Early Birthday Gift to Myself

If it's Tuesday and I'm wearing girl clothes, then it must be Weigh Day. And guess what?

I reached goal!

I started this journey 91 weeks ago, fat, miserable and discouraged.

I couldn't go up the office stairs without getting winded.

My back ached if I had to stand for long periods.

My clothes were tight.

My boobs were big.

I snored. Loudly. (Just ask The Professor.)

In January 2009, I ate foods that weren't healthy and the most exercise I got was bringing groceries in from the car.

But today I am thin, fit and empowered!

I can climb 1330 stadium stairs in 30 minutes.

I can carry more weight than I've lost without hurting myself.

My clothes are five sizes smaller!

My boobs no longer get in the way when I drive.

And I only snore occasionally. (Just ask The Professor.)

There are many things I learned over the past 22 months.

I learned that it's not about what I can or can't eat, but what I should eat to be fit and healthy. It's a subtle difference because I can eat anything. "Can't" is a negative and leads to deprivation, which causes want which leads to sulking and making bad choices that soothe the deprived inner child. "Should" is the positive choice between want and need, and allows the grown up in me to take charge and make responsible decisions.

I learned that getting rid of the clutter within and around me is empowering. When I cleaned out closets this summer, I found an outfit I wore to a special event in 2007:

I saved it just so I could take these pictures!

I learned to stop making excuses and start doing. Dreaming about your goals isn't how you reach them. It's taking action that make them happen.

The turning point in my weight loss journey happened after I got off the couch and started walking. I got over my fear of sweat and learned to love moving my body, feeling muscles I didn't know I had and watching my body change shape.

I learned to connect what I was putting into my body to how it performed. I learned to see food as fuel, not a comfort or indulgence.

I learned that there are no shortcuts to losing weight, only tools that can help you along the way if you want to use them. My tools were Weight Watchers and blogging.

Club WW taught me how to make better choices and encouraged me to change my attitudes about food and exercise.

This blog gave me a venue to talk out loud while I figured it all out.

The first part of this journey is over. I lost the weight! I reached my goal.

The next part of the journey is staying active, fit and healthy, and it's just begun.