Another day, another evaluation

Today was evaluation day. It was also totally freaking amazing.

Everybody, seriously.

It's no secret that my last evaluation left something to be desired. Improvements, yes, but small and not very inspiring. I had to work hard over the next few weeks to dig deep and find the motivation to keep going in.

The week after that eval, I got my diet plan, and I quit chasing the 13-minute mile. I started cross-training just before the new year, spending more time on other cardio machines. I started more weight training on my own.

And so tonight, six weeks after my last evaluation, the numbers were good. Very good. I'm down ten pounds from last time, weighing in at 216. That's 22lbs total! Eep!

All of my measurements have gotten smaller since last eval. I'm down 1.5" on my waist, about 1" on my thigh, and .5" on my calf. Since starting in October, I've lost a total of 5.5" off my hips.

Guys, that's huge. (Pun intended.)

All of the weights I was lifting went up, some of them dramatically. Last time, we set the leg press at 185 and I did 40 reps. Tonight, we set it at 225. I still did 40 reps. My teeth were gritting and I was grunting elegantly for the last eight, but I made it happen. I did 40 lat pulldowns at 70lbs and 25 chest presses, also at 70lbs.

I managed 52 push-ups in one minute, from my dainty knees, and I completed 61 sit-ups. Barely.

My run wasn't quite what I had hoped for, finishing .94 miles in 12:00, but it was a greatly-improved pace over my last eval. The run felt hard today, not at all like last week's triumphant runs, so I'll take it. Improvement is improvement!

Most exciting, my BMI has dropped to 39. I am officially no longer morbidly obese! I'm just plain old, garden variety obese. Six months ago, I didn't think I'd ever get under that mark again. But here I am.

After I got out to my car tonight, I started laughing. I laughed all the way home, singing along to the radio at the top of my lungs.

This is what it feels like when it all comes together. Sometimes, it won't. Sometimes, it'll be hard and it'll hurt, emotionally and physically. But sometimes, this happens. I need to file this feeling away, to pull out and remember when times get tough again. Like the next eval, which is bound to humble me all over again. That's just how this game works.

For now, I'm going to revel in it.