Jen is Trayning: ONE WHOLE YEAR!

If someone were to ask me if I'd ever commit to something for more than a year (other than my previous relationships, paying rent or being a quality human being) I would have called them CRAZY. Really? Write down EVERYTHING I eat in a composition book every single day? Hell....even keep a composition book and not LOSE it for a year? Now that is a feat in and of itself. BUT....

I did it. July 16th, 2012 I started food tracking. Although I went into Tray's gym about a week earlier to have the 'assessment' done on my lower back, I feel as though I got real and got serious when I picked up this book and decided to start writing in it to track everything I've eaten. This is when my true transformation began. In one year I am 46 lbs down and healthier and happier than ever. I wondered countless times if I would make it to this point. I remember leaving the gym last December wondering "when does this all end?" until I realized....it doesn't. This is life and the way my life will be from here on out and I'm oddly ok with that. It's hard...don't get me wrong. Don't let ANYONE tell you it's easy because it's not - and if they say that, they're lying to themselves. This sucks - I mean who doesn't want all the good things life has to offer? What the real key to this lifestyle has become to me is a BALANCE. I've learned the hard way when it comes to being imbalanced by my recent jaunts to New Orleans and San Francisco for an eating / drinking excursion that balance is necessary. No one says you can't enjoy some cake for your co-workers birthday; however it's best to not have dessert that night while at dinner and snack all day long. If you do have the cake, try to make it to the gym and walk a bit that evening. Balance is key....in everything you do. People lose sight of what is important all the time and for me - I was a work-a-holic. I worked all the time, ate what I wanted at my desk, didn't get up and move around, drank a ton of beer and couldn't have told you what bikram yoga was if it was my final Jeopardy question....

Now - a year later, I sit on a ball chair, I am up by 5:15 every morning, I work out (at times multiple times a day), I eat very healthy, I rarely eat past 8:00 at night, I write down everything, I lose track and fall off the wagon because I'm human, I track my steps daily and aim for 1,500 more than the 'norm' and I VACATION because I have a ton of energy....it really is a good life these days. In addition I've found a wonderful way of never beating myself up. People make mistakes, you falter, you miss the gym, you eat shitty food and you make bad decisions. I've learned to never beat myself up for anything - this is extremely important when it comes to looking for a long term life change.

2013 stats...so far:

work outs completed (1/1 - 7/16): 265 (consisting of runs, walks, bikram yoga, stretch class, weight training, spin, swimming, sauna, paddle boarding and barre classes)
days off total during this time: 22
weight dropped: 9 lbs

Next goal = 30th birthday (November 29th, 2013)

Me and Tray this morning on my 'health birthday'