I did it. I lost weight.

If you’ve been following my blog, you know I’ve been on a mission to be fit at 40. And, you know it’s been a rough road.

When I wrote about closing all three activity rings on my Apple Watch the entire month of October, I mentioned I’d only lost four pounds. That was after two months of eating better and working out. Let me repeat – two months.

But as I also mentioned when I started this journey, I set small goals for myself that would eventually lead to a big milestone. And, this week that happened. I got on the scale and I’d lost 12 pounds.

I haven’t changed my habits, except to workout a little harder. Each Monday, my watch would tell me that I could reach a new move goal, and I would accept.

It’s like suddenly my body said, “Okay. Okay. I get it. You’re going to keep working out and eating right. I give up. You win.”

Can’t stop, won’t stop

When I started getting on the treadmill again, my goal was weight loss. Then, I realized that motivation wasn’t going to be enough. I needed to have bigger aspirations. Like, finishing a 5K without gasping for air. Or closing those rings. The small goals would keep me from giving up.

That mentality is actually why the change on the scale wasn’t a huge celebration for me. Don’t get me wrong – I told everyone who would listen that I’d lost 12 whole pounds. But after the congratulatory comments, I still went home every night and worked out. After all, I have rings to close.

Next week, I will hit an incredible milestone: I will reach 60-straight days of closing all three of those rings. Then, I’ll welcome Thanksgiving with bliss (I mean, I have desserts to bake!).

The following week I will turn 40. I may not be the weight I wanted to be, but I will be more fit. And that was the goal all along.

40 and fit. Oh – and in a smaller dress size for that birthday party.