Fit At Forty

Time for a new hashtag. This past weekend I turned forty. It was at a doctor appointment around this time last year that my doctor said I needed to go on high blood pressure meds. I said no, I won't do it, not this young, and I made a plan to get my blood pressure down. (Why I Did It Blog)

I started slow, just thinking I would eat healthier, work out once or twice a week... I think it was really my meals that got me rolling. Once I was cutting carbs, eating healthier out to eat (hard to avoid in my industry) and for sure eating better when I traveled... I started to see results. I am still doing usually one meal a day of Greek Yogurt, and when I eat out no more burgers and less tortillas (I am only human), and a lot more salads. (How I Did It: The Meals Blog)

Once the meals got my weight loss rolling I started upping the workouts. I was seeing results, and that motivated me to get more. I was spinning (on my own usually) 2 to 3 times a week, yoga one day a week, and weights/running here and there... I hadn't run in years... I thought it was my bad back that took me out of running, but it was the weight that was killing my back. When I did my original blog on my workouts I still was not running... now I run, not only do I run, but I am faster than I was at 30 when I got in shape for my wedding. I also am running twice as far as I did in my 30s. (How I Did It: The Workouts)

So now the #FitForForty is #FitAtForty

I feel better than I have in probably twenty years. I remember it was in grad school that I passed 186 pounds... I joked and said it was my "Beta Weight" (fraternity was founded in 86). At my peak I was nearly 210 pounds when I left Albion College in 2008 and moved to South Bend. Well I recently weighed in at 148.6 which I will say is even a better "Beta Weight" (we were founded April 1986).

I lost from peak to today about 55-60 pounds. So the other day I picked up Cruz (weighs about 50 pounds) and straddle carried him up the stairs to see the difference. WOW. I could barely get to the top without struggling, and I can't imagine I did that several times a day before.