[I've updated my Katie page because time has passed and things have changed. It will continue to grow as I do, but I'll keep old versions archived as posts.]

Hey, I’m Katie and this is my blog.

I recently lost 25 pounds entirely by accident. Though I did make some conscious changes to my lifestyle, I didn’t do so expecting to lose so much weight. After several months I knew I’d lost a few post-college pounds but honestly didn’t notice anything drastic until I went to the doctor and was 20 pounds lighter than I had been one year previous.

It should be noted that I have never been “overweight”. My BMI has never exceeded 25 (which is considered the overweight range), but I did get close at 24 last year.

A BMI of 24 on my body means 143 pounds and 5’6″. That is not a fat person. But it was an uncomfortable size for me. I had always hovered around 130 and had been relatively happy there.

It should also be noted that my family has never been weird about food and weight. We never had scales in our house growing up and I think that is a very healthy thing for teenage girls. My mom never criticized us or told us to diet. And she always harshly critiqued plastic surgery of any kind. Be happy in the body you have was the motto. It was a healthy household.

After college I started packing on pounds. Some of it was due to not having access to a free gym, not walking a mile to and from class, or not having the social pressure to keep up with the other girls. And part of it was working as a waitress, eating at strange hours of the night after working a double, drinking a lot and stress eating because I was unhappy with life in the real world.

I was very unhappy. My clothes stopped fitting. I went up a few sizes. I didn’t feel comfortable.

I tried running as frequently and as far as I did in college but did so without proper training or shoes and ended up with an IT band injury. When it was finally apparent that I wouldn’t be able to do what I used to, I cried. Oh my gosh, how I cried. I was miserable. Exercise was an obsession for me. I knew I needed it to lose weight but I also needed it as an escape and a hobby.

I took a few months off and avoided any high impact movements involving my right knee. When I was finally able to move again, I got back in the gym and Stew and I started working out together.

We actually did Body for Life, which is honestly kind of a joke, but when you first get started and need a simple regimen to follow, it’s not a bad one for learning some basic weight lifting routines. I guess I lost a little weight, but it didn’t do the trick. I’m sure if you follow the plan exactly, you will see the sensationalized results they advertise.

I spent time on the elliptical and stairmaster but I missed real running. So then I started going to hot yoga to see if I could get myself stretched and strengthened back to a point where running would be an option again.

I also stopped eating compulsively late at night, buying packaged foods and gravitating toward crappy “diet” foods filled with additives and gross.

That was the turning point. The combination of yoga and healthy food was it. Weight melted off of me. Stew noticed. Coworkers noticed. I didn’t notice. In fact, I still forget. When I shop I still pick up my old sizes.

I didn’t just drop back to my comfortable 130. It didn’t stop at 120 either. I have been at a steady 117 pounds for about a month now. I have never been this size.

I am now at a BMI of 18 which is at the lowest end of the “healthy” range. Anything lower than that would be considered underweight for my height.

I still can’t run like I used to. Three miles is about my max these days and I don’t do it but a few times a month. Yoga is my new medicine and I love it. I would recommend it to anyone, injured or not. It will change your life.

I would also recommend that everyone stop eating packaged, processed fake diet foods. They won’t work. Make your own food. Take pride in what you create and be kind to your body. You only have one.

If you don’t know how to do it, try this:

1. Read the ingredients. Do you know what they are? No? Don’t eat it.

2. If the additives were sitting on the table in a salt shaker, would you add them to your food? No. So don’t eat them just because you didn’t see someone else put them in there.

3. Eat whole fresh fruits and vegetables. Explore new foods you’ve never tried. It’s a big world out there.

4. Stop counting calories. Eat well balanced, organic foods and you will be fine. Eat until you are satisfied, not until you are full. And eat whenever you want to if your body really says it’s time.

5. Listen to your body. Really listen. It will tell you when you are thirsty, hungry, or vitamin deficient. It won’t steer you wrong.

Don’t obsess. Don’t get discouraged. And don’t ever think for a second that this is out of your hands. You control every single thing that enters your body. And you control whether or not you exercise. You can’t blame this on anyone but yourself so quit making excuses. The beauty of this is that you have complete control over how you look and feel. Do something about it.