Green Beanniversary
Believe it or not, it has been a year since I started this little blog. The original goal was to have a place to document my weight loss journey. It was a place for me to make sure I was accountable for my diet and exercise program. It was a place for me to put out in the public my successes and my failures when it came to my health.
The blog quickly evolved into a place for me to get the writing bug out of my system. It became a place for me to write about the most obscure topics (the application of Obamacare to the craft beer industry) to the mundane (a three part series on lawn care). Some of the posts were funny and some were just boring but all of them made me feel good and made me feel proud of what I have done.
They may not all be grammatically correct (I’m sure there is a typographical or grammatical error in each and every blog post I’ve included over the past year) but I worked hard on all of them and hope you enjoyed them. So to celebrate the one year anniversary of the blog and to provide this week’s blog will consist of two parts; (1) Links and recap to the most red blogs during the year and (2) a brief recap of the week and what I accomplished (or didn’t accomplish) this year.
Top 5 Blogs
Topless Pics and Running – In the second blog in this iteration of Green Bean Conspiracy, I show off my topless pics for the world to see. I guess you could call this the “before” pictures although at this point I had already lost a bit of weight. I also go out for a mile run just so see what I can do.
The Deer Runner – A blog that everyone seemed to love came early in the life of the blog where I tell a story about a deer smashing into me while I was out for a jog. I tried to make it as humorous as possible but damn did it hurt.
I Hate This – Everyone seemed to like (or at least read) this blog where I share my deepest fear. Maybe it was just the fact that I was willing to put my heart on my sleeve and reveal something that terrifies me. Or maybe you people are awful and love seeing everyone else fail. Either way, it was an often read blog.
How to win a first date without really trying – People love a love story and that what this blog was: a story of Rizzo and me going on our first date. Sure, I made it all about me and how awesome I am at dating but it’s my blog so that is what you get.
Lupus – Rounding out the top five is another blog where I share (perhaps too much) the trials of learning that I may or may not have lupus. The support from friends and family has been tremendous. As an update, I still don’t know for sure but I still have doctor’s appointments to follow up and monitor. No worries, because I’m still going strong.
Success
Over the past year I feel like I’m in the best shape of my life and I’m not nearly done. When I started trying to lose weight I was 267 lbs. When I started this blog I was 227 lbs. As of today, I’m 207.6 lbs. That is a total of 60 lbs lost from the start and 20 since I started writing.
I look at the second number and my first instinct is to feel that I wasn’t as successful as I hoped to be. I mean 20 lbs don’t seem like that much in a year. However, I have also learned over the year that even through a number on a scale is important, it isn’t the only measure of success. Let us consider these three pictures.
The first picture was from the day we brought Cece home from the hospital. Look at that face! (mine not hers). I was massive and had more chins than the entire continent of Asia. Not only that, I could fit more food into those cheeks than a squirrel getting ready for hibernation.
The second picture was taken a year ago when I started this blog. I had dropped at least 40 lbs (if not more) from the first picture and from the looks of it I lost it all in my face. Seriously, I must have been allergic to something in the first picture because seriously. I felt much better but still had a long way to go.
The third picture is after going for a run during a trip to California just a few weeks ago. As Rizzo pointed out, (1) I learned that pictures look a lot better and don’t take up as much space if I turn the camera sideways like in intelligent person and (2) there isn’t much change in the face between pictures two and three but I’ve definitely become more slim and toned.
I’m very proud of the progress I’ve made but I have a long way to go. My goal weight is 190 lbs which means I have another 17.6 lbs to lose this year. I also have set two more goals to reach this year. First, I want to run a sub 30 minutes 5K. That seems like a pretty reachable goal since I’ve nearly done that already. I may have even met that goal if the last 5K I ran wasn’t cut short by ½ mile. After I meet the sub-30 goal I’ve decided I’m going to train for and participate in a sprint marathon. Depending on which race I end up participating in it would mean a swim between a quarter and half a mile, a bike ride of 6 to 12 miles, and a 1.5 to 3.1 mile run. It will take a lot of work and a lot of energy but I think I can do it, especially with all of you fine people cheering me on.
Thanks to everyone that has ever read a blog; if you have read every post or just one. I appreciate you taking the time to read my words. Hopefully I can continue to entertain you, inform you, or at least give you a way to kill some time during your lunch break. I love writing this and will strive to continue to write even if every one of you stops reading. Thank you.
