27lbs in 1 year
Yesterday marked a huge accomplishment for me. I have officially lost 27lbs in 365 days. Everyone asked how I did it. It sounds stupid but the normal way people do it. Eat right and exercise silly. However, a lot more was involved into besides the obvious.
This time last year I was living in Napa and not happy at all. I was in recovery, sort of, from my horrible SF life and in hibernation mode. Plus there isn't a ton of things to do in Napa for a single girl in her 30's. I created a little thing called Romance for One. This allowed me to reconnect with myself. I cooked nightly, watched movies, took baths and hung out with myself. I was a little lonely but it was really good for me. I got to find ME again.
In this quest, I drank a lot of wine (hey, I was in Napa!) and ate really delicious home cooked food. Nothing was off limits and I wanted to become a good home cook. Cause why not, right? After living in NY, where you use your oven as storage, I was nice to actually have a kitchen I could cook in. I was eating steak, mashed potatoes (with a lot of butter and cream) and all sorts of desserts. I love to bake! Always have since I was a little girl.
This was not at all conducive to my waistline but I didn't give 2 shits. I was becoming happy again. Around this time, I left my job at the winery and decided it was time to come home to New York. I missed it and knew that even though I wouldn't get to see my family as much, I would be where I was suppose to be. I moved back the first part of March on 2015. It was almost instant that I started to loose weight. Why? Cause you are never in a car in New York unless it is a cab. You are always being active and walking somewhere. While I was in CA, I would barely walk 6,000 steps (according to my Fit Bit). No one walks in CA. LA, OC, SF, Napa...no one really walks anywhere. Yes, even in SF....everyone uber's.
I joined Equinox in May and due to my work schedule, barely went. At $225/a month it is a very expensive membership not to use everyday. However, at work, I would average 18,000-25,000 steps/a day. So at least, I was moving my ass. I would look sometimes to see how many flights of stairs I had done and when it was close to 100, I would go up and down those fuckers just to hit 100. That is a huge accomplish. Your legs feel like noodles afterwards, let me tell you.
When working in the restaurant, surrounded by food all of the time, it is hard not to be a fatty. You get to order whatever you want off the menu and pasta always sounds good. I constantly made the decision to order meat and a salad. Sometimes I would order the pizza I wanted. Life is way too short not to enjoy the foods that you love. I just made the valiant effort not to due it every single night. I watched my coworkers weight gain and used it as inspiration to not order the double patty cheeseburger that I really wanted.
My entire life I have struggled with weight. Well, not when I was a small child but since puberty though. I have always had a little belly, big tits and no ass. I carry all of my weight in my stomach just like my mother. I have stick legs and a round belly. Like most people, I hate my body type. We have been brainwashed to feel that way I think. My sister, I swear, was born with a 6 pack and 5% body fat. I will admit, some of the happiest times in my life was when I was my heaviest. Plus I was getting a ton of ass. Go figure right!
Once I moved back to New York, I was mobile again. Making moves. My 20's were spent (and meant to be spent) destroying my body. So much alcohol and drugs with little regard to how it would effect my body. I had a really good time in my 20's. I did them right. My 30's are about preserving my body. I pickled it before and now we need to keep it that way. I keep reading these articles about things you should do in your 30's that will make your life better in your 50's. Besides saving money and all of that stuff, its all about preserving your body. Minimal drinking and recreational drug usage. Take up a sport. Mediate. Learn to cook. Read 10 books per year. You get the idea. I retook up Yoga recently since I have been on sabbatical. I go 4 times a week and love it. I feel better when I do yoga compared to running for an hour or any other activity at the gym. Zumba is fun too but I dont feel like I am building muscle or strength. Its just a silly dance party at the gym.
Mediation is something I got into a few years back. I will say that it is a game changer. Mediation is literally the best thing someone can do for themselves. From dealing with stress to exercising different breathing techniques to your state of mind...it is the best. I have better orgasms since I have started mediation. It is from the breathing. Almost tantric like and they last a really long time. Guys freak out sometimes when its a really good one and you are "oooooo"ing for literally over a minute. They tend to stop the first time it happens and look at your weird like, "Are you okay?" I get mad because they make me come out of this euphoric state by stopping and responding to them.
So 27lbs in 1 year. The simple answer to how I did it is I worked out and made conscious decisions on what I put in my mouth. Sounds silly but it is what I did.