How did I get here?

"I am proud of the woman I am today; I went through one hell of a time to become her." 

I started this blog 6 years ago this month.  Hopefully, I have some new readers and/or followers so I thought I'd write about how this blog started and my story of how I got here.   Get comfy, grab a cup of coffee, and the iPad.  My first blog post was Just here to tell a story and published on May 21, 2015.   The idea was suggested by a lady in a Weight Watcher meeting.   I didn't know the first thing about writing a blog.  But I came up with a name (I think it suits me since I like anything sparkly and shiny).  The idea of this blog was to chronicle this personal journey of mine.    

When I started the blog, I was already down 165 lbs.  I lost that weight in just over a year.  Something I couldn't quite fathom or comprehend.  Just a year earlier I had no idea what was in store for me.  It took a serious aha moment to make me sit up and realize this was serious business.  For the better part of my adult life, I used food as a shield, not wanting to admit it was also the problem.  I used it as a shield from so many things.... dating, rejection, social activities.  It became a security blanket.  It never judged me or rejected me.  

I ushered 2014 in with some low back pain, thinking it was a pulled muscle.  Then March arrived and told me things were about to change.   A trip to the ER was the beginning of a 6-day hospital stay.  Diabetic sugars of 534 which could have proved to be deadly.  There have been moments when I think if I hadn't gone to the ER when I did, I would not be here telling you this story.  

The next few months were spent adjusting to a new ballgame and its rules.  Soon it became easy, and the weight started dropping.  Every time I stepped on the scale; numbers went down.  I hit the first 50, then 100, then 150 lbs.  I couldn't believe it.  This was what I had dreamt about.  When I stepped on the scale shortly before my 44th birthday, I was down 165 lbs.  I had a decision to make.  The decision of what my goal would be.  So, after discussing it with my doctor, I set what I thought was my final goal.  I reached that goal on Father's Day of 2016.  I remember stepping on the scale, feeling tears streaming down my face.  I did it!

There were other surprises in store though.  Good surprises.  I started walking half marathons every day, yes which prompted me to enter my first official half marathon.  So, on the day I was to reach Lifetime, I stepped on the scale and had another decision to make.  I reset what I thought had been my final goal.   This final goal would have me losing 200 lbs.  My thinking behind this was I wanted to be far enough from my starting number that I couldn't see it.  

I reached that goal just six months after reaching the first one.  And it was in December before Christmas.  What an early Christmas present!!  In January of 2016, I reached Lifetime.  The day before weighing in, I walked about 5-6 miles with a friend of mine.  We discussed stepping on the scale and what if the number was too low.  I decided to step on the scale first (before it was registered) and if it was too low, I’d wear my shoes.  That did the trick.  I weighed in at a number I hadn’t seen since high school. 

My life has been a whirlwind since then.  I've learned things about myself.  I've conquered several things I never thought I would do.  Finished 3 half marathons and several other races.  Conquered paddle board yoga - read about it here. There have been ups and downs, as with everything, but I try to take them in stride.  

Among some of the important things I learned was the mental aspect must be worked on as well.  While I was actively losing the weight, I concentrated on the physical part and neglected the mental side.  Because of that, that little voice kept showing back up.  The voice that belonged to the old me.  So, I am working on the mental side and making sure it’s on the same page as the physical.

I am excited about the next 50 years.  I have plans that just 10 or 15 years ago I couldn’t imagine.  

Looking forward to the next 50 years....of course they will be glitter all the weigh.