The "Before"

Running is relatively new to my life. I had never been excited about exercise, and luckily got through the first 16 or so years of my life getting by on having a fast metabolism and being thin without trying. My first generation Korean parents could not have cared less about athletics, and I was always more drawn to books than to sports. I started gaining weight my senior year in high school (when I had a car and went to as many fast food drive thrus as I wanted) and definitely achieved the Freshmen 15. I knew that I was gaining weight, and used different extreme dieting methods to balance out my excessive eating and drinking. Exercise was never considered as a means to maintaining a healthy weight. After graduating from college, it was way too easy for me to gain weight - an office job kept me sedentary (at least in college I had to walk around campus), delicious food was easily available everywhere (one of the perks/downfalls to working in Georgetown), and I joined the gym only to do some half-assed workouts once a week or so (I barely broke a sweat on the elliptical).

Now I'm going to be perfectly honest on this blog, there will be no bullshitting. I can admit that I have never really been obese, luckily for me I have a relatively small frame, and even when I gained weight, most of my clothes still fit (just not well, there was lots of muffin top hidden by drapey tunics). But in early 2011 I reached the heaviest weight I had ever been. I had just gotten out of a relationship, and this was a relationship that contributed to the weight gain. Dating a chef sounds fun and dandy, until you realize that you're eating extremely heavy foods and drinking yummy calorie laden cocktails late at night (when they get off of work) and late nights will never make you want to go to the gym. During this time I wasted a valuable opportunity that my parents were kind enough to offer - membership at a fabulous gym and several sessions with a personal trainer. Now if I could only tell the Rosa from back then that she should have taken advantage of that instead of going to her personal training sessions hung over, I would. 

There were a couple of key moments when I realized that I had to turn my lifestyle around. The first was a friend's wedding in March 2011. I was in a rush while I was doing some last minute packing, and just threw one of my favorite Nanette Lepore dresses into my suitcase. I didn't realize until right before I was changing for the ceremony that the dress fit horribly. A dress that had fit me perfectly a year ago was bulging in all of the wrong places. When I saw the photos from the wedding, I cringed and felt truly awful about the way I looked. I felt like I looked greasy, shiny, flabby, and all around ick, which is what I felt like on the inside from all the crap I've been eating. I can't believe I am posting a photo of this on the internet for all to see. 

Another turning point was a trip to Lululemon. It sounds completely ridiculous, but it's true. I had been to the store before, but scoffed at the ridiculously overpriced work out wear. I had a few wrap jackets from there, but they were cozy and comfy and not for working out. But one day I went to a work sponsored shopping event there and was given a $100 gift card to spend. After chipping in about $40 extra bucks, I went home with a pair of Run Inspire crops and a Cool Racer Back tank. And I LOVED them. So much that I looked forward to going to the gym and looking cute in my work out wear. At this point I had joined the gym (one not as nice as the one I had previously been a member of) with my corporate discount, but only made half-assed efforts to really work up a sweat. But I would look forward to wearing my new lulu items to work out in, and I even did laundry more often so I could wear them more than once a week. Then I slowly ventured back into the store (with my own CC), and my addiction started. Oh, it started slow, a CRB here, a pair of marked down crops here. I have a lululemon store on my way home from the subway, which is terribly dangerous. Now I may have an obscene obsession with work out clothes, but I try to justify my purchases by saying that buying new work out clothes is cheaper than hiring a trainer (it really is). 

The weather also got nicer out, and I decided that running was going to be my thing. I have no idea what came over me, I had always been an elliptical kind of girl (the kind that reads magazines or watches TV shows while slowly moving her legs back and forth unenthusiastically). But I have a close girlfriend of mine, K, who is a runner and I've always admired her for it (she's run a couple of marathons!). I decided that since I started to buy running clothes, I had to start running. No idea where that strange and twisted logic came from. 

I had no idea how to run. I just started running at night after work, along main streets with street lamps (I still avoid Central Park after dark). At first I could barely run a few blocks without having to walk for a few. I looked forward to the lights changing to red so I could take a few moments to catch my breath. I started off by setting time goals for myself - I would run in one direction for 15 minutes, and then turn around and run back for 15 minutes. I was so darn excited when I could finally run for 15 minutes straight at a time! When I started running, I saw weight loss results pretty quickly, which is a great motivator to keep it up. To be honest, I still ate a ton of crap and drank a lot of beer, but I think that going from absolutely zero exercise to some moderate exercise made a huge difference. 

Getting positive feedback from my family, friends, and co-workers really encouraged me to stay committed to running, even if I was terrible at it. Some days I would wake up later than planned, but go for a quick 25 minute run, because I know that's better than just not going for one at all. 

In the past 12 months, I've lost a total of 25 pounds. Currently I'm at my "happy weight", which is one that I feel confident in, but I'm not going crazy overboard with working out or dieting. I've lost some pounds and gained them back, but I'm okay with it. I only weigh myself about once a week, just to make sure that I never go back to my "unhappy weight". I should probably eat healthier (I love wings too much), but I have been making an effort to eat normal (not ginormous) portions and stop eating just because I'm bored. It's also slowly becoming easier for me to resist the free cupcakes and snacks that come into work. I mean, I'll definitely check out what's available, but I won't eat every single treat I can, like I used to before. I'm still not in love with working out, but I know it's the only thing that lets me eat what I love and still be happy with my appearance, so I'm making an effort to keep it up. 

Follow me on my fitness journey, which will be chronicled on "Rosa Runs". Not sure really what the point of this is, except maybe to act as an exercise journal, lululemon outfit logger =), or just a way for me to stay accountable to myself.

I'm proud to post the photo to the right, which was taken November 2011 at another college girlfriend's wedding. I felt so much more confident and happy with myself this time around.