by the end of the year it’s almost 9 pounds a month, consistently, through the holidays, through summer BBQs, everything. The one good thing I have motivating me is that in July 2012… I weighed 245 pounds… so I have lost almost 25 & kept it off at least… I just need to get back on track.

I’ve been nursing a back injury & am just getting back into my semi-normal routine back at the gym, although this time around...I'm going more often, and for longer. I will no longer be held back by fear of looking like I dont know what I'm doing, or embarassment that I'm not as skinny or in shape as that girl over there, because one day, I will be, and they'll be calling me Ma'am.

My biggest problem is that I LOVE food. I grew up in a very Italian family. If something good happened, we ate, if something bad happened.. we ate. And we ate hearty foods, pastas and stews, stuff I probably have to REALLLLLLY stay away from.

This blog is going to hopefully be a way to keep me honest about how my progress. The ups and downs. I’m not going to hold anything back. I'm going to try to stay positive, and try NOT to step on my scale every morning.... because that will just drive me bonkers. I'm going to remember that muscle weighs more than fat, and that cardio IS in fact my friend.. no matter how much I hate it.