Measurements

I figured it would be interesting to compare my measurements from the start of the WLC to where I was before/ after the Primal/ Paleo Challenge back in February.  I'll do this again in another 8 weeks but for now:

	Jan. 31	Feb. 21	Sept. 15
Hips (cm)	94.2	94.7	101
Waist (cm)	88.6	84.1	74
Thigh (cm)	63.8	60.7	55
Arm (cm)	31.2	31.3	30
Weight (kg)	69.9	66.7	62.8

Definitely interesting.  The only measurement that's gone up has been my hips which I can (hopefully) attribute to muscle gain?  I am happy with my progress. Ecstatic really when I sit back and reflect.  My body shape has changed a lot over the past year - since I started crossfit at the end of July 2011 and it's been a steady progress in the right direction.  Most importantly however it's been maintained, I still love what I'm doing which has made it easy to keep at it and continue to see results.

The biggest issue for me so far is getting my head to catch up to what I see in the mirror - so often I still think of myself as that girl who was 12kg heavier and out of shape (though didn't even realize it at the time). I have to learn to include myself in the same categories as the girls I work out with - the strong and fast ones who I still look up to.  I can keep up with them now, I'm in that category too and I need to remember that for myself.

I think we can all benefit from taking a step back and looking at who we were a year ago on this journey - what we could do then, how our bodies responded, how we viewed food... and far we've come - mastering new skills, lifting heavier weights, going faster, being stronger.  It's hard to see our progress in the day to day but everyone I'm surrounded by is making huge leaps and gains, putting in the effort and getting the rewards and I'm right there with them.  We need to remind each other of these accomplishments but more importantly we need to remind ourselves.  We need to see the positives, the gains and the achievements rather than beating ourselves up over things we haven't yet accomplished because I can tell you a little secret...if we keep at it like we all are then this time next year we are going to hugely eclipse who we are now at this moment in time.

Daily pep talk complete!

ETA: One further note about measurements (thanks for the comment btw Tim!) -  I think overall I'm happiest about how my (new) clothes fit more than anything.  I pretty much have a new wardrobe from this time last year - I've dropped several clothes sizes.  Back in Canada I was generally a 12-14, sometimes a 10 (north american sizes) and now I'm a 2-4 for pants, 6-8 for lululemon generally and I like being able to go in a easily find clothes my size on the racks - usually I pick up something and have to go back for a smaller size as I've underestimated where I am now but there are worse problems to have.