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Thursday, October 4, 2012

Inspire to be Inspired.

by Cara


I am surrounded by inspiration. I have this amazing family. Truly loving and encouraging friends. And complete strangers rooting me on. My accoutability has been this blog. But with it I am truly encouraged and inspired by my sister Brianne. She is changing her life so much I feel so lucky to be on this journey with her. This journey we are on is never ending. I will be enjoying fruits and veggies and "healthy" options the rest of my life. And I have a new found addiction to running half marathons (a full will happen in there somewhere) and I really really like to sweat. What a difference from where I was a year ago.

Today is my 31st birthday.

One year ago, my husband and I had set out to a nice date night. Our first stop was a surprise trip to See Jane Run, a women's athletic store on 24th Street. See the last 6 birthdays I have been saying that I want to run a half marathon. Not once had I met that goal, and each year the birthday would pass and I would stay the same and I was be getting bigger and less motivated. Last year, as I was hitting a big year, Ryan took me to the athletic store and told me to pick out some running shoes. There were also clothes that fit my size 22 body. That same night I had a surprise party with my family and my closest friends. It was there that Ryan also gave me the gift that truly has changed me... a two week stay at the Biggest Loser Resort at Fitness Ridge Malibu. Ryan wrote in the card that he wanted to support me in all of my goals and that as I was moving to a milestone birthday he wanted to make sure I did it right. 

Last year on my birthday I weighed 280 lbs. I am not happy about that. I was struggling to play with my kids, I struggled to find clothes and I was struggling to feel the happiness I always have on the inside on the outside. But truth is I was happy. It wasn't until I recently saw pictures from our trip to the Resort that I realized something I didn't know. That whole time....I didn't know I was FAT. I just didn't know, I didn't see it. Honestly, I was blind to it. 

Over the last year, I have shared my goals. My weekly goals, my calorie intake goals, my fitness goals, half marathon finishes. These are major. The number on the scale is important to me, I don't make it my primary goal, but watching that number go down makes me feel GREAT. 

Four weeks ago I set the goal that by today, my 31st birthday, I would be in ONEderland. ONEderland is when there is a 1 infront of your weight. I think the last time I remember having a 1 was in 2000, I remember weighing 193 when I first met Ryan at San Jose State.  Today, I weighed in at 197.6. WHAT?????

I only have 17.6 pounds to go to reach my ULTIMATE weight loss goal of 100 lbs. See setting goals that are achievable is all part of the process. And once I meet that goal I set the next one and then the next. To keep myself on track and on the journey I must have a goal that I am working toward. It will not always be a number on the scale, but there will always be a goal. 

To hold myself accountable here are my next goals:
-100 lb. loss by December 10, 2012 (one year anniversary)
-U.S. Half Marathon November 4, 2012
-Spartan Sprint at BLR Malibu December 2, 2012 
-Find a new SPIN class to take once a week
-INSPIRE others by sharing my story and my new found LOVE for health and fitness


2 comments:

  1. Cara Marie!!!

    What can I even say. I never thought the day we left for the Resort that we would be here today. There was a part of me that assumed we would eventually return to the people we were so comfortable being. We were comfortable with being unconfortable and that is so sad. Not today. Not ever again. Together we have found this journey and ways to stay on it and I will never be able to express how thankful I am to you for standing beside me, lifting me when I fall and blocking the public while I squat. You have made my life enriched in ways I never thought possible. On this day of your birth and ONEderland goal, know that you inspire so many and especially me. I am so proud of you.

    -Betty

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  2. Congrats, beautiful mama! And Happy Birthday! You look incredible and you make me want to be better to myself. I hope to see you at BLR in November/December! Love you! -Heather

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