Finally. . . A Blog Post!

I think my most recent posts have been a lot less harsh but none the less I thought this picture was beyond appropriate and it made me laugh. I guess I use the word recent pretty lightly since its been forever since I've even posted anything. It's my total life makeover that is taking over my life!! Things have actually been going really well, just really busy. Started my new career and am finally falling into the groove of it - think this one may stick for more than a year or two, just the past 2 weeks I've been getting myself back into running (yes, I still think I'm running a 25K next year), and everything else I mentioned in the last post is falling into place. I do feel myself becoming a much more balanced person overall. 

We spent last weekend camping with friends  which was beyond amazing and a much needed break. I am definitely the type of person that just needs to get away once in a while. Being outside, not checking my cell phone, laughing, joking, relaxing. . . .It just felt good to be around people I always have a blast with and am completely comfortable with (even though I just met 2 of them!) and to not have to put on make up or care about really anything at all. I even went skinny dipping in Lake Michigan which never in my wildest dreams would I think I would do with other people around. Granted, it was really dark, but I'm generally not the type of person who is OK with even wearing a bathing suit so that was kind of a huge deal when I actually thought about it after the fact. I am overall a very confident person but my body is one thing I've never been overly confident about. In fact it's something I've obsessed about for the greater portion of my life. I honestly cannot think of a time in life when I have not been trying to lose weight. I've done the diets, the weight watchers, the this, that and the other. Some have worked, some have seriously failed. I've lost significant amounts of weight just to gain them back, it's a never ending battle and I have never once been OK with the way I look. Frankly, it's exhausting to think how much time and mental energy I've spent on obsessing about my weight. I'm finally starting to learn that I'm perfectly fine the way I am.  And now that I am fine with the way I am, I am slowly starting to lose the weight, and lose it for good. . . .sure wish some one would have told me that was the secret 20 years ago. Seems so simple! I'm sure it has to do with my running and complete alteration of my diet, but it's beyond freeing to not obsess on it. I'm running because I have a goal to run the race, and I changed my diet to feel better and not be sick. . . my decisions were not based on wanting to lose weight, and they were life style changes, not temporary fixes. And finally, I am eating what I like and working out when I want and not obsessing about calorie counting, or work out regimens, or weighing in at a meeting. It's starting to become part of every day life like brushing my teeth. I could seriously write a billion pages on this and my next few posts will probably be related. I feel like if I could have had this epiphany years ago, I could have saved myself a ton of emotional stress, and maybe by sharing I can help some one else in the same situation. 

And now, just because of the picture, I feel like I need to close with something kind of feisty. I found a quote I loved recently: "If you don't like something, change it. If you can't change it, change your attitude. Don't complain." If people spent as much time focusing on how to change their situations instead of constantly bitching, the world would be a much better place. . .and I would be far less irritable :) QUIT YER BITCHIN!