In the beginning . . .

Hello! 

I've never blogged before and am not really sure how this works.  I'm a fairly shy person and I certainly don't think my words are anything special.  While it's kind of embarrassing to write about myself, I'm hoping that my journey might help others understand that 1) it is possible for grossly overweight people to lose weight without surgery or drugs, and 2) it is possible to transform one's life at any age.  This blog has also given me a chance to think things through as I transitioned from who I was to who I am.

When I first started exercising, I had a hard time finding stories about overweight people being involved in endurance sports, even completing a 5k's.  The few that I did find (all written by men) were incredibly inspiring.  However, I also noticed that while many of the writers started blogs, after a few months, they all stopped suddenly.  I wondered if that meant they went back to their old, unhealthy ways.  I hoped my journey would be proof that it is possible for overweight people to start exercising and stick with it.

I am now 64.  I started this journey in January 2010 when I weighed 335 pounds.  It took me about four years to lose the 201 pounds, and I've been able to sustain at 135 pounds.  I lost the weight slowly, 20-65 pounds per year.  With one exception of one multi-month period, my weight progressed downward each year.  The U.S. government no longer considers me to be obese or even overweight.  And I am now finished loosing weight as my doctor says no more and my coach says that I am at "ideal race weight." 

People always want to know what made me start loosing weight.  I really don't know!  My usual answer to that question is that I wanted to be able to put on my shoes!  That may sound silly, but if you are a lot overweight, you know exactly what I mean! 

You'll notice that the photos in the beginning of this blog all have my head missing!  Ha!  At the start, I wanted to be invisible.  Somewhere along the way, I became so proud of my weight loss and fitness that I started leaving my head in the photos.  It took three years to tell anyone that I was writing a blog, but I finally did it.  Obviously, I've changed on the inside as well as the outside.  This was also a spiritual journey for me.  There's several posts about that throughout this blog.

What it was like 200 pounds ago . . .

Before the
journey started

When I started this journey, I couldn't walk a city block without having to stop to rest.  When I walked from the parking garage to my office (1 1/2 blocks), I tried to time it just right so the traffic light would turn and I'd have to stop and could catch my breath.  I hated it when colleagues suggested that we walk to lunch.  It was impossible to walk and talk without gasping for air (embarrassing).  The worst was when I'd have to walk up a flight of stairs to a business meeting.  When that happened, I always told people I need to use the restroom.  I'd go in the stall until my heart rate came down and my breathing returned to normal.  I even had difficulty rolling over in bed!

It was pretty bad.

While I'm not sure why I started this journey, I know exactly why I'm continuing.

October 2012
The first 5K
that I ran all of.

1.  I love discovering that I can do something new.  I remember one day thinking to myself, "Oh!  I just went down a flight of stairs with ease!"  Another day, I purchased a big bag of mulch and lifted it into the car myself.  And another day I was about to miss a flight and then realized, I can just run to the end of the terminal!

2.  I love the freedom.  If I want to go somewhere, I can just walk!  One day when out walking, I wondered where a road went.  I thought smugly to myself, "I can just walk over there and find out!"

3.  I love the way I feel when I check off another 10 pounds lost.

4.  I love thinking of myself as an athlete.  And while it didn't happen until I was a couple of years into this journey, I love having muscles to flex!  Ha!

More recent blogs:  My YMCA asked me to write a year-log blog for them in 2016.  After that blog ended, I started a new blog called Triathlon 200 at Word Press which is where I blog today.

• YMCA - Choosing Fitness with Sue Reynolds
• Triathlon 200

 P.S.  You may notice that I haven't blogged much lately.  That is because I've signed a contract with a literary agent and I'm in the middle of writing a book!  The working title is Anything's Possible!  :-)