I started this blog one year ago today! What a journey it has been. My first post  marked a monumental moment for me. I stood on the scale saw a number instead “error”. I was so excited to see the number 335 on that scale. I remember telling myself “I am going to go all the way.” I set a goal weight of 230 lbs. For once in my life I wanted to say that according to the lousy BMI I was “healthy” I realize now how important that goal was. If we don’t set  goals we don’t have a target. It’s extremely easy to get lost when you don’t have a target. When embarking on a long journey you will have bumps in the road. You will experience moments of hardship and discouragement. If you don’t have a clearly defined goal to focus on. It is very easy to look up from these moments and lose your way or give up entirely.

I continued to lose weight till I left on the Appalachian trail. Upon embarking on the trail I was still over 300 lbs. I remember thinking frequently on the trail. That I really wanted to be below 300 lbs when I return home. While on the trail a few times I became mildly discouraged because I wasn’t seeing any change. Whenever I had the chance to weigh the scale always read the same. Turns out I was putting on muscle from the strenuous hiking while losing fat. When I returned from the trail, I weighed 284 lbs. I was right where I wanted to be . I continued to focus on my goal of 230 lbs.Several times I thought about saying this is good enough. But when I thought about my goal. I knew I had to stay committed to myself and my word. So I pushed on.

Extreme weight loss is a strange journey. You go through periods of loss and plateaus. Plateaus are periods of time where you stop losing weight. You feel like you are doing everything right. You are eating less and exercising more. Yet, when you check the scale you  see no results. Plateaus are quite discouraging. Sometimes they last months. You begin to think that you’ve reached a point where you can’t lose anymore. But if you stay committed to your goal your’e rewarded. In my personal case my longest plateau lasted nearly 2 months. At the time I was around 240 lbs. I only had 10 more lbs to reach my goal. I remained persistent through the holidays in January I was rewarded by dropping the final 10 lbs. I reached my goal! In my case I plateau for a long period then drop weight very quickly.

Since that time I have set new goals. I signed up for a Half Marathon. Training for the half marathon has been quite the experience. Self development, I was doing things I never thought possible. The first time I attempted to run a mile was in July 2015. I thought I was going to die. I couldn’t do it. I was so exhausted at about the half mile mark. I kept with it though. I registered for the half in January. I started by going to the gym a few times a week and running a mile on the treadmill. I started pushing it up each time. Till my new easy run was a 3 mile run. Then I started pushing it a little more. doing one long run each week. I tried to push myself and add a mile or 2 each week. When I ran 10 miles in the 3rd week of March. I was baffled at my accomplishment. Yesterday I ran that marathon. With a time of 2 hrs and 25 minutes, I came in 10th in my age bracket. I am so proud of myself.

One year ago today I started my blog. Since that day I have lost 118 lbs, I backpacked over 400 miles of the Appalachian trail, and I ran a half marathon. These are only a few of my accomplishments. I will continue to push my limits. I will set goals and accomplish everything that I want to accomplish.

Thank you to everyone who has supported me and offered me supporting words and advice along the way. There is nothing like the kind words of a friend or even a stranger when your worn out and tired. Don’t be afraid to tell people they can do it. Don’t be afraid to set goals that you think you can’t accomplish. Nothing is impossible to the determined mind. Remember any good goal set with a plan and followed with persistence and commitment can be accomplished.

Good luck friends!

-Bigfoot