Goodbye 2008!

It is almost the new year and I was looking back on my post at this time last year. I wrote about where I was at and my goals for the coming year. I decided I should post something similar this year as its nice to look back and realize how far I have come and set some new goals for myself.

Last year at this time, I was just really coming to terms with the fact that I was actually doing this. I had already lost around 25 pounds and was seeing the results in how I looked and felt. I had made it through the big holidays (Thanksgiving and Christmas) and the closing of my LA Weight Loss Center. I was beginning 2008 doing this on my own. I had set these goals for myself:

-Get more exercise in.
-Continue making healthy choices when eating out at restaurants or hanging out with friends
-Dont get frustrated when I see a gain on the scale
-Use every resource I have to continue this fight to lose weight on my own now that LAWL has closed
-Make it to 160!!

Here is how I think I did this year:

-Get more exercise in. This was the year I definitely challenged myself with exercise. I was doing so well on the scale but not so well with exercise. Using the Healthy You Challenge, I challenged myself to exercise at least 2 times a week. I think overall this year, I did pretty awesome. Some weeks I didnt make it to 2 times, but others I exceeded by exercising 3-5 times. I came to see the importance of exercise in weight loss, and found some exercises I really enjoyed, such as Pilates.

-Continue making healthy choices when eating out at restaurants or hanging out with friends. This is probably the goal that I still need the most work on. I do make healthy choices most of the time when I go out, but I also realized that I shouldnt stress myself with these types of events and worry so much about the food that will be there or the choices I will have. I do the best that I can with the food that is there and have realized I cannot control everything so I might as well enjoy msyelf.

-Dont get frustrated when I see a gain on the scale. This was a big goal I had set for myself and Im pleased that finally, I was able to get to the point where I didnt let a gain on the scale ruin my entire day. I did spend about half of the year being upset by gains, but once I reached my goal and into a plateau that has lasted about 5 months, I finally was able to accept a gain or a maintain, and realize its not the end of the world, rather something I just need to work that much harder to overcome.

-Use every resource I have to continue this fight to lose weight on my own now that LAWL has closed. I was really worried with LAWL closed, but I think I rocked this past year by myself. After all, the counselors at the center were not the ones with me most of the way, supporting me. I found support through this blog and my friends, and I think I have always been able to set myself up to succeed. In a way, Im glad I had to do this on my own because I will be doing this for the rest of my life and its my own responsibility.

-Make it to 160!! I am most happy to report I made it to my goal this year! It is such an awesome thing to have been able to achieve.

So looking back, I think I did really well this year. Its one of the first years in a long time that I can look back and realize how much I have accomplished and the fun things I did without feeling held back by my weight. I look at pictures from the fun things Ive done and dont feel ashamed and embarrassed by my weight or wish to be thinner. So without further ado, my goals for 2009:

-Exercise at least 3 times a week
-Tone my body more
-Work on accepting myself and feeling confident at the weight I am at
-Make it to 150!

Happy New Year!