Wednesday, March 16, 2016

And so we begin....

Hello everyone! And welcome to the first official post!! For those who don't know me, or maybe haven't seen or spoken to me in a while, allow me to make the introductions! My name is Carry Vaughan and I was born, raised and still currently live in North Carolina. I went to college at Appalachian State University where I double majored and currently hold two Bachelors Degrees in Theatre Education and Creative Writing.

I have always been a little over weight. And actually sometimes more than just "a little". Around January or February of 2011 after I graduated with my Theatre degree and moved home I got a job working part time at a grocery store with my mom. One day I randomly checked my weight and saw that I was coming in close to 180 and I could barely fit into a size 12 pair of pants. I had been a size 12 since around high school and the thought of getting bigger than that was not a thought I wanted to entertain. So, I began to do something about it. I slowly started to ween soda out of my diet as I was a religious Mountain Dew drinker, and I replaced it with water. I put myself on an "eating curfew" and no matter what time my last meal was, if it was past 10pm and I was hungry I wouldn't let myself eat (Which is super unhealthy. Seriously, sometimes you have to listen to your body! More on this later...) and I began to work out using some Zumba dvds at home. I would pretty much do 20-45 minutes of Zumba at least 5 days a week.

Eventually I decided to go back to school, so later that year I moved back to Boone and continued my minor from before and turned it into a full degree. In my time at ASU the second time I still used Zumba, but I also made use of one of the on-campus gym facilities. I also had a jogging loop in my area of town that I'd use on nice days. By the time I graduated in December 2012 I was down to a size 8 pant and dress size and my weight was usually around 145-148. I wasn't completely where I wanted to be, which was 135 pounds, but I was happy being a size 8 because that was my size goal. I felt confident. I felt beautiful for the first time in I don't even remember how long. I felt healthy. When I moved home I tried to keep up my new routines but it was difficult. I started working multiple jobs just to get by even though I was living at home. I started going to a Planet Fitness, which I absolutely loved, but at some point it turned into the only reason I would go in there was to use the showers between jobs.

Fast-forward to now. March 16, 2016. And a LOT has changed in my life. My eating habits have greatly changed, I became more sedentary. Stress took over my life in one form or another. I became comfortable. 50 pounds and about 8 clothing sizes later here I am. 29 years old, approximately 197 pounds (as told to me by my physician yesterday) and around a size 16. ... I just can't even.

So now I bring you to my blog's proper introduction.... #Project50. The goal is to lose the approximately 50 pounds I gained back and I'm giving myself about a year to do it, which averages out to just over a pound to lose a week. If I get there faster, great! But if not, no sweat. I've done it before, I know that I can do it again. I have a brand new Zumba kit that just came in the mail today. I have a very terrific support team composed of friends, family and a greatly supportive boyfriend. With all of them by my side I know I can get there! My other goal is that I hope this blog can help others who may be struggling with similar issues. I want to create a dialog and a community where if people have tips to share or questions to ask we can all come together and support each other.

I believe this is it for now. Stay posted weekly for reports and postings, bi-weekly for "weigh-in Wednesdays", and monthly for measurement checks!
Thanks so much! And welcome to #Project50
Later days!

--CarryV

1 comment: