I’m almost there, guys! Almost there! Now, I’m sure that y’all might be getting tired of me documenting my health/fitness journey here, but I believe this will be my last monthly update. Hopefully I will write a couple of posts about the nitty-gritty of how I’ve lost over 40 pounds in around six months before too long.

In June of 2021, I decided it was time to lose the baby weight times nine I had accumulated over twenty-one-years. My youngest was eighteen-months-old, and had just stopped nursing. I finally felt like I had control over my eating habits because hunger was no longer much of an issue for me. I get very hungry while I’m nursing!

I started to make small changes in the exercise department, and began eating an almost 100% Plant Based Whole Food diet. And now, I am three pounds away from my “ultimate” goal weight.

Lord willing, I will be there before I know it. I feel like December and the beginning of January were good months for me. After eating fat-laden leftovers for lunch the week after Thanksgiving, I got back on track.

In early December, I weighed 118 pounds, and now I’m 111 pounds. I’m 5’2″ for reference.

Related: Weight Loss Update | Early December 2021

In December, I re-motivated myself to run every other morning by joining a few yes.fit challenges. It really worked. I went from almost dreading stepping outside in the cold, to looking forward to it. I just received my first medal in the mail, and it is so pretty. I also began writing in an actual journal my mileage and steps for each day. I think this will be fun to look back on, and it also motivates me.

This month I faced a few challenges with my knee. When I was around eleven-years-old, I hyper-extended my knee during a long jump competition in P.E. I was on crutches for about one month, and it has never been exactly the same since. I ended up purchasing a knee sleeve last month, and it has helped me a lot. I am careful to run no more than every other day. In the summer, my knee hurt almost all of the time, but looking back, I realize not giving it a rest day was a problem. I took a break from running when I came down with Covid in September, which gave my knee plenty of time to heal from my summer missteps. I’m really trying to be mindful of it now.

I’m enjoying how much better I feel. I have so much energy, and I feel like I’m finally living in the body the Lord intended me to have.

Related: Taking Care of Our Body Because It is God’s Temple

It is hard to live in America sometimes, with junk food around every corner. Goodness, it is nearly impossible for me to find something healthy to eat when we are not at home. We use coolers and pack lunches quite often now. This can be difficult sometimes, but I really hope to keep up with this. If we do find ourselves in a pinch, we usually end up somewhere like Dos Bros or Salsarita’s. This can get expensive, but I want my family and myself to eat well if we can.

I also will eat at Panda Express and Subway. I usually can find something somewhat healthy at these places.

Once I reach my goal weight, I’m sure that I will still have some toning to do. I want for my body to be strong, and healthy. My husband did buy me a few sets of weights, and I work through a couple of strength exercises as well as ride our exercise bicycle on my off running days.

I’ve realized that for this change to stick, it has to totally become a part of my lifestyle. I have to find ways to enjoy it. I need to value health more than taste or convenience.

Lord willing, I will give details about my eating and exercise plan soon. I really want to officially reach my goal weight first, though.

Thank you so much for stopping by today, and for reading. Have you had success improving your health? If so, I would love to hear about your experience in the comment section below.

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