I've Lost Something...

I have officially lost 40 pounds!

I have not participated in any special diets.

I have not starved myself. 

I have eaten cake, cookies, ice cream, potato chips, and pizza.

I have been lazy and skipped workouts.

I have not been perfect.

But I have still lost 40 pounds! Nine months ago I would not have even thought that I had 40 extra pounds to lose. But I have learned so much about myself, my body, and my health. I've learned to listen to my body and I feed it when I'm hungry or I skip a workout if I know I'm feeling too tired. 

The most important thing I have learned is that you do not have to be 100% perfect with your eating to live a healthy life. As I have mentioned before, I am an avid supporter of the 80/20 rule! It has worked so well for me and Josh. You can be healthy and you can still go out for a beer and nachos with your friends and you can still celebrate your birthday with a huge piece of chocolate cake. You can even still sneak an afternoon Oreo or two! That's what a sustainable lifestyle looks like! It just isn't realistic for me personally to say that I will give up all junk food for the rest of my life. Because I won't. I love ice cream too much. And nachos. And cupcakes. And french fries...

What IS realistic is to say that I will make good choices 80% of the time and still enjoy those things 20% of the time. Is that an exact division of my time every week? No. But it's a good general rule. I definitely don't want to sound like I think I am an expert, I just know what has worked for us over the last nine months. 

I really am proud of myself and I feel the best I think I have ever felt in my adult life. I no longer get frequent stomach aches like I used to and I definitely have more energy. I used to feel crappy all the time. I can't say this with absolute certainty, but I'm pretty convinced that my poor diet was affecting my mood a lot.

I am still a work in progress and this is not something that has a finish line. I am really trying to create healthy habits that I can carry throughout the rest of my life. 

Here's to hoping I never find those 40 pounds again! They can stay lost. :)