When I finished the Advocare 24 Day Challenge in April I was at 194 lbs. It was the lowest recorded weight of my adult life and I felt great! GREAT!

What I didn’t think about then and didn’t consider until now is that even though this felt great….

…. I’m still the before picture.

For a lot of people I’m currently still the before picture. I’m at a weight that would still get me on the Biggest Loser. I’m still at an obese BMI. I still need to lose weight.

After the challenge I let things slide for a while. There were a ton of weddings, birthdays, parties, and travel since I finished the challenge. Eating and exercise habits weren’t perfect but I didn’t mind because I just felt so good already! I felt accomplished and healthy after the challenge so I didn’t keep striving for anything. I gained a few pounds back and didn’t keep the awesome progress going.

It didn’t click until yesterday that I think I’m the before still. 195-200 range might feel good since I used to weight 255, but it isn’t an end goal. I need to lose at least another 30 pounds. I need to lose 35 if I even want to be an “overweight” BMI.

I’ve lost weight and kept it off and that’s great, but I’m still not the “After” picture I want or need to be.

This all came out of a body image discussion from yesterday. I won’t go into details, but after tears were shed and I slowly but grudgingly admitted that I’m not where I want to be yet.

I’ve been thinking about it for a couple weeks now. If I feel so much better now than I used to, would that feeling triple if I lose more weight? Would I feel better than I ever have? What else am I missing out on by not pushing a bit further?

 

Also yesterday my boyfriend mentioned he wanted to lose more weight. He suggested we both try eating lower carb since his best friend at work is doing a low carb diet and my roommate is as well. It would make a lot of since to join in since we often eat meals with these people. I agreed because I knew eating low carb makes me feel a lot better overall, as seen in the AdvoCare 24 Day Challenge.

I’d like to track my food for a while as well. I never do well tracking on somewhere like My Fitness Pal for some reason, but I can take pictures and evaluate a day of food that way. I might blog or Instagram this to keep myself accountable (suggestions welcome). Or maybe just keep it on my phone. All I know is that if I’m still “The Before” then I need to pay better attention to what I’m eating.

That’s it for me today. Just a reminder to myself that I’m not done. There is some work to be done.