Been awhile!

I'm back.... not that I was ever here too much to begin with... So much has changed in the past couple of years, so much to catch up on, so many priority changes. Life is amazing. The paths we take, the choices we make, all define who we are, what we will become...I have discovered what I want... don't know if I can put an exact word on it, but happiness is the one I will use. To put it in it's simplest form. Ah, but the catch is, it's not simple, and it's far from easy!!

Today I will start with what I will say has been the easiest thing for me to change... and it has not been easy. It's the comfort I feel in my own skin. Not the "looks"...but the comfort knowing that I am healthy, that I don't have to be a twiggy model, that, if I want, I can lay naked on my couch and not be critical of how I feel. That I can stand in my bathing suit in a room full of beautiful people and not try to cover up because, yep...this is me, and you know what... I am here doing this. I am here competing against you and more importantly, against me. I can do this, I am alive and I am living. Now on the flip side... I know I am the chunky chic, but I also know I am doing something about it. I am finally really doing something. No magical quick fixes here, but it's happening. Part of my reason for starting this blog back up is the falseness that we are shown on TV. To watch shows like the Biggest Loser, as "inspiring" as it may seem, I feel it sets so many people up for disappointment. These people who are losing so much every week, it's such a false sense of hope for those of us who can't training for hours each day and have someone cook for us and so on... in the real world, that's not how it works. Now I am not saying that someone can not lose the weight faster than I have been, yeah, it's been super slow for me, but once again... happiness. I am happy with the progress. I do not diet, I do not feel cheated. I enjoy my pizza, drinks with friends, pub food...yeah, I could stop all of that and it might have made the weight come off faster, but, why? I was talking to a lady I know from some road races and wow, she looks great, she has lost a ton of weight. I told her that she looked great, congrats and all that... her response... I wish I could eat. Really? So, not that I always eat junk, I try to watch how much or how often I eat crap, and I am far from a healthy eater all the time, I just try to remember to STOP when I am full, eat what I like, but only eat 1/2... little things like that. If I go to subway and grab a sub...cuz I love chicken wing subs... I will only put half on my plate and put the other half right in the fridge. Why? because if I put the whole thing on my plate, I will eat it all... and yep, I have a little bag of chips too...

I should add, the picture about is from August, 2011... Cayuga Lake Tri. More pictures to come!

From Jan 2011-Dec 2011~I lost 20 pounds.

I am down a total of about 25-28 pounds as of today.