13 Months

Forgive me, SparkPeople, for I have sinned. It has been nearly 13 months since my last SparkPeople log-in.

But, I really think I'm back.

Nearly four years ago to the day, I re-joined SP and kick-started what would be a 38-pound weight-loss. 13 months ago, when I quit SP, I had more like a 35-pound loss. Now, I've gained back another few pounds in the past year or so and am at 142 pounds (-ish).

Yes, it's a hell of a lot better than my 172.5 pound weight that I was back in 2008, but it's not the 134 pounds I was in January 2010. When I ran my Half Marathon in May 2011, I weighed around 140 pounds, but I had a ridiculous amount of muscle. After tons of foot issues, my running is down to nearly nothing while I try to work those out. My running endurance is so little that I'm basically at square one again, if I were to try to start up again (which I'm still considering, pending a trip to a podiatrist).

But, enough of the woes!

The good news is that my home gym has grown. What used to only be a yoga mat, resistance bands, a rarely-used jump rope, and 2-pound dumbbells has evolved into...

1 stationary bike
1 Leibert Equalizer dip-station (my new favorite thing in the world!)
1 kettlebell
1 set of 8-pound dumbbells
1 circuit-training timer

I've started checking out www.bodyrock.tv for quick 12-minute circuit training routines, which have kicked my arse when I do them!

...when I do them.

That's why I'm back here. I need to get back into a routine. I want to tone up, especially in the absence of running, so that I can get back into my size 4's that I was so proud of in 2010. I'm excited, but I'm definitely scared of getting obsessed by re-visitingthe food-weighing, Calorie-counting, gym rat life I once led. If you look back on my last blog post from March 2011, I beat around the bush about this. (I'm not ready to go into details, but when I am I will let you know.)

Speaking of "you", who is still out there? Where are the Spark Buddies that I've left behind? How are you all doing?