How'd You Do It????

Every once in a while I get brave enough to show that picture there below.  That is, of course, the "before" picture on the left.  It sounds soooo dramatic!  Look how terrible I looked BEFORE!!!  As if the after picture is the end all, be all...as if happiness can only be found in the after picture...

  

Anyway, people are very kind when they see the picture.  I usually hear things like "Oh my God!  That doesn't look anything like you!"  Or..."WOW!  How much weight did you lose?"  And to tell you the truth, I really hate answering that question, because I can see the internal calculations in their eyes...the subtracting, the figuring and then the realization that, yes, I am still fat.  That's right...I've lost 90+ pounds and I still have a large amount to lose.  I'm not "there" yet.  I don't really know for sure that I'll ever be "there." 

The truth is, it takes work to achieve a goal.  You always hear that you can be anything you want to be, or you can do whatever you want as long as you set your mind to it.  Well, ok, that's true, but let's not forget the amount of thinking, planning, deciding, and just flat out DOING that takes place to get to that goal.  It's not easy, in fact, as I sit here and write this post, tears are rolling down my face because weight has been a battle I've been fighting for close to 20 years.  If my predictions are correct, I think I'll be battling it for the rest of my life, I will just have been one of the lucky few to battle it from inside a slim body. 

The big question is always, "HOW'D YOU DO IT???"  Everyone always wants to know...how does a person lose 90 pounds???  They're like, "Hey!  I'm fat too!  I want to lose weight just like you!"

For this latest round of weight loss, I've entered myself into a fitness competition.  If you're overweight, I'm sure "fitness competition" sounds scary.  It's not.  It's just a fancy way of saying, "I paid $25 to try to lose more weight than any of the other people who entered so I can win the $250 prize."  Nothin' to it!  These fitness competitions seem to work for me...I like the idea that other people are out there working super hard to win a prize that I really want and EVEN IF YOU LOSE the money, you still WIN!!!  How cool is that?  Even if I ONLY lose 5 pounds, that's 5 pounds less than I was before and that is most DEFINITELY A WIN!  This competition is 8 weeks long and I set a goal of 25 pounds.  That's just over 3 pounds per week, but I think if I stick with my diet and exercise plan, I can come very close to the mark, I am EXCITED...here we go!!!