I thought I was just going to be watching a video

I never imagined that I'd be training for a marathon. Five years ago, I weighed 245 pounds. I can't even believe that I'm able to admit that. It's one thing to know how much you once weighed, but it's another to say it out loud. I've decided to embrace it (it's much easier to do now that a lot of that weight is gone). Making the decision to lose the weight was easy. Actually losing the weight wasn't as easy.

I had been visiting family in Oklahoma City for Christmas. My mom had just purchased a new camcorder and decided to record the family opening gifts. That night, I had taken the video back to the hotel. As I sat on the bed watching it, I was absolutely horrified at the person I saw on the tape. It was me, and I couldn't get up off of the floor without rolling over onto both knees, and using the support of my hands to lift up. It was the most humiliating and enlightening moment of my life. I was 25 and I couldn't get off the floor. I knew I was big. I was wearing a size 22 so I couldn't exactly lie to myself, but I really believed I looked thinner than a size 22 (you know, maybe a size 18). Well, I thought I was thinner until I saw myself on the tape (I was, after all, wearing my "thin" outfit. Even then, pink was my color). It was the first time I saw myself in the same way that everyone else saw me and it was devastating ... absolutely devastating. People who haven't really struggled with being overweight often don't understand how a person can become significantly overweight without realizing it. Oh, let me tell you, it's actually quite easy. You just go about your normal routine. Then, poof, you wake up big. Okay, so it's not really that easy, but that's basically how it feels.

So, in that hotel room, after watching the video, I decided for the last time that I was going to lose the weight. More importantly, I knew that once the weight was gone, I would never gain it back. In short, I joined Weight Watchers online, discovered two teachers that I worked with also had joined (at the time, Christy and Darcy were just coworkers, now they continue to remain two of my greatest friends), and started measuring and weighing all of my food. Within the first few months, I had lost around 25 pounds. It took another year to lose an additional 25. In that time, I was able to keep off the weight that I had lost. Last February, to celebrate turning 30, I decided to lose another 30 (ended up being 35 pounds). Just this past June, I started to consistently incorporate exercise into my life. Thanks to David Felix (my bootcamp instructor), I realized that exercising could be fun, even at 5:45 in the morning. Soon after, I transitioned to boxing/kickboxing.

For some reason, it wasn't until this week, I began to notice the similarities between losing a significant amount of weight and training for a marathon. What is really comes down to is that the body is an amazing thing. If you set a goal and follow the plan, you begin to see results. My warm-up before taking a one-hour boxing class has turned into spending 30 minutes on the treadmill. Funny how I still need help getting off the floor. Just now, it's for completely different reasons.