Last April I made the best phone call I’ve made in a long time.  I made an appointment to see a Nutritionist.  I was at my whits end – I was at one of the best fitness levels in my life (except when I was played sports in HS and College) and not losing any weight – and in fact I was gaining weight – something had to be done!!

If I’m honest with myself – the weight gain started in 2001 – 2003 when I was traveling quite a bit for work and had no real workout routine – I was working crazy, crazy hours and just not eating right.  I had a short stint where I lost some weight and I was in NYC at least twice a week for work where I walked everywhere – which helped.  Then in 2005, I bought a condo, moved further south (so my NYC trips declined) and my job changed (not that I haven’t gone through a lot of job changes at work) – there was just less and less time for ME.  I think I finally had enough and started BP in 2007  / 2008 (not sure of the timing).  I loved the workouts and all the great people I met.  I’ll be honest I wasn’t a fan of the timing – 6 am workouts (wake-ups at 5:15 am) and I’m not really a morning person.  I’d do really well during the transformations but then they would be over and I’d get bored or just talk myself out of getting up in the morning (I was pretty good at it too).  I stopped eating many processed foods, eating fast food and not going out to dinner as much but I still wasn’t losing weight.

Now fast forward to last spring during the Spring transformation and there was a special guest speaker – a nutritionist set to speak to all of us.  I was traveling for work and wasn’t sure I was going to make it – my trainer – really encouraged me to go (she thought it would really help me – Thank You Anna!!).  I made changes the next day after the seminar – I went from 3 meals and two snacks to 3 meals a day (with that 3 pm craving still there).  I finally got around to making an appointment in April – the date was set for early May 2012.

I got on the scale and I was the heaviest I’ve even been in my life (and I will never see that # again) at that first appointment.  Quite honestly, I’m too embarrassed that I let it get so out of control that I still can’t even put that number on this blog! (and probably never will!)

After that first meeting in May 2012 – my nutritionist started treating me as pre-diabetic so no more than 30 grams of carbs per meal, protein and veggies at every meal.  No salads as a meal and NO FRUIT (due to the sugar).  The first month I lost 6 lbs.  I did start having energy issues – I don’t recall if it was in June or later in the summer (as I reflect back – it was probably the start of my Lyme disease symptoms and I thought it was my body adapting to my new eating pattern).  I’ve gone every month for the last year – most months I’ve lost weight – had a little bit of a hiccup in December/January and got back on track.  We’ve adjusted what I’ve been eating so 1.  I don’t feel like I’m missing out (i.e. I went to 5 of 6 PSU home games this past fall and I tailgated – ironically the fall had some good weight loss mths) 2. Removed carbs from breakfast as I’m very carb sensitive (this was the past 2 mths). 3.  Eat when I’m hungry – so I don’t eat breakfast when I first get up and today I just had coffee and ate an early lunch.  Everyone is different and you have to find out what works best for you.

So why this really long blog entry and what is the deal with the title of this post??  Well I went last Thursday and I hit a milestone – I’ve lost 20 pounds!!!  I know some are reading this and thinking really – 20 lbs in a year that really isn’t that much – a year or so ago I would’ve said the same thing (heck I bet even 6 mths ago I would’ve said that).  I’ve learned a lot about myself over the past year – to be PATIENT, that this isn’t a diet and I’m making changes that will be permanent.  I actually haven’t told a lot of people – I shared my success with a few people I worked out with last Thursday over lunch and I got a little emotional.

No on to my next milestone – it is a small one, but I think a really big one for me – it is the #6!

Slow and Steady Wins the Race – I’ve posted this before and this will continue to be my mantra (although I’m not opposed to a couple of windfalls either)!  In the end this post is for me – just an opportunity to see in a year what else I’ve been able to accomplish.

Thanks for reading and remember you can do anything if you put your mind to it (oh and a little patience always helps)!!